Encouraging Moms Who Homeschool

It's a rarity for me to blog about things like this...but in this unique situation, I'm going to go ahead and throw up a post about something I could use some help with! My husband & I lead our church's youth group, and we have a terrific group of young people!  Every other year the youth take a mission trip to Ensenada, Mexico. We have a sister church there, and it is a neat experience to work with them on a continuing basis. This summer from June 20-June 30, 26 people from our church (both students & adults) will make the trip to Mexico. However, expenses are high (such as gas being about $5/gallon in California!) and we still have a ways to go in order to meet our financial commitment. Would you mind praying for our youth group, and for the fundraisers we are currently involved in? The first one is a garage sale this weekend. Please pray that the kids do well & earn money toward this trip. The second one is a Chik-fil-A goodie bag that we are going ...

When I was given the opportunity to review the book These Are the Days of Elijah by R.T. Kendall, I was thinking this book would be primarily about prayer. Based on James 5:17-18 ( Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years) I just thought I could grow in my prayer life by reading this book. And I was right, but I was also wrong. These Are the Days of Elijah is a book chock-full of so much wisdom and insight, and gave me pause so often while reading it, that I must say I am very glad it isn't a book simply about prayer.  R.T. Kendall's work is a study of the life of Elijah, and many of his insights, as well as their application to our daily walk with the Lord, are profound. I really would love to throw a bunch of quotes your way, straight out of the book, but more than that I would really, really love for you to read this book! It's one that I know I will read ...

May is a month filled with graduations, weddings, celebrations of all shapes & sizes that laud our accomplishments and lay wide the path to a prosperous future. All that sounds nice enough, but it is a bit humanistic at it's core.  And as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, I hope to encourage you in a non-humanistic way through this blog post :) As homeschooling mothers, we don't usually receive the same kind of accolades that public and private school educators get. There aren't any end-of-the-school-year teacher appreciation gifts brought to us, no notes from thankful parents gushing about the impact we've had on their child's life, no fresh-baked cookies waiting for us in the teacher's lounge. (Now, let me say that I know a few teachers & believe me, it's more "normal" to hear from an angry parent than a thankful one - there are plenty of downsides to their profession that we never have to deal with.) Those of us who opt to educate o...

Are you a mom? Are you a Christian mom? Are you a mom who prays for your kids ~or a mom who worries she doesn't pray for her kids enough? If you can answer "Yup" to any or all of the above, the book Prayer Warrior Mom by Marla Alupoaicei is a book you need on your nightstand. Divided nicely into 15 easy-to-read, themed chapters, Prayer Warrior Mom is a thoroughly encouraging and heart impacting book. If you read it, you will be moved to pray for your children in specific, powerful ways. And if you're praying for your children, well, then God will begin to do things in their lives that would not happen otherwise. It is both a privilege and a serious responsibility to raise up children in the way they should go. If we're honest, we can all admit that we need help and encouragement to faithfully complete our task as moms. Buying this book will help you fulfill your God-given call to prayer daily, fervently for your kids. I have long been a praying mom, a...

This school year is drawing to a close for our family ~ we have completed 178 academic days and have completely finished almost every single subject, literally "closing the books" on the 2012-13 year. My daughter graduates in TEN DAYS, and in a few short months she will head off to Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. How strange it will be to have two kids in college (my son will be a junior at Wheaton College next year), with only three children still at home!! If you're wondering whether or not the old adage about the days being long but the years being short is true, well, I can tell you that it is indeed true. Very true. Where does the time go? As I was considering what the last five years of homeschooling will look like for me, the Lord showed me a verse from His Word that is now my "life verse" for these last five years.      ~ Isaiah 65:23 says "They will not labor in vain, nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune, for they will be a p...

Most people recognize the name Darlene Zschech as the worship leader from Australia who penned the song " Shout to the Lord ". So I was very interested in reading the devotional book Revealing Jesus ~ after all, someone who has such a tremendous heart for the Lord (as revealed in her worship music) probably has some profound things to share in a daily devotional. I wasn't disappointed. Revealing Jesus takes the reader day-by-day on a journey to greater depth and intimacy with the Lord. Each month begins with a quote taken from the lyrics of a worship song, and the devotionals build one upon another. However, you could easily pick this book up in, say, the middle of June and be challenged to grow in your faith just as much as if you began reading it on the first of January. Starting with a Bible verse and ending with a prayer, each day's reading spurs the reader on toward love and good works, encouraging with truth and forthrightness that leave you thinkin...

It seems that the more I *hope* to blog, the faster the days of the month fly by!  While I'm sure this particular phenomena never happens to anyone but me, I'm going to go ahead and write a post about it...if only so that I can come back and read it later when yet another month blows right by me! Having a daughter who is a senior this year has kept my focus on our homeschool. She will be the second of our five children to graduate, and I'm working hard to make sure I enjoy the time I have with her before she heads off to college in the fall. Making plans for her graduation reception, gathering things she'll need to take with her in the fall, and generally just doing what needs to get done have kept me busy at home. Busy enough that blogging has taken a bit of a back seat. There truly are seasons in life for everything, and I am in a season that requires more time spent homeschooling and less time blogging. How about you? What type of season are you in right now? ...

Psalm 103:13 ~ As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. What a power-packed verse that teaches us how to parent with the heart and attitude of God! Our perfect Father in heaven is compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. We will never be as loving, as patient, as compassionate as Almighty God, but by trusting Him to work in and through us, we can most assuredly be compassionate parents. You can find a never-ending supply of parenting books at your local bookstore, library or at Amazon, all of which have pages loaded with good advice. I don't discourage anyone from studying to become a better parent! I simply encourage my fellow homeschool moms to filter everything they read through God's Word. Then, and only then, are we able to know what His good and perfect and pleasing will is for us as parents. The above verse teaches us that a heart of compassion is God's very nature, His character. We can count on...

This is the month we celebrate love, watch for a groundhog's shadow, and place more focus on black history. All great things to occupy the short but dreary winter month of February. But in our homeschool, I don't like to limit the study of black history to one month of the year. It really is simple to incorporate black history (or the study of Native Americans, those of Asian descent, or any other race for that matter) into your normal homeschool routine. As a woman of Irish ethnicity, I find it important to openly and honestly discuss the good, bad, and ugly of my family history ~ even if some of the details aren't all that flattering to the Irish as a whole. And as an Irish woman who has studied the life of her people during the dark days of Queen Victoria's rule, I have found my heart to be very tender toward those who have struggled to find their place in this world, no matter their race. Whenever we study history, or read literature with a "real life" s...

Homespun School is an online learning site that offers a variety of options, including literature, history and web design. My daughter, who is in the 9th grade, took their 6-week Digital Learning course. I could not be more pleased with the end result! The Digital Learning course teaches via hands-on student work. Over the course of six weeks, students create a digital portfolio (which can be improved upon if the Digi-Designs course is taken at a later time) and covers website building basics, creating bumper stickers, embed codes, Web 2.0, and a fun online shopping spree (using imaginary money, of course!) Digital Learning is described as a "foundational course to help get you the web-savvy you need" ~ and it really does live up to this promise. Classes are held in an online classroom at Edmodo, which is a safe, members-only site. No one outside the class with have contact with your child. Parents are provided with access to the classroom, with one exception; they a...