In our mobile societies in America, we often relocate to new jobs, houses, cities, etc. We go home to visit parents and / or family once or maybe twice each year. In that few days or weeks, we try to fuel our tanks with something that will give us hope, strength, healing, encouragement, or maybe just a sense of normal. Sometimes the journey is helpful. Sometimes it opens up an abundance of questions that we may find are difficult to solve or resolve. Sometimes we make the trip with dread, simply feeling obligated to see the family. All in all, the journey is one we need to take for a variety of reasons.

For healing and strength, and to be what we can be in this life, we need to look back on the reality of what our childhood was with our adult eyes. We may need to ask some questions. We may need to seek some answers, or offer or ask for forgiveness or perhaps just reach a place where we don’t blame the generation before us for everything that is wrong in our lives.

Delaying the journey may keep us suspended in a state of feeling stuck and unable to move on or forward with life. This can manifest in many different ways: an overwhelming sense of discontentment, destructive relationships, overwork, alcohol or drug abuse, anxiety, overspending, anger, control and a repeated feeling of panic every time you’re faced with a similar situation that causes us to be fearful.

The reality is that in life we each have to make the “Prodigal” journey where we leave the nest and the comfort zone of what ever our childhood reality was and go out to make our mark on the world and meet our appointments with life. Our independence emerges in our teens as we try to discover just who we are and why we are here. This phase continues in our lives until we have worked through to establishing an intimate relationship and an individual faith in God.

Before we can master this phase, we must learn that the difficult things in our lives are there for a reason. They are for our growth, maturity and discovery of the path that leads us to the understanding of God’s great love for us.  The void we feel in our lives is one that can only be filled by a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, His Son. Nothing else will bring mental stability and well-being, or a sense of security and significance.

Applying this knowledge with the habit of connecting with others of like-minded faith, allows us to come to depend that God is always for us and for what is best for us and that He is never going to leave us. It is both thrilling and liberating to know that we will always be in His care and He will always work all the drama in our lives together in a tapestry that leads to the good that only He can provide. We trade our sorrow, emptiness, pain, and broken dreams, and He gives us perfect love, peace and a security that surpasses all understanding.

This journey to our sense of belonging (our true home) may last for weeks, months, years or decades. It depends solely on our coming to terms with the fact that we are: a)not God; b) not in control; and c)not left to fend for ourselves in a life with no purpose.

Once these facts are firmly established in our minds, we can begin the part of the journey that leads us to maturity, commitment, purpose and fulfillment.

The path is open to us all ~ the beginning of wisdom is a surrendering of all we ever thought we would or could be to a God who fashions us into all we could ever hope to be! Make your reservation to meet with Him soon and find the path that will bring you home …

Sheri Geyer is a Professional Life & Financial Coach, Mentor, Writer, Wife & Mom

To see how coaching can impact you and the things that keep you up at night, Click to Schedule online for a FREE Consultation

Here we are ~ the beginning of a new year filled with hope, some trepidation, the ability to start with a clean slate, and the opportunity to grow and learn.

I have pretty much eradicated the making of New Year’s Resolutions from my life. Not so much that I think it’s a bad thing, but I have found that it is an easy way for me to experience a defeat fairly early in the year and I’d like to avoid the disappointment. So, what I do is journal my thoughts so that I am able to aim my focus on some important areas in my life, namely relationships with those who are significant to me, assessing where I am in my work, writing, coaching etc., determining how I can be simpler, yet wiser in keeping the home fires burning and in maintaining balance in my life.

I like to review each of these important areas and give some time for reflection in how I can learn, grow and more positively impact each area by making better choices or simply continuing with some that are working well. This is a good time for a chat with one of my coaching friends or mentors to determine what I need to embrace, fine tune or remove. This has proven to be very helpful for me.

In the area of relationships, I like balance. Regardless of who I am spending time with my hubby, my darling daughters, my mom, other family members, friends, clients, neighbors etc., I seek to learn more about being fully present in the times I have with them. I do tend to need to pull in and have some solitude, so I want to balance that with giving them my full attention when I get the opportunity to spend time with them in person or on the phone.

