Mothers .........Be Encouraged

In my inbox this morning was a wonderful message of encouragement from Nancy Campbell of Above Rubies - a message I felt led to share with you here. If you are not familiar with this ministry - I would strongly suggest that you visit their site and look at the wealth of information and resources they offer. This ministry has been an enormous blessing to me in the years that I have been home with Wonder Boy and learning to follow and answer the call that God has placed in my heart. Above Rubies publishes a wonderful magazine which you can request via their website as well - it is free and you can request additonal copies to share with others - I cannot tell you how I delight in a new issue and how many times I return to old ones to look up something I have read or refer back to for one reason or another.

HOLD ON TO YOUR CROWN

By Nancy Campbell

Revelation 3:11, "Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown."

When God appeared to Moses as I AM THAT I AM out in the backside of the desert, He commissioned him to deliver the Hebrews from their slavery in Egypt . But Moses was fearful to take on such a task. He had no strength of his own to accomplish it. God then said to him, "What is that in thine hand, Moses?" (Exodus 4:2).

What was in his hand? A shepherd's rod. Nothing fancy. Nothing powerful. Just a simple rod he used each day to guide, prod and protect his flock. God took that plain shepherd's rod and made it a mighty weapon in Moses' hand. Whenever he stretched forth the rod mighty miracles happened. It released the plagues upon the Egyptians. It showed forth God's mighty power.

Sometimes you wonder what you are doing in your home. Your friends have high-powered careers and are raking in the money. You are trying to make ends meet from day to day. Your family remind you that you are wasting your life and your education.

But what is in your hand? It is the rod of motherhood. It may look insignificant, as Moses' rod did, but it wields a mighty power. Motherhood is the most powerful career in the nation. As a mother, you determine the course of the nation. You are in God's hands preparing your children for the purposes God has laid out for them before the foundation of the world. This is a top notch job. It is high powered!

Mothering is your crown. It has been invested in you by God himself. It is your anointing of womanhood. It is your authority. Do not take off your beautiful crown of motherhood to allow someone else to mother the children God has given you. Never let your crown go. Hold on to it. Lift your head high and be proud of your divine calling.

You may be going through circumstances that cause you to feel like giving up. You feel an utter failure. This mothering business is not working out. Your children are giving you heartache. Do not give up. Do not take off your crown. Rise up in the anointing and authority that God has given you as a mother. Do not let your circumstances rob you of your crown.

Do not let other people rob you either. Do you notice that this Scripture says that man will try to take it from you? Those who are ignorant of God's heart for children will speak negative things into your life. Those who are deceived by this world's philosophy will try to lure you away from your high calling. Do not be swayed by what people say. Do not let them take your crown. Hold on to it tightly.

Do not for a moment be intimidated by your antagonists! (Philippians 1:28)

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

"Lord, I thank you that you have given me the crown of mothering. Help me to see that it is a crown to wear and be proud of. When I wear this crown I am walking in your perfect will. Amen."

AFFIRMATION:

Mothering is a crown I wear with dignity.

Ladies,
I pray that this message encourages and blesses you today as you answer God's call for your life and continue to grow into everything He created you to be !!

