Strong Women Wednesday Featuring Monica Perkins

KE: What book are you reading right now?
MP: Will you love me by Cathy Glass

KE: Do you have a favorite song that has helped you through a tough time?
MP: Casting Crown’s Praise You In This Storm! 

KE: How do you define strength, and what does it look like in your life?
MP: I define strength by how you get up and the actions you take when we go trough trials and most hardest situations in life and family. As a family we have gone trough some rough patches brought on by tragedies. WE chose strength, as in, we got back up, continued moving forward, stayed together, forgive, and love unconditionally. I consider myself very strong with a very strong family.

KE: As you know, strong faith is the focus of my ministry/website. But, it can be hard to maintain a strong faith when life gets real messy. What do you do to keep your relationship with Jesus as strong as possible?
MP: Faith is what gives us our main purpose in life. Faith gives true happiness to us and keeps our family together. Faith is how we forgive unconditionally. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart. We attend christian meetings twice a week, study the bible as family unit, read a bible daily text, and learn new ways to talk to people about our ministry. When life gets messy we have to remember that in order to stay a faithful spiritual person, our faith, and what we learn about Jesus, is not what should be put to the side. Jesus was the perfect example of how we can handle anxieties of life during these critical times hard to deal with.

KE: Managing a household is hard. Whether you work full-time, stay home, are single, married or have 8 kids; women often feel like they are just surviving each day. What advice would you give to women to help them strengthen their family?
MP: I have felt like this many times. I can honestly say that being married, when I feel like things are unorganized I go directly to my husband and together as team everything gets done very quickly. Imagine having a huge amount of laundry or dishes that just seems like it never ends everyday. I would suggest having a support system, writing a schedule, and setting things up in the house where quick cleanups is all it takes to get things cleaned. Assign the children chores, everyone can help. As always, have fun, go out, the chores will always be there. A cheerful heart is good medicine.

KE: Do you have any stress management tips for us?
MP: Reading at night, with a diffuser on. Taking the time to just listen to your favorite music. If it’s a bad day take a break, sit down, and recuperate and get back up. You will feel accomplished and successful as opposed to focusing on feeling bad.

KE: Depending on your definition of strength, “strong body” can mean something different to everyone. What healthy habits do you incorporate into your daily schedule to help keep your body strong?
MP: There are weeks where I make groceries full of lean meats and loads and loads of veggies and fruits. On a Sunday evening I cook all the lean meats and veggies and store one serving meals in containers. It will last a week and we all eat clean and healthy. We drink healthy protein shakes and vitamins. We do weightlifting, biking, and running and walking outside with my new dog.

KE: What do you feel is the difference between relying on your own strength and relying on God’s strength?
MP: Having gone trough so many miscarriages, with the desire of having a family depressions set in badly. I didn’t care about anything, anybody, I lost all feeling. It was like I was drifting and floating trough time. Family was my biggest desire and the most important thing in my life. When I lost my baby I was shattered in pieces and it felt it was impossible to put myself together. It took a year, but I woke up one day and realized that I had to rely on God and my faith to get back up.

KE: Would you mind sharing something you have struggled with and telling us how you used God’s strength to get you through?
MP: One example would be being a foster and adoptive parent. After our certification and interviews we were clear that we wanted to adopt a daughter. The baby I lost was a boy and I thought it would hurt or be hard for me to adopt a son. The day finally came when we got the “call”. It was our worker calling us about a little boy who was two and needed parents to adopt him… Sometimes we think that we know what we want. God know us better. Man cannot direct his own step. Our answer was yes, and he is our son now.

KE: Do you have any tips for us about successful ways to manage your time more effectively?
MP: Making a schedule and sticking to it as much as possible. Don’t procrastinate, let’s just get things done. Use every minute of your valuable time.

KE: Do you have a favorite Bible verse you could share with us and could you explain what it means to you?
MP: Following Jesus example and learning everything possible about God.

 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

KE: If you could share one message with every woman who is willing to listen, what would it be?
MP: The most important thing is don’t forget to take of yourself. We get wrapped up often helping others and neglect ourselves. We have to be in good physical and spiritual health to be successful.

KE: Where do you feel like God is leading you next?
MP: I am on the way to becoming spiritually stronger and doing greater things in the ministry.

KE: Anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
MP: jerronlovesmonica@gmail.com

Thanks for sharing your heart with us Monica.  If you would like these posts in your inbox every week, sign up for my mailing list here. I would be grateful if you liked my Facebook page and helped to grow this community of strong women. 

In His Strength,

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