Wives of Faith

Carnival Wrap-Up

Pattie — Sat, 12 May 2012 20:04:35 +0000

It’s always a little sad to wrap up something fun.

Winners can be found in this post.

Special thanks to:

Jolene McNutt for designing our super-cute and awesome blog carnival graphic!

Kori Yates for generously donating five copies of her book Olive Drab Pom-Poms!

Sara Horn for generously donating two of her books: Tour of Duty and My So-Called Life as a Proverbs 31 Wife!

Chelesea Snyder for donating a My Thirty-One All-in-One organizer!

and

Elizabeth for donating a set of handmade cards from her Etsy shop!

I am also extraordinarily grateful for each and every one of our participants–we do this for you because we love getting to know you and introducing you in a fun way to each other. We are a tribe, we military Wives of Faith–to borrow from Shakespeare with a little change, “We few, we happy few, we band of sisters.”

We’ll be back at Christmastime for our fourth annual Christmas blog carnival!

Military Wives Appreciation Winners

Pattie — Sat, 12 May 2012 19:00:55 +0000

Winners!

Monday: Lisa won Kori’s book Olive Drab Pom-Poms– her blog post is here.
and…the Starbucks card goes to Danie! Her blog post is here.

Tuesday: Cassey won Kori’s book Olive Drab Pom-Poms–her blog post is here.
and Jill won Sara’s book Tour of Duty. Her blog post is here.

Wednesday: Jill won Kori’s book Olive Drab Pom-Poms–her blog post is here.
and Steph won Sara’s book My So-Called Life as a Proverbs 31 Wife–her blog post is here.

Thursday: Chelesea won Kori’s book Olive Drab Pom-Poms–her blog post is here.
and Stephanie won the All-in-One organizer donated by Chelesea–her blog post is here.

Friday: Danielle won Kori’s book Olive Drab Pom-Poms–her blog post is here.
and Randi won Elizabeth’s homemade cards–her blog post is here.
and Leanne won the Starbucks gift card–her blog post is here.

**Please email your mailing address to Pattie (Pattie@WivesofFaith.org)**

PS: All winners were chosen from the random.org number generator, eliminating myself (Pattie).

Day 5: Why I Love Being a Military Wife

Pattie — Fri, 11 May 2012 06:00:49 +0000

Welcome to our third annual Military Spouse Appreciation Blog Carnival! and HAPPY MILITARY SPOUSE APPRECIATION DAY!

May I be the first one to tell you THANK YOU for your service. Yes, you. Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, know that I am grateful for every sacrifice, every day without your husband while he serves, everything.

And now, on to our TOPIC FOR TODAY: Why I love being a military wife.

I realize not everyone will enjoy being a military wife for one reason or another. But in a quest to be ever positive, perhaps it’s good to reflect up on what we do love about this life we lead–including, of course, whom we love–our man in uniform.

The only two rules you need to know:

Rule #1: Write a blog that goes along with our topic for the day and comment under that specific day’s topic with a link back to your own blog post by the deadline.

Deadline: Post no later than midnight Pacific time. (That means 11 p.m. for Alaska gals and 9 p.m. for our friends in Hawaii. Those of you in Europe and Asia can look up time zones here but I know you’ll be able to figure it out–we are military wives, after all! )

Rule #2: Include a link to Wives of Faith in your blog post.

Write every day for the week, or pick and choose any days you like, but each day you comment on the Wives of Faith site during our MILITARY SPOUSE APPRECIATION BLOG CARNIVAL, you’ll be entered to win in our daily drawing!

Today’s PRIZES:

koriyates.com

Olive Drab Pom-Poms by Kori Yates, our own Wives of Faith MarriageCare Director!

and

a set of handmade birthday cards, donated by Wives of Faith member, Elizabeth

AND

A $10 gift card to Starbucks, donated by our Web Content Editor and resident Coffee Addict, Pattie.

Today’s winners will be determined by random drawing from all eligible blog posts.

Today’s prizes are open to residents of the United States and Canada.