Much Love,

Leisha

A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed

Do you ever feel lonely? In the busyness of our lives with the crazy schedules we keep and the demands that are put on us as wives and mothers it seems ridiculous that we would ever be lonely. I have been pondering this for several days now. I believe that God is walking me thru a lesson(healing) on friendship. I recently walked thru a whopping lesson(healing) in humility, the wound is still quite raw actually, but My Father knows what I can bear and it seems He has chosen a 'time such as this' when I am humble and pliable to work on me a little more in an area that healing is needed. I have friends, don't get me wrong, like me, many of them have busy lives and for a variety of reasons we are no longer able to connect the way we once were and I find myself lonely and craving that kind of connection more and more lately. God is faithful and he knows the desires of my heart and in that he is stirring things in me that will lead me to where he wants me to be. I wholeheartedly believe that the Lord brings people in and out of our lives in his timing and we need to be obedient to what he is working on getting in us and through us in the people that come and go in our lives.
Sometimes, we are hurt in friendships when we are not valued the way we feel we need to be or want to be and that is hard, sometimes, we are more anxious to pursue a friendship than the other person, whatever the hurt we may suffer - God places in us a desire to be in fellowship with others. We are called to edify and encourage each other and I think that if we view friendship as ministry to others rather than what it can do for us the blessings of friendship will be abundant and life long. When we are children, we grapple with the intricate balance of maintaining friendships, being liked and accepted in the cruel world of school - that could be confusing and not a whole lot of fun at times. We all have stories of hurts that we have suffered at the hand of thoughtless or selfish classmates, on the flip side we all have sweet memories of friendships that were monumental and life changing - that is God's plan!!!
So as I get ready to venture out and follow what My Father is stirring in me to do, I am uncertain but know that He has it all well in hand and I will give it all I can to embrace the adventure and be a blessing to those whose paths cross mine - they may need it more than I do ;-) The saying that keeps coming to mind goes something like "you have to be a friend to have a friend".
I challenge you today to reach out in the love of friendship to let someone you care about know they are precious to you - they just might be lonely and need a lift!!


Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
but an enemy multiples kisses.

Proverbs 27:6

In His Love,

Leisha

Daily Homeschooling Freebies - All Summer Long - WOW !!!

There are some things that it just isn't right that we keep them to ourselves - this is one of them!! In my blogging travels today I came across a homeschool blessing. Free Stuff ;-) Sound too good to be true ? Maybe this is one of those rare times that is not the case - check it out for yourself.....

Here’s how it works........Every weekday, Monday thru Friday, a new freebie is posted on the site. These freebies will include things like games, lesson plans, unit studies, samples, classic books, audio programs. Many of these will be products that you would normally pay for on their regular websites… but at The Homeschool Freebie of the Day they are 100% free… at least for that one day! Just download your copy and enjoy! It’s as simple as that!

I just downloaded a 52 page pdf file A Beginner's Guide to Birdwatching - A Quick Start Guide for Homeschoolers - that was today's freebie.......so what are you waiting for - go see for yourself.

Be Blessed in Your Homeschool Endeavors,

Leisha

Goodbye 1st Grade - What Mommy Learned

I wish I could tell you that we were done with school and ready to kick summer into full swing - sadly that is not the case. I have been the target of a "con" - you may have fallen victim to it in your homeschool from time to time as well - it sounds something like this "Mommy - can I do these sheets later?" spoken so sweetly with that blue eyed freckle face pleading for all it's worth. There are times when resistance is futile - so we have a little more to do before we put 1st grade to rest. Wonder Boy may have won this round - but I have learned much this year and he better come at me with more than sparkling eyes and toothless grins next year - this Mommy Teacher isn't budging an inch next year. If it's on my lesson plan for the day it is getting done by golly !! Ok - I don't completely believe myself either - tee hee - BUT- I will not let it slip as far. I mean look what I'm up against - these are powerful little puppies!! So with just a little bit of work to finish I am so looking forward to summer vacation - we are going to do some F-U-N stuff at our house this year!! We are going to clean out closets, paint rooms and re-organize our school set up - Wonder Boy is a very blessed child - what a shame there are no siblings to share in the joy!! I really do have big plans to get organized for the year ahead so that we are ready for even greater successes in 2nd Grade. At long last I have my curriculum decisions firmly in place and am ready to go forward - all I have to do is get organized. Oh and work on my book - yes I am working on a book - how's that for accountability posting it on my blog? Stay tuned on that one....once all the painting is done, files are filed, lesson plans prepared and pencils organized and sharpened, oh and I finish my book, I plan to have some quality Mom & Wonder Boy time.

We are currently "living like no one else so later we can live like no one else" so our summer fun is going to consist of lots of creativity and good ole fashioned frugal fun. Wonder Boy loves crafts and artsy pursuits that we don't always have time for - we shall paint and sing and play this summer, we shall laugh and dance in the rain (in fact today my neighbors if they happened to be looking probably confirmed their suspicions about the weird homeschool family when Wonder Boy & I were out in the front yard as a rather nasty storm was moving in circling our beloved birch tree like 2 carefree airplanes - complete with sound effects) and on the rainy days when we choose to stay dry - there is the Free Family Film Festival - does it get any better than that???