I have an ongoing desire to be better organized especially in planning meals and keeping my home as efficient and enjoyable as possible. There is usually some little idea that I can incorporate on a regular basis to realize this desire.

I enjoy working from home and brainstorming ideas for areas to write about in my blog ~ thank you for reading! And I especially appreciate and encourage your comments. What do you like? What do you think about certain posts? What would you like to read about?

I want to spend time reflecting over my life and thinking on the many blessings I have been given. I’d also like to see how to manage the balance so that I can enjoy this new season of life. It is a new year of new beginnings. And I am excited! I hope that you are.

So, if you have ideas of areas in your life to assess to either update, adjust, or remove, I pray that you will spend some time alone with God and ask that He place the people and the things on your heart that He wants to impact through you.

So whatever your year-end tradition, allow your heart and mind to find a quiet place to rest, reflect and be refreshed. As you scan the horizon of 2012, remember that living a life of thankfulness for all God has done and will do, prepares you to face each challenge with an optimistic determination that it will work together for good and then as preparation for whatever is on the horizon for you.

I look forward to growing together in the new year! May yours be the best you could imagine!

Sheri Geyer is a Professional Life & Financial Coach, Mentor, Writer, Wife & Mom

To see how coaching can impact you and the things that keep you up at night, Click to Schedule online for a FREE Consultation

• Accurately assessing your financial position
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• Determining the path you need to take
• Providing support, encouragement and accountability

*Financial Crisis Coaching: If you are in the middle of a financial crisis (death of a spouse, divorce, job loss, or healthcare bills etc), and facing harassment from creditors, foreclosure or bankruptcy, we will explore your options and put some things in place so you can reduce your stress and navigate a game plan.

The Cost of Financial Coaching: Financial Coaching is an investment toward getting out of a “financially distressed” situation, and it empowers you to establish a plan to help you avoid the pitfalls that would lead you back. Many clients recoup the cost of coaching within the first 60 days in the form of budget accountability, credit settlements, and cost-cutting solutions.  Fees are based on a sliding scale dependent upon your financial situation.

What about filing Bankruptcy?  Bankruptcy is considered to be a major stress in life, right up with divorce and the death of a loved one. Most people also don’t realize that the average out-of-pocket cost to file bankruptcy is $2,000. For only a fraction of the price you can be coached through a tried and true process for taking control of your money and changing your life for the better.

What about Debt Consolidation and/or Credit Counseling?  These companies profit from charging monthly fees. They promise lower monthly payments and paying all debts with one payment. With their monthly fees as much as $40-$50 and an average timeframe for repaying debt at 4 years, that amounts to about $2000 in fees alone.

Here’s how it works:

• Schedule a complimentary consultation to discuss concerns
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Regardless of what your financial situation looks like, there is HOPE!

Schedule a complimentary consultation at SheriGeyer.com.

Our family lived fairly simply because we chose to live on one income and to homeschool. So each December we did two weeks of what we called “Christmas School”. We loved it. We made baskets for family and friends with pumpkin bread, brownies, and a variety of cookies. We enjoyed putting it together. My girls had special recipes like Tea Cookies and No Bake Cookies and Rice Crispy treats they loved making over and over.

I remember making fruit cake cookies with my Grandma. I liked getting to eat pecans that I didn’t have to shell. I remember how wonderful it smelled in our house.

Over the years, and with my mom’s never-ending zeal to learn new recipes, I learned how to make our own eggnog and many holiday items that have become my now “grown-up” traditions.

Totally different from my childhood tradition, every New Year’s Eve, I make cabbage rolls and au gratin potatoes for New Year’s Day. It has become such fun. We invite folks over who bring appetizers or something light and we enjoy.  Jeff looks forward to this day as much as Christmas!

So, to share a little about past Christmases, I’ve included a few ideas that might help you have a touch more simplicity and a little bridge to what past Christmases may have been like.  Enjoy!

