When I grow up...

I want to be

a ballerina

a teacher

a writer

a nurse

the list can go on...

As a child, "growing up" seemed so far away, that you could change your mind over and over again on what you wanted to do when you were older. Yet, now you may find yourself about to face the question of what to pursue after you graduate, and the answer doesn't come as quickly!

There are so many different views on what a young lady should do once she graduates, so I would like to share of my thoughts...

Before the decision is even made, you must turn your heart to the Lord and strive to understand what He desires... what plans would glorify Him as Devin recently shared.

Each person is different... the Lord gives us all different callings... and only when we obey Him can we find true joy.

My deepest desire is to be a homemaker, mother, and wife. Homemaking is a Godly desire and one to be treasured. Yet, does that mean that once I graduate I am just going to wait for my prince charming to come and sweep me off my feet? Well, though this may be the Lord's will for some, I have the conviction that while the Lord has me single, I want to be useful for Him. During these years of waiting, I want to prepare my heart as well as my mind for what the Lord may have planned for my future.

If it is the Lord's will that I marry, I would like to have certain skills mastered so that I may use them as a tool to bless my husband. They may be such skills that I need to take college courses to accomplish them, or they may be skills that I can gain through other areas, but still, I feel as though that I need to be sharpening my mind for God's glory.

For example, I love praising the Lord in song and He has blessed me with the ability to play a few instruments.While praying about and pondering what I should do after I graduate, the thought has struck me that I should pursue my study of music, that way I can give music lessons in the future. That may be a blessing to my husband, helping him and seeking to bless our family, and a tool to glorify the Lord.
These are simply thoughts... ponderings... which fill my mind as I pray about this season of change. {Which for me is about a year away}

I do believe that the Creator has made man to be the breadwinner, and the wife to support her husband. Sadly, our generation tries to switch these God- given roles, which results in chaos and heart ache.
Only when we embrace God's design for us as woman can we truly be content.
Thus, I have the conviction to not desire a life career. Indeed, this is a conviction, one that I feel upon my heart, yet I do not judge those who feel otherwise!

Therefore, like I have previously shared, your decision regarding college/ higher education truly depends on what the Lord has convicted you about... what choice would enable you to glorify the Lord more?

So, though I have no immediate plans... I am trusting in the Lord, waiting for His wonderful plan for my future to unfold, and lifting up this matter to Him. Prayer is of utmost importance in any decision!
He knows thethoughts and desires of my heart.... yet I must be willing to submit to whatever His will is.

May we trust in the Lord with all of our heart, leaning not on our own understanding... in all areas of our life.

Blessings,

Life Purpose Planning

College?
Online College?

CLEP Studies?

No College?
Do I need a college degree to fulfill God's desire for my life?
What is God's desire for my life?
Am I pursuing God's desire's or the worlds?
What is my God given life purpose?
Am I living a vibrant, set-on-fire for Christ life?
What in my innermost being do I love so much that I want to spend the rest of my life doing?
Do I have plans and goals set in place to accomplish and fulfill my life purpose?
...................................................................................

When you read the above questions, did they fill you with dread because the answers are elusive to you, or did they fill you with excitement because you could answer them?

As the time for my graduation drew near these questions (and so many others) were flying and whizzing around in my head constantly and I didn't have an answer to any of them.

As I look back over four years since that day of graduation, I can see how God has taught me many things and I'm glad that I waited on Him for direction rather that plowing ahead in my impatience and fustration at not knowing what to do.  As I mentioned above, I didn't have the answers to all the questions when I graduated.  I wanted to have them, but they weren't there.  I learned that sometimes God just needs us to prepare our fields (lives) in faith, trusting that He will bring the rain (purpose).  And He did, just not in ways I would ever have expected.

If I could give one piece of advice to each young person preparing for graduation or planning their future, I would tell them to seek God and His direction and to ask yourselves, "Am I planning or pursuing something because God desires it of me or am I doing it because the world expects me to?"

