{Cool Subscription Box Alert} Military Made Box

June 7, 2021 No Comments

I’m so excited to be sharing with you all the Military Made subscription boxes. Every once in a while a product comes along that I’m just so excited to share with you. We all love subscription boxes, at least I do. A box delivered to me every month with fun, new products in it. Bonus points goes to this box though, because you are also supporting (and learning about) veteran and milspouse-owned businesses.

What is Military Made?

Military Made is the brainchild of Bill Deutch, CEO and Executive Producer, of Hiring America. Hiring America is a show that highlights Veteran and Spouse employment by sharing inspiring stories of Veterans and Spouses in the civilian workforce, sharing companies dedicated to hiring veterans and spouses and so much more. Military Made is an extension of this in a really neat and interesting way. Each month you receive product made by Spouses and Veterans, learning about them and their story.

I wanted to take that one step more and encourage everyone with a Pay it Forward Movement. Think of a spouse, a veteran a non-military connected friend, family member or co-worker who needs a pick me up, and send them a box! Maybe it will encourage them, and then inspire them to keep paying that forward. The more hands and minds we can get these products into the better. It fills my “Supporting small businesses” and “Supporting the Troops” soul. So many service members over the decades have left the military careers and been unable to fully put that behind them. Finding meaningful employment or starting their own businesses hasn’t always been easy, especially after two decades of intense service.

As if that wasn’t enough, a portion of the sales from Military Made boxes goes to Hiring America Service, a 501(c)(3) that helps to educate veterans and spouses in finding meaningful careers. There’s so much good!

Get your own Military Made Box!

You can snag your own box by visiting their website and choosing between a quartly or annual membership. Military Made also has an option right on their website to “Pay it Forward” by choosing to the send the box as a gift.

What’s in the box right now? Well, go check out my Instagram (in the feed and on REELS) to get an up close and personal peak at it. You can also follow Military Made on Instagram for some more in-depth introduction to the current boxes’ products and the stories behind them.

What are some of your favorite military-owned (Veteran or Spouse) products?! I’d love to hear about them in the comments.

bookreview, Rhe's Bookshelf

Rhe’s Bookshelf: Vanessa Rasanen’s Soldier On {Blog Tour}

November 2, 2018 8 Comments

I am so excited to be participating in Vanessa’s blog tour! I’ve been following the whole process of this book, anxiously awaiting its release. I happen to be lucky enough to know Vanessa before she released this book! As fellow Guard spouses, bloggers and lovers of beer we have been connected for several years. The Guard world is a special one, and I don’t often seen books written about it, especially in the romance novel genre. As a book blogger that specializes in military romance I look for them, trust me. They just aren’t out there. And maybe one of these days I’ll make good on my process of actually trying to write my own book I’m glad that amazing writers like Vanessa are out there doing it right now!

Clearly I’m biased….but I promise I won’t let that interfere with my book reviewing! Being so lucky as to know many of the authors I review I’ve gotten good at still having truth to my book reviews. But, this is more than just a review guys! This is a book launch, blog tour AND giveaway! Head over to the other blogs that are reviewing to read more AND enter to win some pretty cools stuff!

October 30 – Review – Mary J Moerbe

October 31 – Review – Grit & Grace

November 1 – Review – Cammo Style Love

November 2 – Review – Sister, Daughter, Mother, Wife

and First Line Friday – Faithfully Bookish

November 3 – Interview – The Nap Time Author

November 5 – Guest Post – Christian Shelf Esteem

November 6 – Review – Pure Joy Creative

November 7 – Review – Lights in a Dark World

Summary

He’s fighting for his country. She’s praying for his safety. When tragedy strikes, can their marriage and faith survive?

Charlie and Meg Winters are no strangers to the military life and the challenges it brings. But when an IED rips through his convoy killing his friends, the loss proves almost too much to bear.

Meg finds her trust in Christ wavering, and secrets she’s been keeping for years drive a wedge between her and her husband.

What if everything Meg believes is a lie?

What if Charlie finds out what she’s done?

Can Meg and Charlie save their marriage or will the horrors of war and the ghosts of their past tear them apart and forever shipwreck her faith?

Soldier On is a gripping contemporary women’s fiction novel. If you like inspirational stories of faith tested under pressure, then you’ll love Vanessa Rasanen’s true-to-life novel.