1. Making gifts together is a wonderful way for family and friend bonding!
2. Baking gifts are a fun activity to do together. We can give cookies, cupcakes, brownies as gifts to family, it may make them fatter, but not clutter their homes with needless possessions.
3. Volunteering is a neat thing to do as a family or a group of friends. It may be to serve at a shelter or at your church helping out with the nursery for the many happenings that are going on and to help the many new folks who visit during the Christmas season.
4. Christmas songs. My girls and I have always had fun singing Christmas songs while in the car. If you are really into this, many assisted living and nursing homes could benefit from your group showing up to shed some holiday cheer.
5. Playing games. We love, love, love board games and other such games. We find that we can really connect when bringing out the games. Sometimes the competition can get a little intense though!
6. Make ornaments or decorations. Another fun thing to to shop thrift stores. You can find some very inexpensive little treasures for decoration.

Sure, buying gifts is a holiday tradition, but we can change up our traditions to align with the age and stage of life we are in now. Creating a new tradition or enhancing an old one is just another way of bridging the present to the past and making another warm and cozy memory to think back on in the future.

Whatever your tradition, allow the holidays to renew and refresh you. And get ready for an awesome new year!

Sheri Geyer is a Professional Life & Financial Coach, Mentor, Writer, Wife & Mom

The part that for many years seemed to cast a shadow over this wonderful time of celebration, was the fact that I had a nagging sense of obligation for what I “should” be doing or buying or being during this time. I longed to just love Christmas as I did when I was a child. I never worried if I bought all the right gifts or what foods to prepare or take to which events and parties. I wasn’t concerned that I would offend folks if I said “Merry Christmas” or if I mentioned a Christmas tree or whatever.

It seemed that for a number of years, I couldn’t truly relax and enjoy the season for fear of missing or overlooking something or someone or not being “relationally or culturally correct” in my greeting.

That all changed a few years back, when I decided that if what I loved about Christmas was so apparent to me as a child — I needed to revisit the sounds and sights of the season through childlike wonder. I began a journey to educate myself and those who may benefit on the reason for keeping a simple Christmas mindset.

I decided not to overcommit to what I would attend or to what I felt I needed to host. I tried to consider that if I was concerned about feelings of obligation around Christmas gift giving, maybe others felt the same. I decided if it was to be – it was up to me. So, I started communicating about the dissatisfaction I felt around feeling robbed of the true beauty and meaning of Christmas.

I began to do a lot less in the way of buying Christmas gifts and more considering gifts of service or things I could make. When I do shop, I try to buy from companies that promote items that benefit companies here in America or artisans within the context of fair trade that actually benefit villages globally to help them with education, healthcare and other needs and NOT countries that have forced child labor. I began to feel that Christmas giving had a sense of purpose and meaning that aligned well with the values I hold dear.

I asked for things that helped others give of themselves and not empty their wallets. I asked for things like a commitment to pray for me each month on the day of my birthdate (the 26th). I asked folks to give to someone in need (even themselves) as a gift in my honor. I offered to babysit or give a haircut or run an errand, not just at Christmas, but anytime during the year that I could be a blessing.

I want to be unique in the way I reach out where I live, work and play. What I have experienced in the way of friendships has been more valuable than anything I could have received in the way of material possessions. I feel good when I give or receive out of a sense of value and purpose.

I like to think that like the little drummer boy, the choices I’ve made for a simple Christmas have made and are making a lasting impact on my little corner of the world. They can in your little corner too.  Consider ways that you can reduce the stress and enjoy the season. Think of ways you can give all year round without busting the budget. You will be amazed at the ideas that you may come up with – and that others may be more than willing to get on board.

So, this season, rejoice in the CHRIST of Christmas and the gift that continues to give — a peace that passes all understanding. And you might find that “everyday can be just like Christmas!” 

Sheri Geyer is a Professional Life & Financial Coach, Mentor, Writer, Wife & Mom

Everyone was doing it all, so I wanted to look as good as everyone else. I had an extra drive and that was the fact that I worked at home so I felt to prove myself, more was required. Meals had to be from scratch. I had to use cloth diapers. No shortcuts! I didn’t want to do it all. Doing it all made me exhausted. Doing it all cost me relationships with those that mattered most to me. Doing it all caused me stress, loss of sleep and anger when my world was out of my control. My busyness was less productive and more chaotic that I would ever admit to.

