Christian Home School Hub

Self-sufficient, responsible, and able to meet deadlines are a few of the qualities I strive to instill in my children while homeschooling as well as in other areas of their lives.  One way to help in accomplishing this is by teaching independent homeschool learning.  Let me show you how it works for us and how you might want to try it in your homeschool.   Continue reading . . .

Blessings,

Angie McFarren

H.O.P.E. Home School Consulting

Recently, my husband and I made the transition to having an empty nest. We began raising children back in 1989 with the birth of our son. For the past 24 years, we've been co-laboring on the process of bringing up children who love, honour, and serve God. We also made sure that they were prepared to become productive adults who could take care of themselves. We felt strongly that God had called us to homeschool our children and so we did so - all the way through.

When my son was born, my mother-in-law gave me some very wise advice. She told me to remind myself every day that my child did not belong to me and that one day he would leave home. She pointed out that having a child actually become an independent adult meant that you had done your job as parents. It was to be celebrated, not mourned. I followed this advice faithfully when our son moved out on his own at age 21 in October of 2010 and then one month later when our daughter got married and (of course) moved out to live with our son-in-law.

I had this whole "learn 'em and launch 'em" thing down pat! Or so I thought. Fast-forward to this year. Spring, to be exact. My husband and I took an extended trip to Florida in anticipation of a move to that state in the summer of 2014. By then, our youngest child would be 20 years old and definitely ready to be out on her own just like her brother and sister. Of course, we were anxious to move to Florida sooner if possible, but more than willing to wait if need be.

Imagine our surprise when we returned home on March 25th to the news that a female friend had asked our daughter to share an apartment with her! Our daughter had just had three weeks on her own here at home and realized that she enjoyed adulthood and being self-sufficient A LOT. She was a little nervous (as many children are) about the idea of moving out on her own, but she "did the math" and realized it could be done. She also felt strongly that it was time. The final decision was made in early April and just one short month later, we helped her move into her new place (which is very cute, I might add).

The following morning was a Sunday. I found myself feeling very sentimental. Every thought was about how I could no longer go back and experience the past with my children. It was gone and I could not get it back. I am not speaking here about regretting anything about the past. Our parenting experience, while hard, was one of the best experiences we've ever had in our lives! No, I am talking about the thoughts like:

"I miss my son as a baby."

"I really miss waking up to my daughter playing worship music on her guitar."

"I miss the smiling face of my youngest greeting me every morning. "

"I wish they didn't grow up so fast."

I'm sure many of you know exactly what I mean. We lament and cry over our child's milestones because we know they will never come again. We grieve for the time that is past that we cannot go back to. We are sad at the growth of our children. And that's what we're supposed to do, right?

I thought so. And then GOD SPOKE. My husband was teaching a parenting study the following Monday and happened to be reading about the children of Israel complaining about their current circumstances and wanting to go back to Egypt. As I listened to him read, I heard God clearly say, "When you grieve over the passage of time and events in the lives of your children, you are being just like the children of Israel. You're not happy and content in the current place/season in life I've called you to. No, instead, you're lamenting about how great things were in the past and thus how bad things are now."

WOW! That was a lightning bolt from heaven for me! I quickly realized that when we spend our time lamenting the things that are past, we are missing out on what God has for our present and future.

Now, just to clarify, this does not mean that we can never think about the past. On the contrary, God has called us to remember the past and teach our children about it. But, what we're supposed to be doing is something like this:

"Remember when you were ten and got your leg stuck in between the pool and the deck? Remember how God intervened and helped Mom and your brother to move the heavy wooden deck to free you? Remember how gracious God was to protect you from any broken bones or serious injury?"

Or

"Remember how you used to organize and keep track of all your LEGOS by color? God sure gave you an amazing skill or organization from even a young age. And you continued to use that skill to serve him in many ways."

Or

"Remember that mission trip you took to Romania when you were only 15? Mom did not breathe the entire week, but her prayer life certainly got a lot stronger! It was pretty cool to see God's hand working in other nations, wasn't it?"

You can ask my children. This is not something I've done in the past. BUT, it is something I've determined to do in the future. No more mourning over where we've been and what is past. No more crying over the fact that time is passing and that children grow up. No more wishing I was not where God has me currently.

