Guest Blog over at Blissful Wife Ministries

Ever wonder about your qualifications to "teach" your children at home? Are you considering homeschooling? Then my guest blog is a must-read for you!!!


http://www.blissfulwife.com/2012/08/guest-post-am-i-qualified-to-homeschool-my-children.html

What would happen if anything COULD happen...?

There was a song we used to sing in elementary school that said something like, “What would happen if anything could happen, the impossible could happen, every single day…” The interesting thing is that when we put our faith, hope and trust in God the Father, the impossible can happen every.single.day!!! Our days can be stretched and be more full as we homeschool our children. Our finances can go further than we ever could see that they would. Our families can avoid sickness and disease. Divine appointments and times of sharing the Lord with others can increase more and more. Our specific calling in the Kingdom can be made more real, clearer, and more evident every day. To gain a deeper understanding of just what “impossible” is, I looked it up in the Strong’s Concordance. There it says the word means: “1) impossible a) not to have strength, power, or ability, to be weak b) cannot be done, to be impossible”

Additionally, at Dictionary.com the meaning is similar: im•pos•si•ble   adjective 1. not possible; unable to be, exist, happen, etc. 2. unable to be done, performed, effected, etc.: an impossible assignment. 3. incapable of being true, as a rumor. 4. not to be done, endured, etc., with any degree of reason or propriety: an impossible situation. 5. utterly impracticable: an impossible plan. The good news for believers and those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior is that “nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). The Bible is a living history book of events where the impossible occurred, and those things haven’t passed away; they’re for today, too!

The promotion of Joseph from being a prisoner in jail to Pharaoh’s right hand man probably looked like an impossibility, especially for Joseph. Esther being chosen for the wife of the King might have seemed impossible, especially because she was a Jew. Being thrown in a fiery furnace or a lion’s den and walking out might have seemed impossible for those tossed in. A boy killing a giant with just one stone and a slingshot probably looked impossible. We know it looked impossible to the army standing behind the boy, but David was up for the challenge because he knew God was with him. There are many more examples of great men and women of God overcoming impossibility, and those stories were real. The same things can happen to us, too! The Lord wants us to trust Him fully so that we no longer look at things as possible or impossible. He wants us to see all things as possible with Him!! May you have a blessed week!!!

Getting the Vision

Have you ever had the thought, "I wish I could just do what I want to do (for work, as a career, to support my family, etc.)?"  Why aren't you doing what you want already?  The answer could be that it's because you can't see yourself doing that yet.  You aren't doing it in faith in your everyday life, so it's not real to you but rather a distant dream and hope of what you think you'd like to be doing. 
Think about what you would like to do.  The kind of career you would like to be doing, the work you would do, the personal interaction, whether you're the boss or work for someone, etc.  Now, write or record in some manner your ideal day.  What does that look like to you.  Do you go to meetings?  Sit behind a desk?  Work from home?  Is there an office or is your car your office?  Do you help people or offer services?  When does your day begin?  When does it end?  What is your ideal location for what you want to be doing?  And on and on we could go with this.  Let your mind and heart create your ideal day.  Ask the Lord to show you what HIS role in your day is, too.
Now, what does your ideal WEEK look like?  That's a little more difficult to see, isn't it?  But I encourage you to write it all down in as much detail as you possibly can, and see it!  Habakkuk 2:2 says, "The the Lord answered me and said 'Write the vision and make it plain on tablts, the he may run who reads it. (NKJV)'"  We've been discussing vision boards and one thing I want to emphasize is that these are to catch the Lord's vision for your life,; these baords and visions are not wishes and things we HOPE happen in our lives.  WE need to take a hold of what the Lord has given us in gifts, talents and abilities and learn and understand how HE wants us to use them! 
I would also encourage you to write your three highest expectations from the Lord this year.  They may include finances, relationships, jobs--ANYTHING!  And pray and seek the Lord in these things.  These things are most likely connected to the things on your vision board, too.  Wonder why?  Because God is guiding you on the path He created for you!  He knew the path HE had planned, but He also knew the paths we would take that didn't align with His path.  The vision is a way to keep you focused on HIS path and not lose sight of the fact that HE is the author and finisher of our faith!

I encourage you to create your vision boards, write down your ideal day and week, and ask the Lord how it all fits together!!

Have a blessed week!!

Encourage and Empower Link-Up

Post a link to your blog here to help encourage, empower and build up our sisters in the Lord!!

