A-Z Reminders for Busy Mamas

A. Always keep Christ the center of every sphere of life and learning.  

  When we keep Christ as front and center He will keep us balanced and light our path.

B. Believe that He will be faithful.

"He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it."  I Thessalonians 5:24

C. Cast all burdens and concerns upon the Lord.

"Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved." Psalm 55:22 

D. Delight yourself in the Lord.  

"Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart." - Psalm 37:4

E. Enjoy the little people surrounding you.  

  Our little ones are growing up so very fast.  The little years pass quickly, and it is important to really treasure these precious moments while they are little and innocent.  I encourage you to take the time to hold their little hands, rub their chubby feet, draw them close, read stories, and sing lots of songs with them. The older children are wonderful, but there is something unique and precious about our little ones; we don't want to miss the joy of the little years.  Yes, little people are a boatload of work, but they also make us smile and laugh like nothing else.  :)  

F. Faithfulness.  

  Yes, just faithfulness.  The word faithful is full of so much meaning.  We want to be faithful wives and faithful mothers.  Being faithful as a tired mama is not always easy, but our Lord is faithful and the more we abide in Him the more He will build faithfulness into the fabric of our lives.  We want to model faithfulness, so that our children will learn from our example.  

G. Give Thanks continually.  

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 
- I Thessalonians 5:18 

H. Hope in Christ.  

  Mamas, our hope has to be solidly rooted in Christ alone.  Our hope is not in homeschooling, not in a parenting style, not in our friends, not in a perfect curriculum, not in a ministry, not in a parenting book, etc.  These things can all be great helps to us, but they are not the Savior.  When we put our hope in things other than Christ, we will be devastated when people, methods, ministries, etc. fail us.  Remember that Christ alone can save and redeem broken people.  

I. Invite your children to enter the Father's presence with you daily.  

  When we are at home all day with our children we have multiple opportunities to take our children before the throne of grace each day.  Never get too busy to invite your precious ones into the Father's presence with you each day.

J. Joy in the Lord.  

"Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice."  - Philippians 4:4

  We have the daily choice to choose to find things to be grateful for and to rejoice in the Lord in.  It is a discipline to choose to find the good in our hurried, chaotic days.  Even when things are crazy, there is ALWAYS something to be glad in the Lord about.  

K. Kindness.  

  As busy mamas we have the choice to speak words of harshness or words of kindness.  We can say the same exact thing either in a harsh way or in a kind way.  Our tone of voice can make all the difference in the world.  Sometimes it is helpful to just lower our voices to take some of the intensity out of our words.  Kindness goes a very long ways.  I frequently remind my children that their tone makes all the difference in the world.  This is something I have to remind myself of as well.  One of the fruits of the Spirit is kindness.  

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." - Galatians 5:22-23

L. Love.  

  When our babies are born it is easy to be filled with an incredible amount of love for our sweet bundles.  As those babes grow into strong willed children and young adults with ideas of their own it takes a work of God's Spirit to give us ongoing selfless love that suffereth long and patiently bears with their weaknesses.  Of course a mother's heart always loves her children, but only the Lord can give us the kind of Biblical love that is patient and kind and always hopes and perseveres.  

M. Meet with your Lord.  

  Busy mamas desperately need time with the Lord to renew their minds and gain strength for their days.  One way I spend time with the Lord is by listening to the Bible on my iPhone.  I also love to pray when I am alone in the van running errands.  It is a time I can pray about what is on my heart without interruptions, and it is important to daily pray without ceasing in the moments as well. 

N. Never GIVE UP! 

  There are difficult and challenging seasons in the mothering journey, but  hardships should not cause us to give up.  Instead, by God's grace, we need to press into the Lord and allow Him to carry us through the rough patches and the turbulent waters.  It is encouraging to remember that we serve the God who is Lord of the seas and can say, "Peace be still." 

O. Offer Forgiveness.  

  Busy mamas have opportunities all day long to extend forgiveness to their husbands and children.  Christ has forgiven us much, and we need to also forgive our families much.  By doing so, we show an example that will help our children learn to forgive as well.  

P. Praise.  

  I have found that when we practice praising the Lord by singing to Him daily that it really does a lot to tune up attitudes in our home and build faith in our children.  We don't always feel like praising, but there is power in praising our Lord and it is an act of obedience to Scripture.  

Q. Quit complaining.  

  Oh, this one is so hard for me.  It is easy to complain about all the inconveniences, the chaos, the messes, and the frustrations of my day.  This is an area where I still need much sanctification.  We need to turn our complaints into praise. 

