Sheena Gershom

33 Things I Love about You

November 25, 2013

It’s my husband’s birthday today! And in keeping with what I wrote last year and the year before, here are 33 things I love about him :).

To my husband, my lover, my best friend… here’s what I love about you:

Your eagerness to minister for God’s glory.
The post-it love note you stuck on the showcase.
The way you patiently say “Bye” to the kids over and over again.
Your determination to balance family, church and work.
The encouraging words you scribbled in my planner.
The way you check on the kids after they’re asleep on Saturday nights.
For taking the kids’ homework off my hands.
Your dedication in training the choir.
For using your talents to glorify God.
The intensity with which you play the guitar (and keep breaking the strings!).
For giving up Saturday morning football just for me.
The way you discuss super heroes with the sons.
For taking a day off to take us all out.
The 2 movie dates you took me out on, this year.
The joy on your face after you bought the kids Transformers.
For being the primary bread-winner in our family.
Watching late night movies with you.
For setting aside what you want to do, for what you need to do.
The 3D & 5D theater experience you took me to.
For being a generous giver…
…but a careful spender.
For allowing me to take a day off once in a while.
The way you hold me together when I’m falling apart.
For patiently listening to the stories of my past.
Your support as I began working from home.
For taking over when I’m burnt out.
For teaching the kids how to spell…
…and what the different food groups are.
For putting up with my emotional highs and lows.
For being my best friend for the past 7 years.
The ease with which you sing various parts.
For attempting to be home early this evening :).
For making sure our family is taken care of, in the midst of your commitments at work and church.

{I’m so proud to be your wife!}

To all the married women out there…
Go ahead, write a note, a text, an email.
Let your husband know all that you love about him.
You’ll be glad you did!

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Five Minute Friday: Fly

November 22, 2013

Fly

I’m not sure why there’s always a Jim Reeves song playing in my mind when I see the 5 Minute Friday writing prompt. {See here and here}

Well today, the song was…

I’ll fly away, oh Glory
I’ll fly away
When I die
Hallelujah, by and by
I’ll fly away

Songs of heaven always make me feel homesick for my ever-after home. But this song also reminds me of something else that’s flying…

Time.

You see, life is fleeting… the days are flying by.

Sons who were once smaller than my forearm, now come up to my waist. I remember the terrible 2’s and 3’s when each day would drag on… and now they’re moving swifter than I can catch my breath.

I remember ringing in 2012 at church as if it was just yesterday… and already we’re winding up the year!

Somehow, in the hustle of getting the kids ready for school, my work, cooking, cleaning, teaching… there is so little time left to just sit still.

But I suppose that is something we can’t afford to not make time for. I’m sure a few minutes of sitting still in the heat of the day will do wonders for our stress levels.

I’m reminding myself again:

Less hurry,
Less worry,
Less stress…

More stillness,
More enjoying each moment,
More life…

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Top 3 Thursday – Edition #27

November 21, 2013

The last Top 3 Thursday post was published in July – it’s time for another one, don’t ya think?! 🙂

Here are 3 blog posts that encouraged me this week… Click through and read them, won’t you?

1. Gratitude in the Dark @ The Busy Mom

2. What’s a Stay-at-Home-Mom Really Worth? @ Serving Joyfully

3. How to Start the Day @ Jen Thorn

If you have read or written an encouraging blog post during the week, would you share the link in the comments below. I’d love to check it out!

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Goals Versus Growth {Part 3}

November 20, 2013

Earlier on the blog, I wrote about how we need to be more growth-oriented than goal-oriented, and the importance of growth through a parable from the Bible.

Since then, I’ve done a lot of reading about goals and growth, and a lot more pondering. This article on Buffer made me question why I set goals in the first place.

I was initially inspired to set goals by Money Saving Mom. She sets weekly goals and shares them on her blog. I decided to try it out and found that setting monthly goals and sharing them on the blog actually helped me be more intentional with things I wanted to do.

And then, I went through a phase where I couldn’t reach more than a couple of my monthly goals. I began stressing out over the goals I had to reach, and kept pushing myself until I burnt out. Rather than shamefacedly admit that I hadn’t met my goals for yet another month, I stopped setting monthly goals altogether!

