On My Knees by Jane VanOsdol

On My Knees
by Jane VanOsdol from OnlyByPrayer.com

How many times have you as a mother been certain that your child would never move past his current stage, and that you were doomed to live out the rest of your days forever stuck where you were, a? la Ground Hog Days?

Well, I’ve felt like that many times in my kids’ lives. When my son was a toddler, trips to the store became a battleground as he often threw tantrums when he didn’t get what he wanted. Discouragement set in after one particularly bad trip when he and the whole cart tipped over– in front of a group of managers-in-training! I was certain I was the poster child for the “how to handle the hysterical mother” lesson that day. Read more

Me-Time Ain’t a Myth! by Cindy Rushton

Me-Time. Is it an extra or essential? Is it a myth that is only there to disillusion and frustrate the godly woman?Is it a distraction from the call of womanhood?

Sweet friends, “Me-Time” ain’t a myth! It must be a discipline. It can make or break you.

I was just peeking in at Facebook–I know, I know! I am SUPPOSED to be writing! Well, NOW I am! ha!

I ran across a link to an article that is STILL circulating on the web about the “Me-Time Myth” for moms.

Nice rhetoric. But, interestingly written by a YOUNG mom. I have written many, many things as a young mother. I have NO problem with youth. Just a problem with short-sighted youth. I just wonder what she will think about her ideas as she grows older? I wonder if her children will embrace her teaching on this one–or resent her for this commitment? I wonder how many young mothers will be led astray into the pit of depression or despair because they have embraced this teaching?

This week, my son got married. Read more

Embrace the Season with Cindy Rushton

Season changing right around you? Well, join Cindy Rushton as she challenges us to embrace the season and enjoy every single second of your season! Pour a cup of tea and join Cindy…

The Dream Comes to Pass…

Join Cindy Rushton for a few minutes mom-to-mom as she shares her heart. Want to know how to reach for that impossible dream? Want to reach toward those resolutions that are on your list year-after-year-after-year? Don’t miss this quick word heart-to-heart!

Take Time to Write EVERYTHING Down!

What do you want for this year? Think for a moment with me… Next year, this time, what do you want to see different in your life? What would you like to see finished? What would you like to see accomplished this year?

Dear friend, this year is the year of fullness. I have committed to make this year a year of commitment, accomplishment, and productivity. Want to make this year the very best ever too? Let’s find some keys to productivity. Let’s dig in and get moving strong. Ready? Well, today let’s look at one of my biggest keys to productivity…

Take time to write EVERYTHING down!

Talk about a key to productivity! If there were one thing that I really believe makes the difference in my own productivity, it is this one discipline. I know, I know what you may be thinking… Read more

Teaching Your Kids to be Thankful

Thanksgiving is the perfect time to teach your kids about being thankful. Here are some ideas to teach your children how to appreciate the blessings in their lives.

Giving Thanks Placemats
The goal of this craft is to create a collage filled with drawings and pictures of all the things your children are thankful for. Cut photos from magazines, or print some photos from your computer. Older children can write captions under the photos or draw their own. Be sure to put the child’s name and the year on it.

If you make this collage from two standard letter size pieces of construction paper taped side-by-side, you can take the completed collage to a copy shop when you’re done and have it laminated. It then becomes a placemat that you can use every Thanksgiving for years to come.
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Planning the Family Thanksgiving Meal the EASY WAY!

The family unanimously decided that you are in charge of the Thanksgiving meal this year. Can you pull it off? Yes, with a little bit of planning ahead of time, you can throw a great family Thanksgiving get together without stressing or staying busy for weeks. The key is advanced planning

Step 1: Make A Guest List.
It’s next to impossible to determine how much food to buy and cook without knowing how many mouths you will be feeding. Contact friends and family early and request they RSVP by a certain date. Follow up with them in the weeks before Thanksgiving to make sure you know who is and isn’t coming. Plan for at least 2 extra guests – more if you are entertaining a larger crowd.
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The Importance of Routine by Cindy Rushton

Good morning dearies! I just got an email from Mary Beth asking me to share this article. She remembered reading it before, but couldn’t remember where to find it. She asked if I could post it here. YES! Hope all of you enjoy! This is an oldie. Fun to read now that my crew are grown and graduated. I could not recommend better tips today. This one is timeless. Enjoy….

Homeschools come packaged in all sorts and types.  Homes all have their own atmosphere…their own discipline…and their own life.  What will make for happy homeschool days?  My vote goes to routine!

As we look at different homes, we find that many people use many instruments to establish discipline.  In our home, we have used primarily two tools–instruction and routine!  You can probably see the need and benefits for instruction but why routine?  Routine is the means by which we lay down the tracks of discipline.  In our family routines, we take away much of the pain of who does what, when they are to do whatever, and how much they are to do.  It has become part of our character to do all that we do with excellence…diligence…and of course, speed!  So, what are some ideas for bringing routine into the home?  The following thoughts are a hodgepodge of my thoughts on routine and form that I have jotted down as I studied this month… Read more

Notebooking! Easy as A, B, C! by Cindy Rushton

Heard your buddies talking about Notebooking? Intrigued? Want to know more? OR…have you been Notebooking for years? Just need a bit of encouragement? Some fresh new ideas?

Well, wherever you are…however you prefer to teach your children…regardless of your children’s abilities, or even disabilities, you will find that Notebooking is EASY as A, B, C!

There is something precious about Notebooking that can transform any writer into an “addicted writer,” especially when they see that their work is precious to those they love the most. Notebooking can help us all to document those almost impossible studies that we really need to document. In fact, Notebooking is one idea that can revolutionize your homeschool. It has ours! This one idea can take your most reluctant writer and turn him into a researcher, who loves to write.

Want to know more? Let’s take a closer look at some Notebooking ABC’s…

A…Anybody Can Notebook!

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The Formation of Habit by Cindy Rushton

“The mother who takes pains to endow her children with good habits secures for herself smooth and easy days; on the other hand, she who lets habits take care of themselves has a weary life of endless friction.” “If we fail to ease life by laying down habits of right thinking and right doing, habits of wrong thinking and wrong doing fix themselves on their own accord.” ~Charlotte Mason

We all come into homeschooling bringing our own personality…our beliefs of what school should be like and how children learn best…and of course, these little ones in which God assigns for us to teach. We find immediately that homeschooling is so much more than just teaching subjects. It requires so much more of us! As I look back at the over the past years of homeschooling, I find that a large majority of my efforts have not changed much since we began that spring of 1991. I am still battling the to-do’s of homemaking, the pull of all the extras out of my home, and even more so, the formation of habit.

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