Feel free to add our special carnival blog button to your blog. The Blog Carnival button this year was designed by Wives of Faith member Jolene McNutt. She blogs over at Tree of Life Creative.

Grab our button for your blog using this code:

It looks like this:

Isn’t it adorable?

When you post your response in the comments today, please post the distinct URL for your post, rather than the general link to your blog itself. For example, instead of posting www.wivesoffaith.org each time, you would post http://www.wivesoffaith.org/military-spouse-appreciation-blog-carnival which links directly to that particular post.

Please let us know if you have any questions, and happy writing–AND again, thank you so much for your service to our country and to God by being a military wife!

Day 4: Picture It

Pattie — Thu, 10 May 2012 06:00:47 +0000

Welcome to our third annual Military Spouse Appreciation Blog Carnival!

TOPIC FOR TODAY: It’s been said that a picture’s worth a thousand words. Post a photograph you’ve taken. (And yes, you can describe it or tell the story behind it if you want to! The only stipulation is that it needs to be a photo of your own, so as not to violate copyright.)

The only two blog carnival rules you need to know:

Rule #1: Write a blog that goes along with our topic for the day and comment under that specific day’s topic with a link back to your own blog post by the deadline.

Rule #2: Include a link to Wives of Faith in your blog post.

Today’s PRIZES:

koriyates.com

Olive Drab Pom-Poms by Kori Yates, our own Wives of Faith MarriageCare Director! (This prize is available in the US and Canada and our sisters with APO addresses)

and

an All in One Organizer from MyThirtyOne, donated by Chelesea Snyder!
(This prize is only available to residents of the United States)

Today’s winners will be determined by random drawing from all eligible blog posts.

Sponsors/Giveaways: We still have some openings for giveaways. If you’re a milspouse with a direct sales business who would like to participate, please contact me (pattie@wivesoffaith.org). Be sure to indicate your shipping availability.

Feel free to add our special carnival blog button to your blog. The Blog Carnival button this year was designed by Wives of Faith member Jolene McNutt. She blogs over at Tree of Life Creative.

Grab our button for your blog using this code:

It looks like this:

Isn’t it adorable?

When you post your response in the comments each day, please post the distinct URL for your post for that day, rather than the general link to your blog itself. For example, instead of posting www.wivesoffaith.org each time, you would post http://www.wivesoffaith.org/military-spouse-appreciation-blog-carnival which links directly to that particular post.

Please let us know if you have any questions, and happy writing–AND thank you so much for your service to our country and to God by being a military wife!

Do you need a vision adjustment?

Stacy — Wed, 09 May 2012 09:00:03 +0000

My daughter Emily received a pair of binoculars as a gift recently, and as we were driving around town one day she was using them to examine the world around us when I heard her say, “Cool! These come with a Vision Adjuster!”

I smiled at her creative term for the little knob that allows you to focus the picture, and then I thought about how often I need my own “vision adjuster” as I look at my own life and the world around us.

Some questions that came to mind:

Am I content with what God has given me, or am I always longing for more?

Do I make assumptions about other people without first getting to know them from the inside-out?

Do I see the world through my daughter’s eyes, or do I try to conform her to mine?

Do I see the needs of my husband and strive to fulfill them, or do I only focus on my desires?

Do my eyes truly see the needs of those around me – on my street, in my city, in the world – and do I move toward them with outstretched hands or do I look the other way?

Do I look for the good in every situation, or do I focus on the negative?

Thankfully, I have my very own “Vision Adjuster” in the Bible – the very word of God! I also have one that goes everywhere with me! The Holy Spirit is there to be my guide and to direct my thoughts and actions if I will allow God to work in my life. If I will seek HIM first, and seek to do His will, then I will be able to feel the Holy Spirit nudging me to do the right thing.

When I focus my eyes on Him, then He is good to give me the clear view that I desire and He shows me words like these:

“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Galations 1:10)

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” (Matthew 25:40)

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17)

“Rejoice always,pray continually,give thanks in all circumstances;for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

How is the Lord adjusting your vision as you seek His face each day?