Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Homeschool Hump Day Encouragement

Some of us school year round. But others have taken the summer off and are now gearing up for the next school year. This week I want to encourage you to take time to evaluate your homeschooling needs for the upcoming year.

Did last year's curriculum work well?
Was there a curriculum you thought you might like to try?
Did your child struggle through a subject or curriculum this past school year?
Thinking about doing something different? Now is the time to step out and ask God to show you what will work best for your children!

Take more field trips, explore the area around your town, or take a tour of a local company in your area! There are many things to do that are educational. Sometimes, you just have to step out of the box!

What will your school year hold this year? Do you have plans to try something new? Share with us! You may be doing something someone else was thinking about!!


Have a blessed week!


Lyn~

Friday, July 22, 2016

Friday 'Fess Up

This week did not go as I had planned. How many of you feel the same way? I had planned to get so many things done, and I just didn't get them all done. My  husband, who is a truck driver, was delayed and had to stay over in Utah when he is usually home by Thursday night, so that really threw me out of whack! But I also think it's good to be caught off guard once in awhile.

If we become so accustomed to days going this way or that, we may miss a blessing in the process. We may simply go through the day, and eventually the whole week, almost on autopilot, missing the Lord's hand on our lives here and there. My confession this week is that I tried to pay more attention to the Lord working in my life this week than I normally do. Oh, sure. I notice His favor in finding a parking place a bit closer to the door of the store or stopping me at a red light when a driver runs a light and would have hit me. But I'm talking about those moments when you realize, "Wow! That was so God!"

Each week I pack my husband a lunch before he heads out on his route. That lunch is usually 2 sandwiches, and just enough for the work day coming up. In the winter, I do pack more. But if he gets held over for any reason, having to stay the night in a hotel, he just has those 2 sandwiches for up to 48 hours! Well, a few weeks ago, a friend gave my husband a gift card to a fast food restaurant. When my husband called me the morning he knew he was going to be gone longer, I immediately thought of him having just those two sandwiches. THEN, the Lord reminded me of the gift card! My husband had not one but two meals out of that while he was gone, making the longer drive easier.

I also experienced an opportunity to pray when I was hosting my weekly teen group at our church. None of the usual youth were there. But I was called into the pastor's office to pray with a dear friend. Had I not been there or had decided to leave early rather than staying for the full time, I would have missed God using me to pray for this woman!

If I had gone through the week as I normally do, attending meetings by rote, I might have missed God! Next time your week seems to be going a bit wonky, off whack or seemingly out of left field, remember, Mama, God has a plan!


Have a blessed weekend!!


Lyn~

Friday, July 15, 2016

Friday 'Fess Up

I find the summer to be a wonderful time of the year. I know, I know. "How can you possibly think that?! It's so hot out!" Well, for me, summer feels like a time to reboot my systems. Not just homeschooling (we DO school year round!) but my health, my exercise, my cleaning, and my relationship with the Lord. Often throughout the year, I get busy, too busy really, and I feel myself letting a devotion time slip here and there, miss my workouts or eat fast food on the go. I had a crazy busy week just last week and did a lot of that!

But summer is my most relaxed time and the time I can start making lists of things I need or want to accomplish. Even public school teachers use this time to rework their classrooms setting the room up in a more efficient manner than they had the year before (you didn't REALLY think school teachers were off ALL summer, did you?). It's a time of aiming to get back on track and to re-examine goals. And this is a great time to do a "One Word" check up!


My confession today is that I am getting back on track! Starting here and starting now, I'm not necessarily starting over, but I am starting to go!

What are you doing to get back on track? Or do you stay on track most of the time?

Please share! We'd love to hear!

Have a blessed weekend!!


Lyn~

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Homeschool Hump Day Encouragement

Daily devotions for kids are a wonderful way to start your homeschooling day. Have you ever thought about taking your family devotions on the road? Maybe you drive to the beach or walk to a park or walk through your neighborhood praying for neighbors. It's not about what you're studying as much as it is teaching your children the importance of prayer for our communities, state, and the nation.

Where do you do your family devotions? Have you ever taken your children to another venue or to pray for the neighborhood? What do your children think about praying for their neighbors?

We'd love to hear your experiences!

Have a blessed week!


Lyn~

Monday, July 11, 2016

It's Good!

Thank you for being so patient with me! Last week went by very quickly, and we had a wonderfully long weekend spending Independence Day with our son, daughter-in-law, and two of our grandsons! It was a memorable trip as we took the grandkids to Mount Rushmore, went out to lunch, took them to the South Dakota Air and Space Museum, and played at the park! Making memories is what the whole weekend was all about!

What we hadn't planned on was our van being hit and having to get it into the shop for repairs and going through the chaotic trouble of getting a rental van! WOW! That was certainly not how I envisioned our trip ending! But do you know that even in the things that we aren't expecting, God turns them around for our good?!

So while I'm a bit inconvenienced by having to drive a van other than my own, I know that there is some good that is going to come from this! I already praise God that we were able to drive home in spite of the dinged door!

Is there good you can find from a situation you recently went through? 


Have a blessed week!


Lyn~


Friday, July 1, 2016

Friday 'Fess Up

This holiday weekend has been on my mind. My husband and I are going to take or three youngest kids to Nebraska to visit our second oldest son, daughter-in-love, and our two grandsons. I have been so eager to see them since I know the babies are growing so fast. I haven't seen them in four months, even though we only live a few hours away. We have a special surprise for our three youngest children, too. And since they don't read my blog, I can safely let you know what that surprise is! We are taking the kids to Mount Rushmore...and we're bringing my grandsons with us!

I remember when I was a young child, I never took trips with my grandparents, although I always longed for that as I would listen to the stories of my classmates who had spent the summer with grandparents or took a trip somewhere with just their grandparents and not their parents. I always wanted to be able to say I had done that, too. But those times never came. I did go on a short road trip with my grandparents, my sister, and my mom to Disney World one year. We lived there and it was a mere three hour drive; not the lengthy trips I had for.

My own children have gone on trips a few hours away with my mom and stepdad, and I'm so glad they have those memories, especially since my stepdad passed away in 2006.

So my confession is that I want to do everything I can to make memories with my grandchildren, even at their young ages, so that they won't wonder what a trip with just the grandparents might have been like or wish they had spent more time with their grandparents.

My husband and I have determined that, with their parents permission, when each of our grandchildren turns 5 and again 10 years old, we will take them to Disney World! It's all about making memories and being there for them.

What will you do with your children and grandchildren to make memories?

Lyn~