And then I read this on Peak 313’s Facebook page:

If you find yourself discouraged, or in a stand still, may I ask you–are you goal or growth focused? Have you realized that God may just want to teach you something during the PROCESS as opposed to just hitting the end?

I tried to convince myself that growth and not goals was the answer. And then I saw this image on Money Saving Mom’s Facebook page.

Yeah… that makes a lot of sense! Goals are good, growth is better… Growth-focused goals are the best!

So where does that leave me with goal setting? I set goals that focus on the growth process.

For example:

Learning something from my Bible study, rather than simply completing it on time.
Encouraging the kids to read, rather than just reading to them (even if we read only one page a day).
Enjoying a book I’m reading, rather than trying to cram as books as I can into my week.

In a quest to stop rushing and achieving, I’ve decided to slow down and enjoy the ride. For now, I set simple goals such as:

Teach the kids one new thing
Read one chapter of the book I’m currently reading
Write one blog post

Some days, the only goal I aim for is striking a few things off my to-do list. Sometime in the future I might aim to walk 20Km or read a dozen books in a month. But now is not that time. And I’m learning to be OK with that.

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Counting My Blessings: 1351 to 1360

November 18, 2013

Every week (more or less), I share on the blog all the good things (and bad) I am grateful to God for. If you’d like to know more, check out these blog posts on why I do it and how to get started. Care to join me on this journey of intentional thanksgiving?

1351. God’s patience.

1352. The gift of writing.

1353. The end of a bout of sickness.

1354. The Kindle app for tablets.

1355. A successful eBook launch.

1356. Sweet surrender…

1357. …and the peace that comes after.

1358. A family day out – even if it was only to run errands!

1359. Getting acquainted with other mothers (of 3) in church.

1360. A new week – a fresh start.

Are you in the habit of counting your blessings? I mean, literally counting them 1, 2, 3… Would you consider joining me on this journey? Would you dare to live fully, right where you are?

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Women Living Well: Book Review

November 16, 2013

Women Living Well: Finding Your Joy in God, Your Man, Your Kids, and Your Home by Courtney Joseph is one book that encompasses a variety of topics that every Christian woman wants to know more about. The premise behind the book is that if we want to be women living well, we need to drink from our Living Well.

I’ll admit that I couldn’t relate much when the author writes of how she lived out her faith even in her childhood. (I didn’t have a personal relationship with God until my mid-teens.) But the way she speaks of her mother – the dedication with which she had trained her daughters and lived out her faith, made me want to be a better mother for my sons.

If you’re a long time reader of the author’s blog, you’ll find portions of the book to be repetitive. But I sincerely didn’t mind, as I still took away a lot from the book.

One quote that hit me hard was related to marriage:

“I wonder: why is it noble to help men in the workplace, help orphans,
help widows, help your pastor, help the neighbors, or help your parents,
but degrading to help your husband – your groom,
your lover, and your best friend?”

OUCH!

I shared this quote with my husband, and his smug smile convinced me that he was silently applauding the author! 🙂

Onto the book’s structure itself… it is divided into 4 parts (consisting of 5 chapters each) titled:

Your Walk with the King
Your Marriage
Your Parenting
Your Homemaking

In each of these areas, the author humbly shares the mistakes she’s made, lessons she’s learned and practical tips to help us overcome our struggles.

If there was one quote that could sum up what I took away from this book, it’s this:

“It is in the secret discipline of private prayer and meditation on God’s Word
that our roots grow deep into the rich soil of holiness.”

When we quiet ourselves and spend quality time God, He equips us to be better wives, mothers and homemakers! I know this is common sense… but WOW… God wants to help us be better at what He’s called us to do! 🙂

If you are a woman looking for direction in your faith, marriage, parenting or homemaking, the biblical truths expanded in this book will definitely benefit you.

P.S: There was a Women Living Well Conference held a few months back, and you can view the complete sessions here. They are GOOD! 🙂

Disclosure: I received a free Kindle version of this book from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are entirely my own.

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An Apology & An Update

November 14, 2013

The Apology

It’s been almost a month since my last blog post. While I know no one is waiting with bated breath for a new post to hit their inboxes… I feel I’ve let God and myself down by not writing in this space.

