Kristen Strong – författare

Whether chosen and celebrated--like going off to college or welcoming your first baby--or unexpected and anxiety-inducing--like losing a job or grappling with a broken trust--all change brings stress. Kristen Strong knows about change--especially the kind you didn't choose or expect. What she's fought hard to learn over the years is that change is not something to be feared but something to be received as a blessing from a God who, more often than not, works through change, not in spite of it. Strong has learned to see change not as a grievance but as a grace.In this hope-filled book, she shows women how when we follow God's will, we receive blessings of contentment, purpose, and renewed strength. She encourages women to see change not as the end of their story but as the scenery for this part of life's journey. And she offers practical advice for coping with change in every part of life. Anyone who has struggled to adjust to life's transitions will welcome this warm and personal perspective.

At one time or another, shifting seasons in family, friendships, employment, and communities will bring each of us face-to-face with the feeling of being on the outside looking in. Because we are made for connection, this will often lead us down one of two roads. Either we will hop on the popular but crowded highway that asks us to do whatever it takes to get noticed, or we'll stand still, paralyzed by the fear that we're not important, loveable, or worth other people's time and attention.But what if there is another way? With an understanding voice that will speak into your own circumstances, Kristen Strong walks beside you along the less traveled but more satisfying third way--the back road way--to belonging: remaining in Christ and relaxing into the unique role God has for you. Along the way, you will learn simple, doable actions that not only will help you feel and know that you belong but will welcome others in as well.

When difficult or unwanted change enters our lives, it can cause fear, anxiety, and anger to bubble up from within. We want to quiet that simmering stress, but how do we do that, especially when we know our circumstances aren't going to calm down any time soon? By regularly meeting with God and exchanging our worries and fears for his assurances that he is using our difficult change for us, not against us.Easier said than done? Not if you have Kristen Strong alongside you as your understanding guide. Offering thoughtful, humorous anecdotes and powerful prayers to recite, Strong invites you to think and feel differently about change on the inside so you can live and love differently on the outside. As the tender companion she is, Kristen will show you how not to get over difficult change but rather to get through it. She'll help you acknowledge your change, give your anxieties over to God, and abide well in the days to come--no matter what transitions life brings.

In a season of loneliness? Take comfort in the stories of other women who share their own honest experiences of feeling isolated, struggling to find friends, and still finding a meaningful way through.

With the current crisis of loneliness and lack of friendships in today''s culture, this 90-day devotional offers both lived perspective and attainable promise for how to find community and friends.

Compiled by beloved author, Kristen Strong, who offers her two decades of experience as a constantly relocating military spouse and one decade as a settled civilian to address head on the rising pain point facing women today in startling numbers: an acute loneliness and isolation due to a lack of friends.

Praying Through Loneliness is a compilation of stories from many women in all stages of life written to let you know that you are:

Not alone in your sadness, frustration, or sense of rejectionNot alone when you feel jealous of other women''s friendshipsNot alone in the pain of a friendship breakupNot alone when you want to give up trying to connect againNot alone in your need to know that the Lord sees you in your loneliness, has a purpose for you during it, and won''t abandon you as you walk through it

 

Praying Through Loneliness doesn''t skip over the sadness and hardship loneliness brings. It doesn''t offer trite advice or give spiritual formulas to shortcut the slow work of friendship. Instead, it offers an empathetic and hopeful accompaniment in the dark night you are walking through.

Each daily devotional includes:

Scripture verseVulnerable story where questions and regret are seen through the eyes of Jesus who is always walking beside youHopeful messageMeaningful prayer references for encouragement

 

Spend the next 90 days with come-alongside friends and the God who has said from the beginning that it is not good for us to be alone; let them lift your burden of loneliness.

If you''ve ever been tempted to put a sign in your front yard advertising for new friends, scream or sob in frustration over a "friend''s" hot and cold behavior, or cringe at the memory of awkward friendship encounters, you can trust Kristen Strong''s decades of experience at regularly relocating and remaking friends to provide both solid hope and practical direction to try again to find the friends you need.

In Desperate Woman Seeks Friends, Kristen Strong offers her two decades of experience as a regularly relocating military spouse and one decade as a settled civilian to address head on the crisis facing women today in startling numbers: an acute loneliness and isolation due to a lack of friends and community.

Often, social media will give a band-aid for loneliness, but looking to social media to be your only source of friendship is like relying on breadcrumbs as a steady diet for dinner: it won''t nourish or satisfy. Unless some of those online connections turn into real-life ones, they''re no substitute for in-person friendships.

Research shows friends are as important for our overall welfare as healthy eating habits and a good night''s sleep, and Kristen gives you a game plan for getting your friendship groove back. Chapters include:

Boundaries are our friends and our friends'' friendsWhat you can expect will kill friendshipsI love my friend to pieces, but I don''t love her views on ____________When a friendship ends without your say-soRejection sucks, but don''t let it suck you downYour top-notch tool for building your friendshipsMaking friends by opening upYour Friend who never fails in friendships

 

It''s not just you. Making friends is hard! But it''s not impossible. Through tell-it-like-it-is talk and vulnerable stories, Kristen wants to help you be a good friend to others and to yourself through principles and practices that give life to your friendships. And she wants to show you that while friends may fail you, your Friend Jesus never will. You''re meant to have lasting friendships that feed your heart and soul—you are not the exception. 

Whether chosen and celebrated--like going off to college or welcoming your first baby--or unexpected and anxiety-inducing--like losing a job or grappling with a broken trust--all change brings stress. Kristen Strong knows about change--especially the kind you didn''t choose or expect. What she''s fought hard to learn over the years is that change is not something to be feared but something to be received as a blessing from a God who, more often than not, works through change, not in spite of it. Strong has learned to see change not as a grievance but as a grace.In this hope-filled book, she shows women how when we follow God''s will, we receive blessings of contentment, purpose, and renewed strength. She encourages women to see change not as the end of their story but as the scenery for this part of life''s journey. And she offers practical advice for coping with change in every part of life. Anyone who has struggled to adjust to life''s transitions will welcome this warm and personal perspective.

At one time or another, shifting seasons in family, friendships, employment, and communities will bring each of us face-to-face with the feeling of being on the outside looking in. Because we are made for connection, this will often lead us down one of two roads. Either we will hop on the popular but crowded highway that asks us to do whatever it takes to get noticed, or we''ll stand still, paralyzed by the fear that we''re not important, loveable, or worth other people''s time and attention.But what if there is another way? With an understanding voice that will speak into your own circumstances, Kristen Strong walks beside you along the less traveled but more satisfying third way--the back road way--to belonging: remaining in Christ and relaxing into the unique role God has for you. Along the way, you will learn simple, doable actions that not only will help you feel and know that you belong but will welcome others in as well.