Encouraging Moms Who Homeschool

 Whether you plan to begin the new homeschool year sometime in August or September, are a year-round homeschooler, or have a customized and unique schedule for your family, there are a handful of things you can do in July in preparation for the next stage of your family's homeschool. Let's get into it! 1. - Spend a little time decluttering / tidying things up . I know this is not the "fun" part of homeschooling, but as a 25-year homeschool mom, I learned the hard way that the clutter and the messiness of life made homeschooling so much more frustrating than it needed to be. So set a timer or use a Pomodoro app, grab some trash bags and some empty laundry baskets (for tossing stuff into that needs to go to another room or area of the house), and get busy. Clean out and clean up those spaces that have acquired all sorts of non-homeschool related odds and ends. If it doesn't belong there, put it somewhere else (in the room where it does belong, in the donation pile, ...

  When we find ourselves in a difficult season of life, whether it is a heavy moment that feels as if our world has come crashing down around us or a circumstance we have been enduring for an extended period, we need the tenacity and wherewithal to hang on and keep hanging on. But there is only one source I’ve found that provides me with what I truly need during life’s darkest, longest days. Deuteronomy 32:12 (KJV) says this: “ So the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him .” Time and again, during every single trying season in my life, this verse was true for me. The single source of my hope and my help was the Lord alone. The only guide I had, and the only guide I needed, was our good and loving God. Over the course of twenty-five years as a homeschooler, I’ve found myself up against a myriad of difficult circumstances. For example, my husband was deployed to the Middle East immediately after a very long two years of being away from home, which had been tr...

      Wondering how you can have some kind of ministry as a busy mom who is doing her best to keep her head above water? Let me share some ideas with you! Your kitchen table is the perfect place to do lots of hands-on, real-life ministry. It’s in your own home, so there’s no travel involved for you, and it’s already welcoming for others. If you can set out a plate of cookies (homemade or store bought) and brew a pot of coffee, open your Bible and study it alongside others, then you’ve got everything you need to start a “ kitchen table ministry ” in your own home.  Not sure what part of the Bible to study? Here are some good options:   Romans chapter 8 (lots of hope, plenty of promises to dig into, very encouraging but also challenging to help us grow in our faith).  Psalm 91 (an amazing psalm to study and to pray over yourselves and your loved ones - and I have a totally free audio-based Bible study on Psalm 91 for you at this link !).   John chapter...

 We are rolling up on summer, and for the homeschool mom, that can bring a lot of unstructured time and "bonus" chaos with all the kid's summer activities, vacations, time with extended family, neighborhood children out of school (and potentially playing in your yard or house), later nights for the kids, and in general a sense of "WHOOSH" as the days fly by but the messes seem to multiply. The homeschooling academic year feels like a lot, and that's because it is a lot. A lot of focus, a lot of planning and preparation, a lot of educational work, and maybe even a lot of structure. But the summer months, especially if you don't homeschool year-round, can feel so unstructured that the hectic pace of the school year seems chill compared to the chaotic pace of summer.  As a mom who raised five kids in a not-so-big house, homeschooling them for 25 years, I can honestly say that I learned a few things about the chaos of the summer months.  One of the most valu...

 You've got a sink full of dishes, a hamper overflowing with dirty laundry, no plan for tonight's dinner, the car is out of gas, and you forgot to take the trash to the curb for pickup. This is real life. And real life doesn't slow down for homeschool families. If anything, it compounds. Because when you and your kids are home all day, there are... MORE dishes in the sink, MORE meals to make, and MORE trash being generated every single day. If you're an overwhelmed mom, can I just say that I see you, I get you, and you are not a "bad" mom because you're an overwhelmed one. (Seriously - you're not a bad mom because you are experiencing overwhelm. I said it twice because somebody needs to hear it twice!) Here are three tips for when you feel behind: Don't raise your voice ... at yourself, internally. And don't grumble at yourself under your breath. It won't help anything, it won't change anything, and it will likely leave you feeling more...

      As a mom, and now as a grandma, I've been to the big Orlando theme parks 20+ times. And along the way, I've learned a few things about what you need (and what you don't need) when taking a vacation to the Disney and/or Universal parks in Florida. ~ Disclaimer: affiliate links are used in this post & I may earn a commission off of sales As a mom, and now as a grandma, I have been to all the big theme parks in Orlando more than 20 times. I have taken on the theme parks with babies, toddlers, preschoolers, elementary-aged kids, preteens and teens. I have even gone with our adult children and their spouses; we've taken our teens close friends. From 9 months old to about to graduate from college, our kids have been to Disney and Universal and SeaWorld many, many times. And now we are enjoying trips to sunny Orlando with our grandchildren. Some years I drove the entire 1,397 miles each way (honestly, when we had so-much-stuff to take for longer stays in Florida, dri...

 Loving God with your time. Is time truly of the essence? I think it is. Because where our minutes go, there our hours and our days go. How we spend our time is literally how we invest our time. (Read that again.) As mothers, if time really is our biggest investment opportunity, is there a way to get the best possible ROI on our investment?  Yes. The answer is absolutely yes. When we apply the words of Jesus from Matthew 26:36-39, we find our template for wisely investing the minutes that make up our days. Here are Jesus’ words from the New Living Translation: 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” 37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ [ a ] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ [ b ] 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” Is the Lord your God...