Becoming less busy was not an accident, but a decision I made intentionally. I made the decision that a busy life wasn’t a life for me. Being a good person, loving wife, mother and friend…that was the life I wanted. Next to that, I wanted the freedom to do things that I was passionate about instead of things that weighed heavy on me. 
Until I purposefully left a life of chronic busyness, I couldn’t see how silly it really was.

The snare of busyness is that sometimes you are so busy, you can’t recognize you are in trouble. You are so overwhelmed that you can’t figure out how to change. You are so used to being busy that you create more work to organize your life so you can be even busier with the hopes of accomplishing more. And, for what? I was miserable and yet trying to create more misery. A catch-22.

You may be caught up in the busyness trap, if…

• You respond to “how are you?” with “crazy busy” or “busy but good”
• You spend time worrying about how busy you are going to be tomorrow
• You get angry when your spouse or others aren’t as busy as you
• You are up at night thinking about everything you didn’t get done
• You let people know how late you stay at work or how much you get done
• You zone out during conversations thinking about all you have to do
• You volunteer for things you don’t care about
• You spend time complaining about how overwhelmed you feel
• You make list after list to make sure you don’t forget anything
• You regularly eat in your car or on the go
• You use a phone in the car because “it’s the only time you have to talk”

If you are anything like me, you are busy because you want to be or because you don’t know how to be un-busy. You are busy out of misdirected guilt because you think if you do enough, you will be enough. When you decide that it is acceptable to live life your way, you can stop being busy and start doing things that matter. You can talk about your meaningful day instead of ranting about your busy schedule. Decide today that you are enough, even if you never do anything, accomplish anything or produce anything ever again. You are enough.

How to be less busy

• Be unproductive on purpose
• Limit the times you check email each day
• Delete email and toss mail that you don’t need to read
• Turn your phone and computer off when you aren’t working
• Turn everything off in the car (except the car)
• Put your iPad down
• Help someone
• Do less, be more
• Stop trying to keep up, measure up or catch up

While you may think that you are making sacrifices for others by being busy, you are likely sacrificing the same relationships you think you are saving. Get real and consider what is most important to you. Then do that first. The rest will wait.

Practice guarding your life from the thief of busyness…

Sheri Geyer is a Certified Life & Financial Coach, Mentor, Writer, Wife & Mom

To see how coaching can impact the things that keep you up at night, click to schedule online for a FREE phone consultation

Therefore, balance is more about a calm and stable default setting that allows us to make decisions based on personal values, be assertive and confident, have the ability to set healthy limits in life and work relationships so we can enjoy our R & R time and not carry mental homework around constantly, in a effort to work out all that does not work in our world.

Balance means that we are more likely to be intentional in the moment ~ and possibly more aware of the moments that take our breath away. As opposed to running around wondering if all the work and worry is reducing the number of breaths we have left to take.

Coaching often reveals that what people really want and mean when they are seeking a “life balance” is the calmness and security of being able to manage the things they treasure, i.e. feelings, thoughts, talents, attitudes, behavior, personal well-being, etc. so in effect, they are able to assertively confront their issues in life without a perpetual feeling of being overwhelmed.

For me, personally, it’s about owning my life and choosing who and what to allow into it. This has made what is most important in my life — my relationships — more peaceful, loving and respectful. I don’t want to stress over things I’m unable to change. I need the energy for the times when I do have stress … or, for the adventure I want to jump into with both feet!

And how is my life different today? I live, eat, write, think, work, and focus from a mindset that I choose.  When I choose to be hyper or to allow the adrenaline rush to take over ~ it’s when I’m set to take the extreme.

My default setting is a calm, safe and secure knowledge that God will never put more on or in my life that I am able to manage. He will provide the time, resources, support and accountability for all He has for me.  My job, is to routinely take the initiative to renew my mind with His truth and love, being strengthened by the relationships with those that support and encourage me, as well as the ones that have permission to hold me accountable to do what I say and finish what I start.

My life keeps getting better. Not because of more money or more stuff – but mostly because of more awareness around the true balance I have tapped into by learning that everyday holds challenges and successes ~ and that truly what I look for is what I will find, be it bad or good. As for me, I choose to live with the mantra, that indeed, Life is Good and I’m there, I’ve got the tee shirt to prove it!