Now - I personally would not recommend every movie in the summer line up - but there are a few that I hope hit on rainy days. Take a look and mark the site - just in case you get your closets get finished early likemine are going to !!

http://www.regmovies.com/nowshowing/familyfilmfestivalschedule.aspx

Here's wishing you and yours a summer filled with fun, laughter, memories and just the right amount of accomplishment.

In Him,

Leisha

We Are Trying Something New....What About You?

Let’s Try Notebooking
By Cindy Rushton
http://www.cindysaffiliates.com/go.php?offer=hisgrace08&pid=1


Notebooking … ahhh, just the thought makes me hyper! If I could ask every homeschooling family to do just one thing, it would be to just give notebooking a try. This is the one technique that pulls everything together—studies, research, real life, personal interests—everything! It reaches even the most reluctant writer! It makes homeschooling fun and easy! Who wouldn’t want to try that?

Not just that! Everything that normally clutters up the busy homeschool home can be tucked away into a notebook! All of those precious narrations can be safely protected in notebooks. All of those daily copywork lessons can find their home in notebooks on each of the topics that your children love so much. Even those awesome handouts that you have piled up from field trips can find the perfect home in your notebooks! Homeschooling is recorded. An heirloom is built!

Want to Give It a Try?

Getting started is as easy as ABC. Let me take you through the easy steps:

1. Gather your supplies. Your supplies can be as simple as a three-ring binder per child, plastic sheet protectors, and a pencil per child. You can make this as simple or as crafty as you like! Over the years, notebooking has worked so wonderfully in our home that we are constantly on the lookout for different and fun supplies during our daily notebooking time. By doing so, our daily lessons are as fun as a scrapbooking party—every day! If you have no idea where to begin, see our shopping list on www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com for quick ideas on supplies that work great!

2. Make your supplies accessible. Set aside a place for your material and a place for your children to work. There is something wonderful about having a place fore everything and everything reliably in its place. The work in the beginning is well worth the time during the school year. We have a shelf that contains books that I find along the way with great copywork that I would like for my children to add to their notebooks on those “no ideas are flowing” days. Just having everything there, ready to go, is such a blessing on those busy mornings. Plus, I have learned over the years that this is the best way to really utilize the resources that I have on my shelves.

Just file away any pages or pictures in either manila envelopes or file folders. If the children know where they are, they are more than likely to use them on their own. Also, you will want to use anything else that you have in your home. I keep our paints, papers (plain and colored cardstock and 20 lb. paper; writing paper, etc.), glues, templates, cutting utensils, rulers, markers, pens, pencils, etc. on a shelf and in plastic bins by our dining table (where we do our daily lessons). They are in their spot and that spot is close by. If we want to encourage our young writers, we must give them free access to the best materials.

3. Turn your children loose! Yep! This is all that is left! Inevitably, when I teach workshops on notebooking, I can almost see the brains of mothers clicking away with one tough reality—“If only I had more time to do this!” Oh, beloved! Notebooking is not another thing for you to do! The hard part is learning what this is all about and how to get everything together so we can turn our children loose!

When we began notebooking, I copied a Bible verse a day as a model for my son to copy. As he copied his verse, he would place his page for the day in a plastic sheet protector and add it to his notebook. The next day, his page for that day would slide in behind that page. The next day, he would add another page in another page protector. We built the entire notebook; not specific divisions or subjects. We chose not to divide by subjects because we wanted a nice full “product” built over time. As we added to the notebook each day, I could see the delight building in my young writers. they would sit and just flip through the pages. They loved seeing success. They loved seeing the notebook build up.

As time went on, my son began to find and copy poems that he liked, songs from the church hymnal or from his history lessons. He began a collection of art prints. He added maps that highlighted journeys. At the end of the first year, we had a bulging notebook and a young writer who had gone from reluctant to really excited! The notebook quickly became “his own” notebook. At the end of the year, we divided our notebooks (there was no room to add anything else) into obvious divisions. We had a Bible notebook, a history notebook, a poetry notebook, and another copybook. All of these have continued and several have divided into other notebooks through the years (he now has four history notebooks—Great Men and Women of the Civil War, Battles of the Civil War, Military Notebook, and World History Timeline Notebook! And that is just history!). As your children dig into their interests, they may have other notebooks that develop. Let them go! You will learn more about your children as they learn more about topics and writing!

