Kristen Anne Glover

Five in Tow

Enough

Enough

I have been hungry, so hungry I hold on to the scraps and grovel around the floor for the crumbs.  It is a kind of hunger that turns me mean and selfish, bitter and judgmental.

Have you felt that hunger?

Most of us have, from time to time.  We wonder if there is really enough for everyone, so we hold on to what we can get and snarl for the bread in the hands of another.

But the truth of it is, there is enough.  Enough for you and enough for me and enough for everyone to eat without envy.  Please join me over at Allume today where I share a story about having enough.

It Is a Battle

Once a month, I have the privilege of writing for Allume, an online community of women committed to ministering to others through the written word.  We are a group of bloggers, writers, visionaries, and just plain ordinary people who get a kick out of ministering to broken people just like us.

But it is not always easy. 

I have always been a writer, in the sense that I felt compelled to write.  I used to joke that I have a Times New Roman ticker in my brain because I see my thoughts in words, running across a giant screen in my brain.

However, blogging is fairly new to me.  A year ago in January, I jumped into blogging and suddenly, everything I wrote was put out there for all the world to see.  I had an audience.  The words I scribbled in private were now proclaimed from the rooftops.

It has been thrilling.

Fulfilling.

Devastating.

There are times when a post crushes me.  There are times when I think I can’t do this again, when I am battle-weary and broken.

Because it is a battle.  Anytime we use the Words of God to teach, preach, instruct, encourage, admonish, or praise, we are drawing a sword.  And whenever we draw a sword, His adversaries draw theirs.

If you have dared to grapple with the Word of God, you have felt it.  My post at Allume is my encouragement to you who are weary in the fight, who have felt the push-back of enemy forces when you speak the truth in love.  It is written to writers, but you know enough to know that it is true of all of us who stand along the front lines of this war. 

I hope you will read and arm yourself for battle alongside me today.

Sword of the Spirit

 

 

Win FREE Jerky!

This giveaway is now closed!  Congratulations to Amanda, our winner!

When it comes to my writing, my husband is my number one best fan.  The moms are a close second; his because she takes the kids once a week so I can eat chocolate without sharing write; mine because she has always read everything I have written.  Always.  Even before spellcheck.  That’s love.

But my husband is my number one fan because he gives foot rubs.  He loves my blog except for one thing: when it comes to giveaways, he doesn’t really get it.  All the jewelry and home organizational books make my heart beat faster, but they leave him scratching his head.

So when Heather Mason contacted me about doing a giveaway for jerky, I could not wait to tell him.

His eyes got big.  “Someone’s sending us jerky?” he stammered.

Organic jerky

Jeff loves jerky.  He carries the stuff around in his backpack and munches on it during the long drive down to Ft. Lewis and back.  It makes me cringe because most commercial jerky is full of nitrates, MSG, artificial colors, and so much sodium, you have to wash it down with a Super Gurgle Coke or your tongue will fuse to the roof of your mouth.

Ick.

Heather’s jerky comes from Jerky Direct, which is a jerky subscription program.  Every month, they send two packages of jerky directly to your door for $14 a month.  You can change the flavor if you’re feeling like Habanero beef one month and BBQ Turkey the next.

Heather sent me two packages of organic jerky.  It made me happy that Jerky Direct even offers such a thing.  It has no preservatives, no MSG (most of their jerky is MSG free, actually), and no weird colors.  Plus, I compared the label with one of Jeff’s jerky pouches and found the sodium content to be far less!   And, they didn’t skimp on the content just because it’s organic.  The bags were a full 3 oz. each.

Nor did they skimp on the flavor!  We tore into the packages and started munching.  I love the salty-sweet flavor of the original, and Jeff liked the peppered best.  The slices of jerky are thick, so you can really sink your teeth into them, but not so overly dried that you have to gnaw your way through like some kind of pack animal.

I could not stop eating it, except I had to because I needed to take a picture.

Easter Basket for men

Jerky makes the perfect addition to my Man Easter Basket! Add a few varieties of jerky, Fruit Stix, and a few “survival” items and you have a great basket!

I felt a pang of guilt because it tasted so good, but I flipped the package over and found out that there are only 300 calories in the entire bag, and I had not eaten the entire bag.  Yet.  Also, there are 11 grams of protein per serving and I’m pretty sure salted caramels don’t have any so yeah me!

Heather also sent me a package of their Berry Blend Fruit Stix.  These super-yummy treats are kind of like fruit leather, but they come in a stick form that keeps kids’ hands from getting sticky.  LOVE.  It’s the perfect thing for keeping stashed in the car or taking on a hike because you won’t have to carry a vat of Wet Wipes along too.

But the thing I love most about Fruit Stix is that they contain krill oil.  Krill oil is a super-food.  It helps with brain development in children, among other things, but the stuff tastes nasty and if you’ve ever tried to sneak a bit of it past a toddler, you know it’s just not going to happen.  Unless you are very sneaky.

Jerky Direct is very sneaky.

SOOoooOOooo.  Do you want to try some of these great products?  Here’s your chance!  Heather is giving away a prize package to include one package of jerky of your choice and one package of Fruit Stix. 

Yum!

In order to enter, you must do the following:

1)      Be sure you are following me in some form or another!  You can subscribe to my blog via e-mail, Twitter, or Facebook, but please join me, friends, so you don’t miss any more fun!  Leave a comment below stating how you follow me.

2)      In the same comment, tell me which jerky flavor you would choose if you won!  Poke around Heather’s website.  Don’t they all sound yummy?  You might want to visit her Facebook page as well.  She keeps everyone posted on any specials, giveaways, and other fun stuff!

3)      That’s it!  Be sure to share this giveaway with a friend for an extra entry.   You have until Wednesday, 9 pm PST to enter.  The winner will be contacted via e-mail.  Good luck!

P.S. If you don’t win, or if you’d like to order jerky for your husband’s Easter basket, be sure to order by the 15th to ensure Easter delivery.  If you love the idea of receiving jerky directly every month, you might want to consider starting NOW!  Heather is offering a free pouch of jerky to everyone who enrolls in the autoship program this month!

Also, if price is a concern, you may be interested in talking to Heather about how you can earn jerky for free or even start your own business.  She can be reached here.

Easter Baset Ideas for Men

Man Basket of Awesome