Review

This book spoke to me on many levels, but I didn’t realize how much it affect me. The spiritual aspects of this book are intense, therefore I would recommend this book to those looking for a faith based novel. I think that there are few books that take on a realistic and deep view of spiritual struggles and the power of faith. Vanessa takes that on full force and masters it wonderfully. Sneaking into the dark and very real places that the thoughts of military wives goes. Being a military wife is definitely not rosy. It is hard and full of tears and ugly struggles. But it is also beautiful, and this shines through on the pages of Solider On.

The relationship between Meg and Charlie is one of beautiful struggle. What they have faced is something that many people haven’t. Its one that few people in our communities, schools and even churches can relate to or understand.

Vanessa’s writing is expressive and intricate, with a level of understanding of her denomination of faith that is clear. It focuses heavily on the Lutheran denomination but that wouldn’t preclude those of other denominations from enjoying that part of it. With complex portrayal of character, yet easy to read, I would recommend this book to my faith based military romance loving readers! Even those with no military connection would enjoy this. In fact I would say it gives a stunningly accurate portrayal of military life that civilians could greatly benefit from.

5 out of 5 stars

{for details on my rating system check out the Rhe’s Bookshelf tabl}

Thanks for stopping by the book tour! Enter the Soldier On Book Release Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To purchase the book on your preferred platform click the links below {affiliate links are present! Thanks for support this author and this book blogger!}

military, military life, milspouse

Milspouse Monday: Missing Out

January 29, 2018 No Comments

This is both a plea for forgiveness and a giant thank you for all my civilian friends. I’m looking at you, and I am so thankful for you. One of the hardest things for me in this crazy milspouse life might not be the most obvious. I’ve gotten used to the leaving and it doesn’t make me lose my mind like it once did. I think at the stage the kids are in we are busier, they “need” us less, and they are sleeping through the night {can I get an amen?}.

The thing that is the hardest about #militarylife isn't what you think it is - the leaving I'm used to - its the missing out that I'm not Click To Tweet

For me the hardest part is missing out. We’ve really grown a life here, more so than any other place that we’ve been. We are all happy, which is crazy!!! The kids are loving school and adjusted, hubby is loving his job, and I’ve got stuff. It’s amazing!! So when I have to miss out on events, parties, get-togethers it kills me a little bit inside. This isn’t just a byproduct of my military life. My personality is largely to blame. As a self-described sanguin I thrive on being around people. Lock me in the house for a couple days and I’ve become a shadow of the person I once was. I say things like “can we just go to the library as a family?” or “can we all go to Cost-Co together?” constantly to me sweet and adoring husband. I’m comfortable around large groups, comfortable in taking the lead – all good qualities. The downside is that when I don’t get out, don’t see people I fall apart a little inside. I withdraw and feel alone. I worry constantly that these people don’t like me anymore, that somehow in the rat race of life they’ve decided that me missing an event or two means that I obviously hate them and their only recourse is not be my friend anymore. It’s insanity!! If they don’t reach out to me it must be over. Another part of my personality is that of “The Reacher”. A topic I’ve discussed before, and one that is close to my heart.

Life isn’t a one-way road!

I’m constantly feeling like I’m the reacher! I’m the texter, the caller, the get-together put together-er {its a word, I’ve decided}. I know that its mostly in my head, but its a very real feeling. To feel like you’re the one moving the friendship along. That if I suddenly stopped texting and calling said person I’d never hear from them again. And while that may be true in some cases, I know its not for everyone. I tell myself I should just chill. Calm the heck down Rheanna!! But I usually don’t do a very good job. And while I’m able to keep my anxiety at bay most of the time these day, it is during these times when military life has reared its ugly head that my anxiety does also.

So to all my civilian, and military friends, THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart. For being in my life, for dealing with the crazy, and for being understanding. I make a plea for myself and for all the military spouses you might know that many of us feel this way. And we ask, so very selfishly, to not forget about us. When we can’t go somewhere, or do something, don’t forget about us. Keep inviting us, keep showing up in our lives. Because you know what happens if you do? You’ll get on of the most loyal and steadfast friends you could find. We will be there in a moment’s notice. We know how to rally the troops, get a meal chain going, load of the kids at all hours and head over to your house. We welcome you in to crash on the couch, we’ll feed you amazing meals and just be there for you. It might not always be easy being our friend, but I promise that in the end we think its worth it!