Choosing Joy

My Mr. Wonderful has a phrase he says sometimes. He says, "can't complain," when someone asks how he's doing. I love it! Often he reminds me in this simple way that complaining isn't really helpful! Hahaha! We all have things about which we could complain. The secret to being happy lies in making the best…

Suddenly Homeschoolers

Many years ago, my family decided that homeschool was the only option. Private school was not in the budget, and the local public schools were failing. In fact, those local schools are exactly dead last in the nation, 20 years later. My children were very young, and I thought that since I could read, I…

Homeschool Planning: High School Years

It's no secret that I have a bunch of teens and young adults living in my house. I feel pretty lucky to have all of my kids at home during these interesting times! As I plan for the upcoming homeschool year, I thought I'd share some veteran homeschool tactics for high school. Most colleges have…

Go Ye

"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15 Through this amazing technology, I can virtual "go ye" when I couldn't physically go before. I'm not eloquent, or flashy. I'm a homemaker, doing humble things here in my home. I do know that sending…

A Merry Heart

"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones." Proverbs 17:23 A few days ago, we chatted about bitterness, and about how to uproot it! Today I'd like to share some ways to replace bitterness with a merry heart. These are ways we can help our attitude and outlook…

Rooting Out Bitterness

"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Ephesians 4:32   Have you ever observed some ladies who have a bitter countenance? They have a harsh or sad look to their eyes, and often complain about circumstances. They've let roots of bitterness take…

Cleaning Attitude

Cleaning isn't my favorite task. There. I've written it in public for everyone to see. It's a confession that hurts my pride, but I don't actually like cleaning. What I do like is an extremely clean space. In fact, I like a de-cluttered and spotless home more than I care to admit. My sweet friend…

Grace Upon Grace

"Wonderful Grace of Jesus, Greater than all my sin...."   I've chosen a single, meaningful word to delve into for 2018.   The concept of grace is simple, but lofty. I want to grapple with this concept, to wrestle with it, to dig in and study it well. I want to learn grace, but also…

Lessons from Quiet

The Lord uses mysterious way to teach us lessons in this life! He used an illness recently  to teach me the value of holding my tongue. With full lives and a full house, our home is not often quiet. With all the information needing to be relayed, talking is par for the course. Until I…

Power Outage

The Lord has a funny way of changing our perspectives and priorities! Last night, we were without power for several hours. With no internet or phone beeps to distract me, I was able to accomplish far more than I expected. At first, I wondered what I would do with the evening, but small tasks came…