R. Refresh your spirit. 

   Sometimes busy mamas need to take little breaks to refresh their vision.  We need refreshment physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  It is important that we get enough sleep, eat healthy, and spend time in the Father's presence.  Then there are those little things we can do to refresh ourselves.  For me, sometimes just getting some fresh air can give me a little refreshment and a pick me up.  Sometimes treating myself to some tea and chocolate also gives a little happy spot in my day.  

S. Saturate yourself in truth.  

  As busy mamas we may have to be creative in taking in truth to feed our souls.  We may not have a quiet hour each morning, but we can still be intentional in feeding our souls with Biblical truth.  Some ways that have been helpful to me have been listening to the Bible on my iPhone, listening to and singing hymns, tuning in to encouraging podcasts, reading to my children, attending church, reading little bits here and there, etc.  Ask the Lord to help you intentionally feed yourself on His truth even if it is in little bits all throughout the day.  

T. Trust in the Lord. 

   Sometimes we just don't understand our circumstances or what the Lord is doing in our lives.  We grow as we learn to trust the Lord and wait upon Him.   

U. Understand the will of the Lord. 

   There are many good things in life, but not all of them are the will of the Lord for your family.  I think that as we walk with Christ year by year He helps us to gain a clearer vision of His plan for our individual families.  Since we can never involve ourselves in every activity, it is most beneficial to understand the will and direction of the Lord and choose those activities that best align with His direction for our individual families.  What my friend is pursuing for her family may not be the direction the Lord is leading my family.  We need to pray for discernment to understand the will of the Lord.  

V. Vision.  

  There are plenty of days when I wake up not feeling like serving my family in the same mundane tasks and dealing with the same struggles all over again.  I have learned to get up and pray for extra vision on these days.  I pray that the Lord will help me to remember that no day is just a mundane day.  Every day is important in light of eternity.  I pray for increased vision to see that my days are of eternal significance and to redeem the time for the glory of God. 

W. Wither Not!  

  Psalm one tells us about the man who mediates on the law of the Lord.  Verse three tells us that "His leaf also shall not wither."  

"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." As busy mamas we want to bear spiritual fruit in our families and we want to not wither under the pressures of life.  It is the strength of the Lord and His Word that can keep us from withering.  Life can be so hard, and many battles are raging for the hearts of our children.  As we abide in Christ and spend time in His Word we will be preserved and given strength to not wither.  

X. eXPect the goodness and deliverance of the Lord.  


"As it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death." - Philippians 1:20

  No matter what is going on in our earthly lives we can hope in full expectation that God is our deliverer and will right our wrongs and deliver us whether in this life or in our eternal home.  When we know Jesus we have eternal hope that will not disappoint us.   

Y. Yearn for His coming. 

  As I grow older I grow more and more homesick for heaven.  I see all the sin in our culture and so much suffering in so many people I know.  Won't heaven be such a joy when all tears will be wiped away and we will forever worship our Lord Jesus in complete unity and holiness?  I am looking forward to that!  
"But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself." - Philippians 3:20-21

Z. Zeal. 

 Sometimes young mamas start out with a lot of zeal but sometimes lack knowledge and the wisdom of the years.  Conversely many times older mamas are running low on zeal but have more knowledge and wisdom.  I think it is important to pray that the Lord will grant us both zeal and knowledge.  We need both!  

                                           

  I have enjoyed writing out these A-Z encouragements, and I hope it blesses you.  It has ben a way of counseling my own heart as I have written out these thoughts.  May the Lord continue His work of sanctification in all of our lives that we may bring Him glory and praise.  

Today I am linking up @ 

Different Seasons of the Homeschooling Journey

   I recently had the joy of speaking at Teach Them Diligently in Ohio.  It was my first time to speak at a large convention, and I was humbled to be a part of what the Lord was doing there.  I so enjoyed the conversations I had with other parents who stopped by our booth, and I have spent a lot of time processing all the conversations and things I experienced.  I guess when people walk up to talk to a speaker they expect that they will receive encouragement from the speaker, but from the speaker's side of things I can say that I was so blessed by the people who stopped by our booth and encouraged my heart!

  I have been thinking about different kinds of mamas I observe regardless of the conference or convention I am at. I typically see a few different kinds of moms in attendance, and it has left me thinking about my own season of mothering and what I can do to encourage these mothers in varying seasons of the homeschooling journey.
  I met many moms at the TTD convention who were on the pre-homeschooling journey.  These mamas are young and preparing to embark on the homeschooling adventure.  They are new and just checking out homeschooling.  They may have one or two children and/or might be pregnant at the event.  Sometimes I sense a bit of shyness in some of these mamas as they are just getting their feet wet and have not yet jumped into the pool of homeschooling.  I love to encourage these moms not to get too stressed and to enjoy lots of time snuggling their babies, playing with their children and reading lots of good stories of virtue and truth.