Raspberry Truffle Tart

 I just HAD to share this amazing raspberry truffle tart from Candace Cameron Bure of Roo Mag! 
Soo yummy, and for those on a carb-free diet, the crust can be eliminated.  If you make this recipe, let me know how YOU like it...

Raspberry Truffle Tart

When a Teacher Asks...

I am taking classes to earn my Master's degree in Teaching and Learning. Recently, a professor commented on my decision to homeschool my children:
"Lyn, your educational leadership was essential as a homeschooing parent! I would love to know more about your decision to homeschool. What were the benefits and challenges? What guidance would you give others considering homeschooling? Thanks for sharing..."

This was my reply:


"Our decision to homeschool was made based on a few factors affecting our oldest son. He was in first grade and was reading at a fifth grade level and they had already used all the reading textbooks they could for him. He also had completed math through about third grade at this point. Because he would finish his work quickly, he became disruptive and the teacher simply did not know what else she could do with him. (I should mention here that we had homeschooled him from age four until he was 6 and entered first grade. When I was pregnant with my 4th and expecting her at the beginning of the school year, I thought it would be easier to send our oldest two sons to public school instead of homeschooling them. I was SO wrong!)
He finished out the school year and the following year we brought our sons home to be educated at the pace and academic levels that worked best for them.
The biggest benefits were both academic and personal. As each of our children started their schooling, we were able to progress them in the academic areas in which they excelled and work more remedially in areas that needed improvement. Additionally, we were able to take family vacations during the school year when other parents would keep their children in school and enjoyed less crowded trips to the zoo, museum and our fav out-of-state destination--Disney World!
Some of the challenges we faced were not with actually schooling our children, but rather with the reactions of our family who were not so sure about this homeschooling "thing"! It became a matter of proving ourselves worthy of teaching our own children and at times I was incredibly frustrated that they would challenge me in such a manner. As of now, I have graduated three students (one more has earned all her credits, but has chosen to not graduate yet so she can take classes at our supplemental school: Broomfield Options, through Aurora Public Schools!); one is serving his 5th year in the US Navy, one finished his automotive technician degree at FRCC, and one is attending FRCC to complete an Associate's degree. We participate in the supplemental school, so socialization (something OFTEN questioned of homeschooling families!) is not a concern as they attend regular classes with like-minded teachers.
I think the guidance and advice I would give to those contemplating homeschooling is to try it out over the summer. Many times, parents are worried that if they school their children for a year and they screw up, miss deadlines, don't finish work or workbooks, etc. they will mess their children up for life. This is simply not true! BUT, for those who desire a "test drive" I suggested a schooling trial over the summer. We school year-round so that we do not encounter any of the issues the public school students face when returning to school after a 3-month hiatus! Most of the first quarter is spent teaching students the information that they learned in the fourth quarter of the previous year anyway. We simply eliminate that long break, opting instead for 2-3 week breaks throughout the school year. I also suggest praying about the responsibility of schooling your own children. It's a big task and if your heart isn't in it, it will be a struggle, slow-going and challenging at best."

While challenges are nothing new to homeschoolers, we can also rely on those the Lord has put in our path to mentor and encourage us. We can be the mentor to a new homeschooling family or to be the voice of encouragement to a mom who is struggling to keep her house clean, her kids on task for school, the dishes washed, the laundry neatly folded and put away, and dinner ready every night. WE might have the one word that mom needed to hear today! WE might be that smile that says, "It's going to be okay!" WE may be the difference in a mom continuing to homeschool her children!!

Don't give up! Even TEACHERS are aware of the value of home education!!!

Something new on the horizon...

There are people who embrace change and thrive when change occurs.
There are people who fight change and struggle against it with everything in them. There are people who are afraid of change, but stand up and say, "I'm willing." I believe I fall into the latter category!
This is an exciting time for me as I step out and trust the Lord in a new avenue of my life, in my blog, and with my calling.
While I am not ready to let you all know the extent of all the details, I will let you in on this new change with my blog. I am going to begin creating podcasts!! I will be encouraging, edifying and building us up in our walk with the Lord and touching on my homeschooling journey over the past 18 years. I am excited to embark on this new path and with the help of my very talented brother-in-law helping me record, we will kick off these podcasts by the beginning of June!!
Keep me in your prayers and know that the plans the Lord has for you are for good and not evil; to prosper you, and give you a hope, a future and an expected end! HE has been mindful of you and is calling you to a higher, better, deeper place of knowing Him and walking in ALL that He has for you!!!!