The Grace Journal Podcast

Thank you for listening to The Grace Journal Podcast. Thank you for joining me on this Journey. I am so encouraged and it is all thanks to you, the listeners. I could not have done this without you. I am so grateful.  Thanks to every interviewee. Thanks for gracing my podcast with your voice and perspective. The Grace Journal Podcast will be back February 2023. We will be hosting an in person event on Nov.12th. It's called A Storytellers Dream. For ticket sales go to @thegracejournal Podcast Instagram Page. Thanks for your support. See you next season. Love ,Sherwine

Today I have a conversation with my friend about letting go of control. I am not quit where I want to be in regards to my control, but it is necessary to get thorough this season. 

Being exposed to a life that seemed beyond me used to feel so daunting. Like I was longing for a life I never thought I could have. This podcast has given me new views on purpose and where it can take you when I stop pursuing the tangible and start pursuing passions. Enjoy today's episode. 

I wrote two poems recently that incapsulate who I am becoming in Jesus and my response towards who God has been to me. This Journey is so trying and honestly exhausting. I feel like a kid who can't wait to be grown up. But I hear God saying don't rush the processes, so I wrote these poems to help me with my patience. Please Enjoy!

In part two of this conversation with my God sister we open our lives to the concept of grace. She has more confidence in this area than I do. Day after day I am still learning to trust God. I hope to learn more as I follow her example. 

My God sister Farana has been in my life for longer than I can tell you. She has recently gotten married and we become a grown woman right before my eyes some how I feel as though she has surpassed me in maturity.  This is a conversation based on our relationship. I love her so much and I know you'll love her too. Listen closely and grab all the nuggets of wisdom as they drop from her lips. 

It's never been about THEM. When you focus on the approval of man you will never be satisfied. The reality is that the naysayers need Jesus too, and all I have to do is focus on the task at hand and hopefully somewhere between their disbelief in me and the work that I am doing they will start believing in God. I can't wait for you to hear this episode. 

I have had the challenge of facing my own impatience lately. Today's episode contains the lessons I've learned as a walk through my challenges in this area, and I am sure to learn more lessons along the way. I hope you enjoy today's episode. 

This piece combines a few of my experiences with love. I express myself in this way in hopes that I will appreciate it the next time God introduces love into my life. Too often we give freely what has yet to be earned. I have learned many lessons in love. This one being; true love will all ways find the value in the giver of it. Enjoy this episode.

A new installment of the writing prompt series. This one is by my good friend Ray. I hope you enjoy hearing my reflection in this episode. 

I head home and am met with gratitude for what this trip has taught me. 

My childhood babysitter visits me and I get a glimpse of who I am becoming even more in her presence. I learn that my imagination is a gift for that connects to the faith the God has given me. 

In this episode I share my "fun" experience at a jump park with my siblings and nephew. The jump park cause me to realize that I am not a kid anymore. Although I am an adult I want to never loose the child like essence that is housed in my soul. It is important for me to learn how to play and find the joy that can connect me to a child like faith.  

My Dad and I take a journey on the dance floor. 

This episode involves a sensitive topic about my childhood trauma and pain. I am making a choice to share this in an effort to be the voice that I wish someone would have been for me back then. 

There are to parts at work in every believer, a sinner and a pharisee. In this episode I journey to the community that help to cultivate both of these perspectives that are found in my nature. I end this episode with a poem about the girl I used to be and the woman I am attempting to become. 

How do you do something new when you are longing for something familiar? I choose, to create a new belief system that can serve as a substitute for what I am longing for. Join me as I search my grief for the connection my heart desires. 

This is the very first series on The Grace Journal podcast. I travel back to my hometown, and am taken on rollercoaster of emotions. I am thinking new thoughts in familiar spaces. Come with me on this Journey. 

It's an advising session today on The Grace Journal Podcast. My sweet friend, Akera, is like a little sister to me, and she joins us on the show today. I have known Akera for almost five years. Her life reminds me of me when I was her age. Today she gets to draw from my life experiences for some advice. I hope this leads to some wisdom and great conversation. Enjoy the Show!

Juneteenth was established as a national holiday last year (2021). It is a day to be celebrated in American History.  It marks the day that all African American slaves were set free in the US.  I got to celebrate this holiday for the first time this year and it was phenomenal. My experience inspired me to write a fictional story that epiphanizes what Juneteenth now means to me.  Please enjoy my fictional story entitled This Juneteenth.

This poem came from a writing prompt series that I started on Instagram. Since launching this podcast I decided to move the various prompts over to this platform. Today I dive into the topic of love. The prompt was suggested by my friend Kyshira. She is an amazing woman who loves God and me :-). You can check out her catering business on Instagram @keeskitchenwfmf

Join in on the collaborative conversation on The Grace Journal Podcast. My friend Tia and I met during her last year of college and my first year as a missionary. She has since been a friend and inspiration for my life. Today we speak about our struggles with anxiety and allow our dialog to flow through our personalities and friendship. I hope you add to the conversation with your own oohs and aahhs as we share our personal experience on this matter. Please enjoy this episode. *All explicit language has been modified for the interest of the general public. 

In today's episode I put my mic where my mouth is and choose to be as vulnerable as I've promised myself and  God I would be. I know that from time to time there will be tough decisions to make regarding what I'm willing share. Talking about my family today is one for sure. In this episode I let you into my thoughts as I process how to do "family" in a way that is appropriate for my adulthood. I haven't reached a clear answer yet on how to do that. So if you choose to press play, understand that you'll be stepping into the middle of my thoughts. This means that what I am feeling may not match the emotions I have tomorrow or a year from now.  I hope you have enough grace for that as you enjoy today's episode. 

There is a whole lot more grace in the Kingdom of God than I ever realize. I no longer want to live as though I am helping God save me. It is all Him. Not me. Just Him. Perfection is an illusion. I know that now. Christ did not only die for our sin, but also for our self-righteousness (which is just a fancy way to say sin). Listen to this episode of The Grace Journal Podcast to discover why.

You are invited to take a trip down memory lane.  In today's episode you'll learn about how my love of writing was birthed.