  Moving on I also see young mamas who have only one or two students and often have a lot of zeal and excitement and incredibly high expectations of themselves.  These Mamas often are high achievers and can be pretty confident in their plans.  Oftentimes these young, stylish moms are at the  conventions having fun get-away weekends with their friends and staying up all night laughing and talking.  They can be very optimistic and are usually on the hunt to find just the RIGHT curriculum that will ensure their homeschool journey will be a complete success.
   I used to be the younger Mama attending conventions by myself too, but now my convention experiences tend to usually be ministry or family centered events during this season of life.  When I get a chance to talk to these mamas I like to remind them to "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness in their homeschools.  If we get our priorities out of order putting too much energy into creating Pinterest perfect school rooms and being over-achievers in our homeschooling, our families can be distracted from the most important area of family discipleship and training the character of our children.

  Then I also see the highly distracted moms at these conference/convention events.  There was an event I was a part of some time back where I saw many Mamas frantically running to many different booths seeking out extra curricular activities for their children.  At the same time I was standing there representing a booth focused on spiritual discipleship in the home.  There seemed to be far more interest in the extra curricular things than in family discipleship which made me so very sad.  Of course there is nothing wrong with extra curricular activities, but if we don't first set a family culture of seeking God in all things then the extra curricular busyness can easily turn into idols in our families.

  

  Another group of moms I see at the homeschool conventions are the older, more seasoned moms who have been at homeschooling for many years.  These mamas have often gained a lot of wisdom and seasoned perspective through their many years of self-sacrifice to their families.  These mothers often have a train of young people behind them and are sometimes more on the tired side of things than the enthusiastic side.
 These moms are in many cases juggling many seasons of life at once.  They often have older children they are launching into adulthood at the same time that they are in the thick of homeschooling other children and trying to keep up with busy little people.  I think the mamas in this category often feel tired.  Sometimes they are disappointed and weary with some of the ways life has turned out.  These mamas are working extremely hard and are often carrying a lot on their shoulders.

     This can be an emotional season of motherhood when a mother is watching her children grow up and leave her nest.  She realizes how fast time is passing and really just how little she really is in control of things.  It is easy as a new, young mom to think we can create our own reality and steer things in a certain direction, but as our children grow older we realize that the day comes when we have to let them grow up and trust the Lord to lead them as adults.  We have to relinquish control and love our adult children differently.  We have to love them by being available and praying for them.  I definitely fit this category age wise, and I'm moving closer and closer to that point where I will be launching my older children from my nest.  Seasons are changing, and sometimes change is hard as we can wish things could always stay the same.  My encouragement to mamas in this older, very stretched and busy season is to "Not grow weary in well doing."  I am saying that to myself as I share that encouragement with others.

  Sometimes I see older mamas growing apathetic and not being quite as intentional with the younger children just because they are understandably very tired.   It is important for us older mamas to finish well, so it is my prayer that the Lord will help me to press onward even when I feel tired and emotional with changing seasons.  His grace is sufficient, and it is through the hard things that we grow and can in turn bring glory to our Savior.
  Of course there are all kinds of homeschooling mamas in all different situations and seasons of life.  These observations are not meant to categorize all homeschool moms but are just a sampling of some of what I see as I attend these events.  My prayer is to be able to be aware of these different seasons and differing needs and offer encouragement and hope to mamas to fight the good fight, to run the course, and to give their best toward the ministry in their homes.  This homeschooling journey is not an easy calling, but we are privileged to be able to impact future generations for the glory of God.  We are not only raising our own children, but we are also raising our grandchildrens' parents.  May the Lord help us to grow and to be faithful.
                                    

A Visit With My Friend and Fellow Homeschool Graduate Tiffany Schlichter!

https://legacyhomeschoolreflections.blogspot.com/2018/06/legacy-homeschool-reflections-podcast_18.html

On today's podcast I talk to my friend and fellow homeschool graduate Tiffany Schlichter.  Tiffany is an author, older sister to seven, and is serving the Lord in various capacities.
  I thought my listeners would enjoy hearing from Tiffany about her homeschool journey and how the Lord has used homeschooling and family discipleship to equip her to serve Him today.  I think you will be encouraged!
  Just click the link above to access this interview or you can always find the podcast on iTunes.  Have a blessed week, everyone!

Ordinary Homeschool Dad

http://legacyhomeschoolreflections.blogspot.com/2018/06/legacy-homeschool-reflections-podcast.html

I have really been looking forward to today's podcast to share some exciting news that I think will be an encouragement to many.  My husband joins me again today, and I am excited for you to hear him share about being an ordinary homeschool dad.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/aws-website-legacyhomeschoolreflections-d3zzd/Ordinary+Homeschool+Dad+-+6_3_18%2C+6.29+PM.mp3