Sheri Geyer is a Professional Life & Financial Coach, Mentor, Writer, Wife & Mom

Likeability alone is not enough. While it may land you the job, client, project or promotion you desire, without competence it can be short-lived. Competence without likeability is a combination that can lead to bitterness as you may observe others with less competence being promoted before you. The uncommon advantage results from a dynamic combination of likeability and personal competence and is sure to thrust you beyond others!

Whatever our assignment or purpose from God is, the capacity to honestly and openly manage well the temptations in our current level of achievement may well determine whether or not we receive an invitation to go up another level to the next assignment. I submit to you that like cream, people with the right combination of attitude and skill always rise to the top.

There is a process to promotion or achievement in life. It requires gaining experience and knowledge and learning from our mistakes. Accompanied with the attitude of remaining open to learning as we are gaining the skill sets along the way, we can emerge with a tenacity that gives us the courage to impact our sphere of influence like no other.

The beginning of true wisdom according to Scripture, is found in the fear [reverence] of the Lord. This wisdom can instruct us to learn that the ability to access greatness is through serving others and embracing life’s reversal’s and contradictions by holding fast to this “fear of the Lord” with a hope that He will guide us on the pathway to our own vantage point.

In leaning into this “wisdom”, we find God’s favor. With this favor, key people connect with us and are inclined to trust us. This ability comes from managing personal and interpersonal skills. Our personal skills are expressed through three characteristics: self-awareness, personal responsibility, and sustained motivation. Our interpersonal skills are characterized by empathy and rapport.

The path to success for us personally will involve mastering the ability to gain knowledge through our reproofs and corrections and to learn from mistakes so that we don’t have to repeat them in the future. We can never learn from an experience that we deny responsibility over. When we catch ourselves explaining or justifying ourselves, we are denying our personal responsibility and surrendering our personal power to overcome our ability to avoid mistakes we’ve made in the past. Sustained motivation is the result of the self-awareness we can develop around our choices and emotions. The moment we take personal responsibility for our situations and problems and redirect our emotions to more productive activities, is the moment that we step closer to the solutions we desire. If we are to attain significant victories in life we will need to master these three aspects of personal skills.

On the interpersonal level, we need wisdom to accurately read people and understand their personal struggles and the impact they may have on their lives. This is best defined as empathy or the power to understand what others are feeling.

The other critical interpersonal skill in the ability to build bridges of influence through trust. It is one thing to be able to read people’s feelings, and another to know how to create an environment so they feel safe and can trust you. We are powerless to influence others without the ability to build trust.

Respect accompanied by trust will equate to commitment. This is true in business, marriage, parenting and any other significant partnerships. Without respect people will not care what you say. Without trust they won’t listen, even if they believe what you are talking about. Without both respect and trust, gaining significant commitment in virtually an impossibility.

Our gifts and talents can command respect, but only our interpersonal skills can build trust. Trust building is the key to influencing others in our lives and having them come into alignment with our plan, purpose, project, assignment etc. To succeed in our fields and relationships, we need to not only be trustworthy, but to have the ability to master the skill of winning the trust of others.

When we build trust and thus, relationship, we develop the unique capacity to experience a far-reaching and positive influence. When we provide love and nurture to a child, he or she will contribute back to the world. Abuse that child and you foster a capacity for hate and destruction.

To recap: self-awareness allows us to step outside ourselves and consider how we look and sound to others. The moment we determine that what we are doing isn’t working, we can take the initiative to adjust it, thus, the essence of personal responsibility. And finally, the power of sustained motivation comes from consistent effort. [When the going gets tough, the tough keep going!]

Continue to observe how you interact with others always negotiating with yourself to develop the ability to read others well and establish empathy and a good rapport.

Explore your options and enjoy the journey by developing and aligning your gifting with the right role, right attitude and in the right environment and thereby, gaining the uncommon advantage of authentic relationships.
Sheri Geyer is a Certified Life & Financial Coach, Mentor, Writer, Wife & Mom

To see how coaching can impact the things that keep you up at night, click to schedule online for a FREE phone consultation