I would also suggest a very special tool that I wish I had known about earlier in life.  This tool helps you to find your life purpose and helps you prepare for your journey to fulfilling it.

The Tool:  "Life Purpose Planning Workbook" by Dewey Novotny.

If you have never heard of this book I would highly recommend visiting their website http://www.lifepurposeplanning.org/  Our family listened to two seminars by Mr. Novotny on Embassy Institute  (I wrote about Embassy on my personal blog) about a month and a half ago and soon after ordered the book.  We have just recently started working on it, but it has bee great!

The book encourages you to get your focus on God and find out what gifts, interests, traits, personality and circumstances He has given you to fulfill the purpose He made you for.

It helps teaches you how to become a better:
1. Person (a disciple)  "Living in uninterrupted fellowship with God and showing genuine love to others."
2. Provider (a servant) "Combining skill and vision to meet the needs of those whom God has called me to serve."
3. Proclaimer (a communicator) "Communicating Biblical truth to fulfill the Great Commission and live out a vital life message."
4. Partner (a teamate) "Honoring the marriage covenant in all my relationships."
5. Parent (a discipler) " Training those God entrusts to my care and rasing up many Godly generations."

For most of us the Partner and Parent title doesn't apply to us, but if we view those roles from the perspective of teamate and discipler then they do apply. 

This book helps you to find out what people group(s) God designed you to serve.  What ministries He can use you mightily in and so much more.

As I said above, our family just recently found this book and started working on it, (It's key that your parents be involved with this planning) and it's going on four years since I've graduated! So this book is fantastic for any age - even my parents want to do if for themselves =)

Finding the purpose to why God created you is key to unlocking the door to a vibrant, God filled, future.  There may be many doors in the future that you will have to find the right key to get through, but having a peace in knowing your life purpose will point you in the right direction.

Is this book a fix-all, find-all? No, the book itself will not point you in the right direction, but much prayer, direction from God and wisdom from your parents will help you find that special and unique key to your life purpose

The Shocking Truth About Family

What's one of the worst things about homeschooling? You have to spend all day with your family. What's one of the best things about homeschooling? You have to spend all day with your family. 

Here's one of the biggest lies that our culture is telling families today: adults and teenagers don't mix. Teens, preteens, tweens—they all think they're cooler than their parents, and parents don't want to spend time with a bunch of immature jerks. So...it's best if the kids are shipped off to school every morning (preferably after Dad's already scooted out to the office) so that they can spend time with their cool peers, and everyone hopes that when they get back they've got a lot of homework to do so they'll stay in their bedrooms. Then they can get on Facebook and play video games until everyone is safe in their separate beds, in separate rooms, with their separate lives safely intact.

That's the lie.  

My own experience with homeschooling has been so different from this typical tableaux, it's unrecognizable. Our homeschooling lifestyle is the only thing that has made our family business possible; my parents own a contract cleaning company, and some of my earliest memories involve sitting in conference rooms and office kitchens, doing schoolwork with my little brother Aaron while Mom and Dad vacuumed and cleaned desks. Since neither of my parents were employees at a business outside the home, we were together as a family 24/7. That's more than many homeschooling families. As the years went by, Aaron and I were able to make a generous allowance by taking on more and more responsibilities, and that's only grown so that now there's no need for us to go out and get a part-time job at Sonic to earn a little spending money.

The shocking truth is that family time—even if it's all the time—can be marvelous. My parents and brother are some of my best friends in the whole world. I don't think that there are many 19-year-old girls who can say that. My mom has taught me cooking, cleaning, sewing, home repair, and we love going shopping together. My dad works so hard and sacrifices so much for all of us, and he's a pretty fun guy. Aaron is a good-looking, intelligent, social fellow who gives the best random hugs. Do we sometimes get sick of each other? Yeah, definitely. Would we sacrifice our closeness for a more segregated lifestyle? Not a chance.

Isn't this better than a school full of peers? Isn't this better than coming home every afternoon to a house full of people I barely know?

First Photo: 32, a photo by Fidenaut on Flickr.