So, What Do You Think?
Want to give it a try? If I could ask every homeschooling family to do just one thing, it would be to just give notebooking a try. So, think about it. Pray about it. Then, get those supplies. Set aside a spot for your supplies. Then, turn those budding young writers loose!

**************************************************

About Cindy Rushton…

Cindy Rushton is the hostess of the Ultimate Homeschool Expo, the very first online homeschool convention. She is recording Preview Chats for the Ultimate Homeschool Convention RIGHT NOW! Join her wonderful guests FREE for the next weeks as they count down to the Ultimate Homeschool Expo (April 28-May 3, 2008--BUT! NEVER ENDING because it is an ONLINE Convention!). Get your ticket NOW and receive her awesome A Quick Start for Notebooking Mini-Set FREE today! Check out all of the details here:

http://www.cindysaffiliates.com/go.php?offer=hisgrace08&pid=1


I have been so blessed by Cindy Rushton and her ministry that I have decided to partner with her as part of her affiliate program. Cindy has made some of her teachings available to her affiliates to share with our readers -this one about noetbooking is just a small sample of what she has to offer - Wonder Boy has recently started his first notebook and is having a blast - he spent an afternoon in a tree in the field behind us sketching so he could put the drawings in his new notebook - how cool is that!!
Notebooking is just one of the many many things that you can learn more about and glean from some incredible godly homeschool moms at the Ultimate Homeschool Expo 2008. I can highly recommend the $40 price of a ticket to the Ultimate Homeschool Expo 2008 - I personally have listened to several of the teachings and workshops and with dozens more to go have already gotten my money's worth and then some!! There are tons of goodies and freebies that are included in the ticket price (which if I am remebering correctly will go up to $99.95 in the not too distant future) - you will be feasting on these things for months to come!! I have been so filled and refreshed already and I still have tons of goodies to enjoy ;-) Take a look at what this unique opportunity offers by following the links in this post......hope to see you there!!

In His Love & Service,

Leisha

Setting Up Your Home to Learn! By Cindy Rushton

Homeschooling? Thinking about Homeschooling? BUT…do you have to turn your home into a school? No, my dear friend, you do not need to turn your home into a school. Your home can still be a HOME. A home ready to learn! Ready? Ready? This is EASY as ABC...
--> Find a good nook! It does not have to be huge. Certainly does not need to be expensive. All that is needed is a place that invites your children (and YOU!) to think, work through the studies (writing, reading, studying, proofreading, projects, experiments…). Ask yourself, “Where do they gravitate toward to read...to research...to write...to print?” Keep in mind that each and every student in your family will be very different during the learning process, but most will appreciate having all of the supplies and equipment in a safe, quiet, comfortable place to study. When deciding on a spot, make sure that the spot has good lighting and a good, solid, clean, work surface. Make sure it is a good spot to think AND work on lessons.” Set up the area with a nice table or desk with plenty of work area...comfortable chairs...limited distractions…shelves for books and notebooks...space for a computer and printer...convenient power supply...space for you to sit down and work with them during their lessons…and a specific spot for organizational bins that will hold supplies.
--> Get supplies together! You probably have supplies ALREADY in your home. Use our list to remind you of which supplies you will need to gather for homeschooling. Gather them and organize them so they will be ready to use when your children can snatch time to dig into their studies.
--> Give easy access to materials and supplies! Don’t just gather supplies, give your children easy access to those supplies! Nothing else can encourage your children to dig deeper into studies like having the materials needed to learn AND free reign to use them. Gather the supplies you will need and store them in clearly marked plastic bins and containers. There are SO many options available. Find what will work for you and your family. Get paper and printable pages together. I have always stored ours in our school materials so the children had their materials on hand as they needed it. A quick glance can remind me that we need more. I buy all of our paper, ink pens, pencils, 3-ring binders, etc in bulk at Sam’s Warehouse. During the school breaks, many stores have supplies and paper in bulk for better prices than all year round. That is when we also stock up. We store it on our school shelves and have what we need as we work.
--> Invest in the best tools! It may seem to be an added expense, however tools make all of the difference in the world! For example, you can buy a cheap stapler for under $5.00 OR you can buy a long-arm stapler for $29.95 at an office supply store. The difference? Well, we have bought SO MANY cheap staplers. They simply do not last. Plus, they are limited in what they can do. Now, contrast that with the long-arm stapler? They are built to last. You can use those for making any size booklet and for regular stapling. Just watch your most reluctant writer when they figure out ALL that they can do with one stapler! $29.95 will be the best investment ever! J Buy the best as you can. The investment is more than just for equipment, it is investing in your child’s education!
*******************************
Need MORE Help? Check out our Ultimate Homeschool Expo! When you purchase your ticket you get MORE help with record-keeping--you can immediately download two Bonus Gifts that will help you today:
Let's Get Ready for the New School Year Super SetA Quick Start for Notebooking Mini-Set!
Yep! Both! Complimentary! Get your ticket here: http://www.cindysaffiliates.com/go.php?offer=hisgrace08&pid=1

