Family
Encouragement for all stages of family life
Give Yourself a Gift Of Encouragement
(This post contains affiliate links. Please see our disclosure statement.) The time between New Year’s Day and Easter is the longest of the school year. My student teaching advisor told us this before sending us out to classrooms. (She also told us not to smile until Thanksgiving. But that’s another tale.) Sure enough. No matter
Thankful for a Learning Way of LIfe
“I hate school!” Only a couple months into our first year of homeschooling and the negative comments had started. These weren’t really much different than what I heard when my kids were in a traditional school. We struggled through that first year, dragging ourselves to summer break. I don’t tell you this to discourage you,
Have You Prayed For a Muslim Today?
The people of Ninevah are described as wicked. We aren’t told what the Ninevites did to deserve that description. The conditions must have been worse than Sodom and Gomorrah because there’s no indication there was even one righteous person. But God loved these folks enough to send the prophet Jonah with a proclamation of destruction
Practical preparedness list
September is National Preparedness Month. Often when talking about preparation, prepping, thoughts turn to be ready for a disaster of some kind. There are other ways that you can, and probably should, get ready. Back to school. September is the traditional return to school month, although many schools start in August now. Whether your child goes
Winter is coming: Are you ready?
It’s hard to think about fall and winter preparation when the temperatures are above 100 degrees. The fact is that in about six weeks, fall is here. Actually, all I want to do is think about staying cool. It is time for fall tasks though, which is part of our preparing for winter. This is
Parent Adult Children – Sibling Rivalry
“You don’t know how lucky you are.” Once again I had my three children lined up on the couch after another bout of sibling mayhem. “I would have given anything to have had a brother or sister. I don’t understand how you can be mean to each other. Your siblings are a gift.” The looks
Learning in the Dirt
Summertime is here. Yet many of us still want our children to continue learning. What better way to learn than getting our hands dirty? Dirty in the garden. A garden is full of many lessons from how a plant grows to cooking the harvest. Like so many good things, gardening can sound like one more thing
Let’s Get Dirty
Last night we were at a neighborhood bar-b-que and the children were running around enjoying being outdoors without adult intervention. As we were watching the joy of these children, maybe even wishing we could join in, a woman pointed and said, “Look at those boys. They’re are throwing dirt in the air. Why do boys
Play: Key to College Success
The other day my cat was stuck in a tree. He had no idea how to get out. How does that happen? He didn’t get to play in trees when he was a kitten. We lived in coyote country. Not just a few howls at night, I mean where coyotes wandered through the property during
Character Training: Get an Early Start
This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure statement for more details. Dr. Martin Luther King said, “Intelligence plus character — that is the goal of a true education.” Character does not consist of a single statement or a random act, it is those qualities and dispositions that we practice consistently—both good and bad.