Top 5 Advantages to Homeschooling

As homeschoolers, we have some amazing opportunities that kids in the traditional school system can only dream of. Here are the main five I've noticed in my life. I have had a pretty lenient school schedule—I probably classify as an unschooler—so maybe some things are unique to my style of education.

1. Freedom in Education

For me, education isn't a chore that must be completed before 3pm before I can have any free time. Learning is a lifestyle.

I was never forced to write essays or create models, so I didn't dread compiling books on equine psychology or drawing maps of the migration paths of Australian parrots—entirely on my own terms. I didn't waste time answering every question in the curriculum when I thoroughly understood the material—in fact, I never took an English course. Once I got the basics down, my history lessons came from whatever books and websites and field trips I could get my hands on, allowing me to corroborate the facts from various sources rather than taking one viewpoint's word for it. I adored science and supplemented my usual curriculum with the latest in the journals.

Plato said, "All learning which is acquired under compulsion has no hold upon the mind." Because I wasn't taught under compulsion, the knowledge I've gained has taken firm root and my mind blossoms with passion for learning.

2. Lessons in Self-Discipline and Time Management

Did I ever take advantage of my freedom and shrink away to less constructive pastimes when I should have been doing something educational? Yes. I learned my lesson, and it's a much better lesson to learn at this stage in life than later on, when it really matters.

I had the opportunity to learn essential life lessons like self-discipline and managing time and putting priorities in order the hard way before failing a college class or getting fired from my day-job. My experiences will give me discretion in the years ahead, when I won't have my parents around to ensure I complete assignments on time.

3. Free Time

Unless I put a time-consuming task upon myself there's really nothing to hinder me from pursuits that don't fall under core classes, like classical piano and drama and sewing and horse training and novel- and screenwriting. I can take an hour or two to practice that Bach piece or rehearse lines for a play, or spend the afternoon teaching my horse to play fetch, or dedicate the month of November to the National Novel Writing Month. Or just read. Or write this very post.

Each of these things could potentially lead to a career (well, maybe not writing this post), so they're important skills to develop.

4. Making Friends

Some people find it mind-boggling that homeschoolers actually make friends. (Really, if most kids don't make friends outside of school, what kind of sad lives do they lead?) But one of the great advantages to homeschooling is that we get to meet people with similar interests, be it at band practice, soccer games, robotics competitions—you name it. And among homeschool groups, we're likely to meet people who share our values, adding an extra level of intimacy to our friendships.

The main issue that spurred this blog was how lonely we homeschooled girls often feel surrounded by the worldly people around us, but at least, as homeschoolers, we do have more opportunities to seek out people like us. Just last week I was able to attend a Christian writers' conference (thanks to not having a rigid school schedule holding me back). It was my third time going, and each year I've made friendships I believe will last a lifetime.

I might not get to see my friends every day (which is mostly because I live a weird life and my friends live far away--they see their other friends regularly), but I do have a number of wonderful, true friendships that run far deeper than those portrayed by the media.

And if we are blessed enough to have friends nearby, as I once did, we can spend time with them while our school-going peers are in class or doing homework. I cherish the many daytime hours I got to spend with my friends before I moved away.

5. Spending Time with Family

I have been asked, "Don't you hate being around your parents all day?" If this is the mindset, something is wrong. That's not to say I don't long at times to stretch my wings, but living at home has cultivated healthy relationships with my parents and a stronger bond than would probably have formed if I only saw my mother in the evenings and weekends. (Which is probably why I'm not as close with my father.) It can be hard at times to be at home so much, but I endeavor to be nothing but loving. If I can't do that with my own family, I can't do that with anyone else.

I was an only child before my brother was born year before last, so I'm thankful I'm able to spend as much time experiencing sisterhood as possible before I go away.


Homeschooling has been one of the greatest blessings in my life. I thank God daily for the opportunity to have such an education and for an unquenchable love of learning.

What great opportunities did you have through homeschooling that you couldn't have had otherwise?