I have purchased my ticket and plan to soak in all that is available to finish out this homeschool year well and prepare for the best year yet in the year to come !!! Hope you can join me!!

Blessings to you in your homeschool endeavors,

Leisha

Three Hearts & The Walls of Jericho

Ok - can I be honest with ya'll ? I think my husband tried to kill me on our anniversary!! Can we talk about The Walls of Jericho?? OH MY WORD!!! That was by far the most physically challenging day of my life ! 7 miles + 1000 ft. elevation drop + 43 yrs. old & out of shape = ouch!!!

In all seriousness, we had a wonderful day but it was exhausting !! We found a great spot for our letterbox and got it planted and yesterday I got it posted online for all perspective finders. So here was the plan - The Principal carved a stamp which we chose to call "Three Hearts" in honor of our 3rd anniversary. We had fun putting this box together and have decided that we will find a new spot to adventure and plant a letterbox for as many anniversaries as The Lord allows us. We hiked all the way in to the end of the trail before deciding where the box was going to be planted. We chose a spot about 2 miles that I think will be a great hike for those who are interested. This is what it looked like for those of you that may be interested.

Wonder Boy was with us and did a fantastic job of "Hanging with the Big Dogs" for the day. There had been some light sonwfall in the area the day before and a light dusting remained on the ground so Wonder Boy was able to make a few small snowballs and have some fun - he seems to be a pretty good aim by the way ;-)

It was cold when we started out and here is a little evidence of just how cold it can get in the sunny south..... Wonder Boy loved this - kinda pitiful really that a child of a Canadian should be so worked up about a little snow & ice - but alas - Wonder Boy is Southern born and raised....a taste of his roots was in order I suppose - literally!! I ate many icicles in my youth in the Great White North !

The hike itself was beautiful - it truly is a gorgeous tract of land and we were not disappointed for our efforts - the views were spectacular and really even though it was a little on the chilly side it was a perfect temperature to accomodate our efforts - easy to cool off when we got overheated!!

There were a few pretty cool adventures that we can add to the memory book fo r the day as well as eating icicles, Wonder Boy & Co. were able to drink from a mountain stream and swing from a huge vine over an open gulley - Wonder Boy & The Principal were the vine swingers - someone had to be able to go for help if need be after all - so I of course felt led to sacrifice for the greater good - that's what Mothers' do right?

The last thing that I want to share with you my bloggy friends is this - God gave us an anniversary gift that day - as we strolled along at one point in one of the few level areas, The Principal looked down and saw this "Heart Rock" , which we have brought home with us as a keepsake of a beautiful, wonderful, God given day filled with love, learning and God's beauty and abundance - Thanks for taking a few minutes so that I could share it with you - God is good - all the time!!

And to you Sweetheart........I look forward to the adventures that The Lord has for us in the years to come - I love you so much - Thanks for Three Hearts of Love!!!

Basking in His Goodness,

Leisha