Instead, I will rejoice over each milestone knowing that God has called me to the here and now. I will see the passage of time as the chance to celebrate the events that God has brought us to and through. There may be tears, but I have purposed that they will be TEARS OF JOY and not tears of sadness.

How about you? Will you be happy and content in the here and now that God has placed you in or will you spend your time wishing you could go back to something that is past?

Sunny, Cloudy, Stormy, and Foggy

Check out some of my favorite posts near the end of the post.

My post last week reminded me about this teaching I heard at a Christian Women’s conference.

In her book Help! I’m Laughing and I Can’t Get Up, Liz Curtis Higgs tells about what she calls, The Four Humor Personalities.

They are, and I quote:

“Sunny – Fun-loving, people orientated, enthusiastic, and energetic, the Sunny soul loves life and enjoys being center stage, but hates getting organized, often arrives late, and never remembers names! Sunnies laugh no matter what the weather. Of those surveyed, 32 percent shone like the sun.

Cloudy - Serious, purposeful, logical, and neat, the Cloudy person is conscientious, thoughtful, and altogether wonderful-as long as you don’t mind having a moody perfectionist in your midst. Cloudies are saving their laughs for a rainy day. Among our contributors, 28 percent are not convinced every cloud has a silver lining.

Stormy – The born leader of the bunch, the stormy is part hard-working visionary who gets things done and keeps things moving, someone who isn’t too difficult to get along with, as long as you do it their way! Stormies laugh wherever and whenever they feel like it.

Foggy – Everybody’s friend, the peace-loving Foggy would rather watch then get involved, is a great listener and mediator, and has a dry sense of humor-when they’re not being a wet blanket! As laughers go Fogies are great smilers. Because they’re so quiet, you might not notice the 17 percent among those surveyed who are in a fog.”

Our family has had hours of fun and laughter discussing this topic. Try it – it would be a fun school project to try to determining each person’s personality type.

You really need to read the entire book to get all that she has to say about these humor types. I hope this will just make you want more – if so you can purchase her book Help! I’m Laughing and I Can’t Get Up on Amazon.

Let’s make some room for laughter in our homes and schools.

Now for a few of my favorite posts from this week:

Jacqueline at Deep Roots at Home shares Why Have We Stopped Protecting Our Daughters? 

Tyanne at Visionary Womanhood shares about A Complicated Relationship: Honoring your Parents in Adulthood

Ann VosKamp shares at A Holy Experience shares So God Made A Mother

Finding Joy and Laughter in the Journey,

Phyllis

I would love to have the opportunity to keep in touch with you. Please sign up to be notified of new entries and to receive my Free E-zine. (Your address will not be shared)

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Phyllis Sather

Proclaiming God's Faithfulness at:

http://www.Phyllis-Sather.com

Contact me

© 2013 Phyllis Sather

All rights reserved

Sometimes I link to:

Check out my Link Up page for other places I may link to during the week

By Shelley Hitz and contributing authors

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About the Book, Body Image Lies Women Believe:

• Are you insecure about your looks?
• Have you ever compared yourself to someone else and found yourself wanting?
• Do complements or put downs determine the image you have of your beauty?

Real Stories of Overcoming Body Image Lies Women Believe with God's Truth

Throughout this book, Christian women share their stories of how they have struggled with body image lies and a distorted view of themselves. However, each of their stories also contains hope - the hope of replacing these lies with God's truth. Our prayer for you is that you find encouragement within these pages and allow Christ to transform you with His truth.

We Are Each Created Unique

God has created each one of us with unique abilities, unique talents and a unique personality. As women we are influencers and God has given us that role and our beauty to share with others. Yet so often we settle for a counterfeit. The enemy has counterfeited our idea of beauty, convincing us to share our beauty with the world in a distorted way. Today that often means that we see our beauty as what we look like on the outside.

What Lies Have You Been Believing?

Join us for the journey of replacing body image lies with truth from God's Word.

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Shelley Hitz

Shelley Hitz is an award-winning and international best-selling author. Her openness and vulnerability as she shares her own story of hope and healing through her books will inspire and encourage you.

Shelley has been ministering alongside her husband, CJ, since 1998. They currently travel and speak to teens and adults around the country. Shelley's main passion is to share God's truth and the freedom in Christ she has found with others. She does this through her books, websites and speaking engagements.