Photo courtesy mikebaird on Flickr

When School Becomes Fun

To be homeschooled is a blessing.  There are many advantages that come 

with it, too {as Olivia mentions here}.  

Some people choose to look at school as a chore.  But, with homeschooling, we have more freedom with how we choose to do our subjects than students who attend public or private school.  

It's nice to have that as one of the pros to homeschooling.  

Our moms or dads can make our topics fun instead of dry, boring material that we dread doing 

{except for math...if you aren't a math person, there is not really a way around that one. ;)}.

For as long as I can remember, my favorite subject in school has been history!  I truly believe my mom is the one who taught me to love it so much, by her way of always trying to make it exciting, not just a jumble of boring facts/dates.  Interestingly enough, she never enjoyed history when she was in school and always remembered it as being a dry, uninteresting subject.  But, by homeschooling us, she is able to make our view of history opposite from what hers was.

One way she makes history come alive is by reading historical fiction based on the time period we are learning about.  It is surprising what a clear picture it gives you about characters that lived in history and what their everyday life was like.

History is truly a joy to do!  In particular, I have loved learning about the Ancient Roman time period.

One read aloud my mom tied in with that period in history was The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare.  That is a fantastic book!  Other favorites I read were Hostage Lands by Douglas Bond, Pearl Maiden by H. Rider Haggard & Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff.

Another great way to make history fun is going on field trips!  The most memorable was visiting George Washington's home, Mt. Vernon {you can read about that trip here}.  

How amazing it was to walk where our first president lived!

These are just a few of the many things I love about homeschooling.  

Thank goodness for moms who take time to make school fun!

            School is what you make of it.  You can look at it as a chore or an opportunity to learn.

Which one will you choose?

{disclaimer: all images here}

And the Winner Is....

Thank you, everyone who participated in our little giveaway! 


I wish that I could give a copy of One Thousand Gifts to each one of you, but there can only be one winner. Out of 20 entries, Random.org selected






Kate W from Walk By Faith!

Kate is from Maryland Heights, MO, and on her profile she says, 

My life's goal is to be a wife and mother. 'The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.' It was what I was CREATED for & I am waiting expectantly for God to begin to write the next chapter of my life. I want to get married, have children, and HOMESCHOOL. OF COURSE, ministry and serving will be a HUGE part of my future. I'm PASSIONATELY in love with my Savior. He is my ALL IN ALL, my EVERYTHING. I am NOTHING without Him. I love God with all that is within me. My life's purpose is to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. God is Faithful. His ways are Best. He works ALL out for our GOOD & His Glory. I LOVE to learn new things & then take that newly-acquired knowledge to better serve my family, friends & the Body of Christ. I LOVE to 'dig down deep,' being held accountable & mentoring others.

So congratulations, Kate! I hope that you'll share your gifts and insights with our community :)

Never Doing School

My childhood is probably the oddest thing you'll ever hear of. Or perhaps not. I'm sure we've all had those days where our mom wakes up and just says, "I don't want to do school today." So you don't.

Now imagine waking up like that every morning.

Let me give you a hint as to how this feels: it's so incredibly awesome, there are hardly words.

I can count on my fingers how many times in my memory that I've actually been made to sit down and do schoolwork. Out of those times, the majority of them were math lessons. Most of the time, we just go through life, learning as we go. Going to a park is an excuse for a science lesson or a social sciences lesson. The library provides our English class. We count things we pass on long drives, we tot up how much we owe in shops as we go through and get what we need.

That is my life, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

It's given me the opportunity to do so many things that other kids don't get to do--important things like have the playground to myself, or having my pick of swings, or being able to linger at museum exhibits without crowds of people shoving me along. It's allowed me to participate in ministry opportunities I would have otherwise missed. For instance, twice a week, I travel to two different schools and help teach Good News Clubs. I stand in front of kids and tell them about Jesus and play games and get free hugs and help future pastors and missionaries on their ways.

Most of these things would never have happened if I'd been locked up in a school room all the time. I love being homeschooled or unschooled, or whatever it is you'd like to call it. And I wouldn't trade all that's happened for the world