Q & A

This is a relatively new feature on the blog, where I answer questions I’m asked a lot.  So if you have a question for me, shoot me an email and I’ll try my best to give you a relevant answer.

Question: How do you start a gratitude journal?

Answer:

Over the past year I’ve received a handful of queries from ladies who have read my Counting My Blessings posts and are interested in start their own gratitude journals.  To get a background of my own journey, I encourage you to read how I got started and why I continue to do it.  The rest of this post will explain the basics and tools to help you get started.

You will need one of the following to document your blessings:

– A journal/notebook and a pen.
– A notepad on your computer, tablet or phone.
– The One Thousand Gifts app.

When you’ve decided how you’re going to document your blessings, be on out for things you are thankful for each day.  Jot your blessings down, numbering them as you go.  I take mental notes throughout my day – maybe a funny thing a son said, beautiful flowers, a verse from the Bible, or an experience.  At the end of the day, I open my notepad and do a mental recap of the day – writing down everything I am thankful for.

If you find it too daunting to write down long sentences at the end of the day, I encourage you to take the Joy Dare from A Holy Experience.  That’s where I started as well.  You can download the Joy Dare for each month, get the daily prompt and then look for things you are thankful for based on the prompt.

For example, if the prompt for today is “3 gifts sweet”, you go about your day looking for sweet things you are thankful for – chocolate, a fruit or perhaps even a kiss :).

These daily prompts had me thanking God for the unlikeliest things – gifts I usually take for granted – like electricity and clean running water.  Let’s not forget to list the not-so-nice things you are thankful for as well.  Last week, I actually managed to thank God for a lost wallet.  It definitely puts things in perspective when we choose to give thanks in all circumstances – good and bad.

A note of caution here: let not the act of counting your blessings deter you from keeping your focus on God.  In developing the habit of giving thanks, we may tend to focus on the gifts rather than the Giver.  It is essential to remember that every blessing, every gift, everything you are thankful for comes from God alone.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17)

Do you maintain a gratitude journal?  Are you planning to start one?

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This is a new feature I’m starting on the blog, where I answer questions I’m asked a lot. So if you have a question for me, shoot me an email and I’ll try my best to answer.

Question: Where do you find free ebooks?

Answer:

I love reading, I always have. I remember frequenting libraries as a child and checking out as many books as I could; devouring them within a day or two. My mother had to actually hide my story books, so I would complete my school work :). In my late teens and early twenties, I discovered Christian books (fiction and non-fiction) and I was hooked. I would drag my mother along to book sales and buy dozens of books at throwaway prices.

Then I got married, had triplets and barely had any time to read, let alone visit a bookstore. Imagine my delight when I discovered that I could get free books online. Over the past year, I’ve discovered quite a few websites/blogs that publish deals on ebooks. Most of these are Kindle books, but you don’t need a Kindle to read them. There are free Kindle apps available on Amazon for  just about every computer, smartphone and tablet on the planet.

Without dragging it on further, here are the sites I frequent:

1. Free Homeschool Deals – This is run by a homeschool mom who publishes a list of Kindle freebies everyday. I stack up on children’s books here.

2. eReaderGirl – A fairly new site that publishes free and discounted ebooks, categorized by genre.

3. Free Kindle Books for Kids – This Facebook page was recently started by Rosilind who blogs at A little R & R, exclusively for children’s books.

4. Inspired Reads – This site publishes a list of free and discounted Christian fiction and non-fiction titles at least once a day.

5. BookSneeze – If you are a blogger, BookSneeze offers you one free ebook at a time, in exchange for a review. I’ve found quite a few good books here.

Once in a while, when I come across another blogger offering her ebook for free (or a Kindle freebie I recommend); I post the links on Facebook and Twitter. So stay connected, if you want to be in the loop :)!

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