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Finding Joy in the Journey,

Phyllis

I would love to have the opportunity to keep in touch with you. Please sign up to be notified of new entries and to receive my Free E-zine. (Your address will not be shared)

Please sign up and receive your free copy of Dan's Doodles I

Phyllis Sather

Proclaiming God's Faithfulness at:

http://www.Phyllis-Sather.com

Contact me

© 2013 Phyllis Sather

All rights reserved

Ways to Save Money Before You Buy Homeschool Curriculum

Homeschooling your children does not require purchasing hundreds of dollars worth of school materials.  There are ways to save money before you buy homeschool curriculum. Let me share a few money saving tips before you make any purchases.  Continue reading... 

Blessings,

H.O.P.E. Home School Consulting

I recently read this description of people:

"Drifters just go with the flow, pushed this way and that by the wind and waves of circumstances. They look around and say, ‘Whatever. It's all good.'
Surfers ride the waves, always looking for the next big thing.

Drowners stay in the center of a storm. Rescue them and they'll find another crisis and cry, ‘Help me, save me, I don't know what I'm going to do.'
But Sailors counteract the winds and waves of circumstance by rigging sails and twisting rudders.

But the sailor cannot navigate without an immovable object, a fixed point, a non-negotiable that is unaffected by circumstances. Without this guiding light there is nothing for us on life's ocean but to drift, surf, or drown." Mike Metzger

Though I hate to admit it, I’ve found myself being each one of these types at different times of my life – sometimes at different times of the day. I’m sure you can recognize these traits in yourself, your friends, and your children, right? But the Lord wants us to be sailors – and to choose Him as our immovable object, fixed point, and a non-negotiable that is unaffected by circumstances.

I plan to use this to help my children and I see what path we are on so that we can redirect ourselves to our Savior.

His Word bears this out:
Ephesians 4:14 KJV - That we [henceforth] be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, [and] cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV - But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

James 1:23 NKJV - For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.

Anyone ready for sailing?

Here are some articles I enjoyed this week:
Two Choices Every Mother Faces Daily

See my article "Waiting for Mr. Forever" in the new issue of Eternal Encouragement.

Mother Like a Farmer

I hope you enjoy them too.
Finding Joy in the Journey,

Phyllis

I would love to have the opportunity to keep in touch with you. Please sign up to be notified of new entries and to receive my Free E-zine. (Your address will not be shared)

Please sign up and receive your free copy of Dan's Doodles I http://phyllis-sather.com/?page_id=198
Phyllis Sather
Proclaiming God's Faithfulness at:
http://www.Phyllis-Sather.com

Contact me Contact me

© 2013 Phyllis Sather
All rights reserved

Fun Fridays

Introduction

Do you reserve one day a week for special activities?  When my children were much younger we had what we called Fun Fridays.  Over time those special days became fewer and fewer.  It might have been because their studies became more involved and required more time to complete.  Even though things are much different now, they still deserve a special day.  I have decided we need to reinstate our Fun Fridays.  Continue reading...

Blessings,

Welcome to Christian Author Interviews. Enjoy our interview with Richard Blackaby in this episode. Listen in via the video or audio and share your thoughts in the comments. Don’t forget to enter the giveaway below and share this interview with your friends!

Listen to the audio here:

About Richard Blackaby

Dr. Richard Blackaby is the president of Blackaby Ministries International where he works with his father Henry and brother Tom. He is an author and a popular international speaker. Richard is married to Lisa and they have three amazing children: Mike, Daniel, and Carrie. Richard has a Ph.D. in history. He loves reading biographies and hockey. He works with leaders in the home, church, and business community, helping them develop their leadership to higher levels. Richard also co-authored the revision of "Experiencing God" and speaks often in churches and to Christian organizations.

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I'm reading one of this author's books Experiencing God Day-By-Day and it is tremendous. This is the first book of his that I've read and I'm enjoying it immensely. Be sure to enter the giveaway.

Finding Joy in the Journey,

Phyllis

I would love to have the opportunity to keep in touch with you. Please sign up to be notified of new entries and to receive my Free E-zine. (Your address will not be shared)

Please sign up and receive your free copy of Dan's Doodles I  http://phyllis-sather.com/?page_id=198

Phyllis Sather

Proclaiming God's Faithfulness at:

http://www.Phyllis-Sather.com

Contact me    Contact me

© 2013 Phyllis Sather

All rights reserved