This blog is more than an online journal for me. It is a calling to embrace my love for the written word, and to encourage others through it. For ignoring that, I apologize…

Over the past 3 weeks, I’ve experienced a lot of physical and emotional lows that waged a war in my spirit and left me drained. With the boys falling sick, pressing deadlines at work and a new dimension of my husband’s ministry through our local church, I couldn’t handle it all and I flailed.

It took me a while (and a whole lot of God’s help) to get back on my feet and regain my focus! 🙂

The Update

I’m amazed every time someone tells me they were encouraged through my blog or the verses I share on Facebook. But I know I shouldn’t be – God has some use for even the cracked vessels of this world! God has a way of coating my imperfections with His grace to give His children the words they need to read… and for that, I’m grateful!

Considering that this year has been the most pathetic ever in my blogging career, things can only get better, right?! 😉

I hope to write more – even if it’s imperfect and not very pretty. Writing about God, His grace and the lessons He’s teaching me is a balm to my soul, and I pray it will be to yours as well.

Wishing you God’s best,

~ Sheena

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Counting My Blessings: 1341 to 1350

October 21, 2013

Every week, I share on the blog all the good things (and bad) I am grateful to God for. If you’d like to know more, check out these blog posts on why I do it and how to get started. Care to join me on this journey of intentional thanksgiving?

1341. Sleepless on a stormy night.

1342. Crunch gravel at the bus stop.

1343. An ‘almost’ event-less road trip.

1344. Stress and relief.

1345. Jon trying to read a book all by himself.

1346. My husband doing a collage with the kids.

1347. Judah rubbing his nose against mine; something he used to do as a toddler.

1348. Mountain highs that follow the valleys.

1349. Transformers x 3

1350. Jesus, the sweetest name of all…

Are you in the habit of counting your blessings? I mean, literally counting them 1, 2, 3… Would you consider joining me on this journey? Would you dare to live fully, right where you are?

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Discipleship & Discipline: Course Review

October 10, 2013

Discipleship & Discipline: Practical Parenting Help for the Desperate Mom is an eCourse conducted by Sally Clarkson and Sarah Mae. Having already read the book Desperate that they wrote together, I knew they’d have valuable parenting tips to share. And I was not disappointed!

Over the course of 4 webinars, Sally and Sarah Mae share a lot of lessons they’ve learnt while parenting their own children. I love their emphasis on building relationships, acceptance and learning about the heart of our kids. They also share a lot of great advice for parents with difficult children.

I have to admit that there are times in my life when I think I’ve messed up my boys for good – and they’re only 5 years old! This course gives me hope that I can learn to be a better mother. I know I’m not perfect, and never will be… But by learning from those who’ve trod the same path before (and with God’s guidance, of course) I can be the best mother I could possible be for my kids.

There’s so much to take away from this course, that I don’t know where to begin. But rather than letting the information overwhelm me, I’m determined to let God help me work on the main areas first – patience, heartfelt discipline and perseverance. It’s too early to tell if there are any changes in our household, but I’m sure we’re on the right track.

Now on to the course itself… It is presented in just a single PDF document, but looks can be deceiving! Inside this PDF you will find:

Daily devotions
Course outline for each of the 4 days
4 videos that you can watch anytime

And as a bonus, you also get:

Core Lies ebook
The UnWired Mom ebook
My 24 Family Ways PDF packet

The regular price of the course is $17.99. But you can find a discount coupon for $8 off the regular price here (valid till Friday, October 10).

Click here for more information about the Discipleship & Discipline Course

Disclosure: I received free access to the course to facilitate my review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are entirely my own.

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Counting My Blessings: 1331 to 1340

October 7, 2013

1331. The boys counting down the days for vacation.

1332. Watching BuzzBee with 2 sons on my lap.

1333. And watching Ice Age 4 with hubby after! 🙂

1334. Time out for the women in church.

1335. An empty kitchen sink…

1336. …and an empty laundry basket…

1337. …at the same time! 😀

1338. A new work project.

1339. Authentic South Indian filter coffee.

1340. Faith that Christ has it all under control.

Are you in the habit of counting your blessings? I mean, literally counting them 1, 2, 3… Would you consider joining me on this journey? Would you dare to live fully, right where you are?

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