Our Simple Homeschool Curriculum for Spring 2020

I get asked often for help making curriculum recommendations for homeschool families.  Here's what we're doing right now to simply our life in the middle of a HUGE move!  If we love it, we'll keep doing it. 
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The day I realized I really have to stand up for myself

The day I realized I really have to stand up for myself
Not one of my finest days, but I did learn something...
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Working through challenging times...

Working through challenging times...
Everywhere we turn, we get bombarded by incisive, scary, troublesome situations, in our relationships, in our nation, and in our world.  It's confusing, disheartening, challenging, and scary to know how to move forward.  
The entire time I've been a mom, I've totally wanted to tune out and stick my head in the ground.  Call it self-protection, call it my normal disposition of not wanting to be troubled.  

Interestingly enough, though, there are several ways not to be troubled.  You can either do like I did and try to pretend nothing's happening. That's a chicken move, though.  I mean, the entire time I didn't want to know the truth I enabled it.  And I rationalized it.  

You could also know the truth, and two things could happen.  You could become empowered to make a difference.  You could also rise above the fray and shine as a light.  The hope here would be that if you rose above the craziness, you could also stay out of the woods as far as circumstances go.  You know the truth, and it truly sets you free.  You don't let the insanity get to you or bring you down. You let it help you know how to move forward, and you move forward with confidence and trust.  

You also don't let your heart be troubled.  We are to have trust in Christ that He has overcome the world.  For me, the two principles are intertwined with this truth.  I can rise above because He has overcome the world.  

So tonight, as I'm completely exhausted, I go to sleep knowing what's happening in the world, so I can pray for it, but also knowing Christ has overcome the world.  I have to rely on that and surrender.

What are you facing today you're totally overwhelmed by?  How can you know what's going on, but rise above the fray AND trust Christ to be in charge, since he already has overcome the world?

Take Back Your Thoughts!!!

I wrote this to a small group of people on my team, and the response has told me this has struck a chord with so many. I hope it's encouraging to you!
💕 Long Post Alert ðŸ’•
"You will keep in mind him whose mind is focused on you, because he trusts in you." Isaiah 26:8
"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil, cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love." Romans 12:9
No matter what your belief system is, it's not hard to see that we are in a battle right now. It's REALLY weird, I live overseas and I do not see the same issues over here. It's definitely affecting the US. No matter how you perceive God, or not, you very likely see this.
Several of you have reached out to me. I will say right now the war is on us, and it is not between people. It is definitely light vs dark, good vs evil.
Guess what, we carry hope, so we are an easy target. The war affects your mind, then it manifests in the physical realm. Guard your hearts, for it is the wellspring of life. Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. If you do not guard your heart or take your thoughts captive, you are an easy target for the enemy.
Right now is a time to be vigilant. Focus on God and stay focused on Him. Don't let yourself be swayed, and what I mean by that is into doubt and despair. Jesus Himself told His disciples to not let themselves get troubled, to trust in Him and in God the Father. Do not let yourself get swayed into despair.
Your mind is the rudder of a big ship, and where you let your mind wander, your words and your direction follow. Keep focused on truth. Read Romans 12:9-21, which contain universal truths on how to treat each other, no matter one's beliefs, we would all agree with the words and the instruction there.
Use your oils. Pull out the big guns, high frequency ones.
Yes, Melissa, Rose, Frankincense, Royal Hawaiian Sandalwood, and Idaho Blue Spruce.
If you're waiting for a rainy day to come, how bad do you need it to be to use those?
We need to do anything we can to raise our frequency. Those include:
- Prayer
- anointing
- good thoughts (take thoughts captive)
- love toward others
- expend toward your spouse and kids love in their love language
- pay it forward
- pivot away from negative conversation
- don't let yourself stay angry
- USE THOSE OILS
- meditate on God and all His real attributes, not those made up by society to get us to fall asleep and stop believing in Him.
- meditate on Scripture.
- bless your downline. They have been given to you as a ministry.
- eat healthy food and even fast from something for a day. Restraint is a great way to build self-control.
- do not give the devil a foothold. That means no malice, envy, strife, covetousness. Instead adopt love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things. And we definitely need all these things. YOU need all these things!
Stop yourself and replace your thoughts. This is SO important. Don't give the enemy the satisfaction of robbing you of that which you have. We've gotten so complacent as a society we're handing that over hand over fist.

Getting my voice back...

I've had an extreme amount of things to say lately.So why haven't I shared them?
I think it starts with interpersonal interactions.  We have so many on a daily basis, right?  It used to be said that the average person knew about 250 people.  Then, about 20 years ago, the average person knew about 600.  Now, I would bet the number is over 1000!  So many relationships.  So many interactions.  
I care about you deeply.  You may or may not realize it. When you share an opinion with me I don't share, I tuck that back there, and I remember it.  I tailor my speech so you don't have to hear something you don't agree with.  I care about you, and I care about our connection, that much.  I'm a deep feeler.  When you hurt, I hurt.  I want our connection to make sense and to make you feel comfortable.  I'm just sharing where I'm at. I'm not saying this is a good way to be, or a good approach to life. I'm actually starting to see that it stinks.
Why?  
Because I care about you, I let you preserve your voice. By not letting myself preserve my voice because you may not like what I have to say, I silence my voice.  What am I telling myself through that action?I'm not loving myself as I try to love you.
This is not working for me.  
I have a vision to care, to speak into people.I'm cutting myself off at the knees by not offering myself the same opportunity.
So I'm trying to find that voice again, the one I've squelched so MUCH so you could feel comfortable.
Who is that "you?"People who actually left a long time ago anyway.
I remember.
I'm working so HARD to uncover that voice again, to strengthen myself so much that I trust myself to say things in love.  To be a grown up and recognize that I need to speak my mind.  To know some will come and go.  Others will decide flippantly that their opinions matter more to them than mine.  Their opinions of me are NONE of my business.  I keep speaking to people who don't care, chopping down my message, those who do care will miss the words I do have to say.  Time for me to show up in fullness.  Time for me to love you whether you love me back, or not.
I'm sorry for squelching my message.  I'm sorry for keeping my mouth shut.I'm endeavoring to open it again.

 
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