Personal Growth

• The Only RIGHT Way to Teach Literature

  16 May 2012 / High School, Literature, Personal Growth, Social Skills, Study Skills / 9 Comments

  Literature is such an important core academic class in high school for homeschoolers as well as the rest of the population.  I have reached a conclusion after many years of teaching my own children high school literature and teaching classes for hundreds of homeschooled high schoolers in our area:

  

  There is only ONE RIGHT WAY to teach literature.

  I am going to share that way with you now.

  I know this is the ONE RIGHT WAY because I can fast-forward the scene and enjoy where it takes me.  Let me explain:

  Any time we make a choice, we are creating consequences in our own life story.  Think of your life story burned onto a DVD, and hit the fast-forward button.....where will you find yourself down the road as the result of this choice?  Are you satisfied with the outcome you can foresee?  (Thank you, Dr. Henry Cloud, for the idea of playing your life forward!)

  If I teach my homeschooler literature in the traditional way, I will choose books that are recommended reading for high school at various grade levels, and I will choose them whether I actually understand the value of those books myself or not.  In other words, someone else chooses my child's book list; I don't know who this person is, but he or she established the curriculum I bought or created a list of books that appeared on the internet and sounded authoritative.

  Then, when my student reads those books, we will look for the commonly respected themes in the story, we will memorize the pivotal moments in the plot,  we will recognize the universally accepted symbolism in the story, and finally, we will produce a piece of writing based on a prompt someone put forth as a "good topic" for writing about this book.

  When we are all done and I play the scene forward in my mind, I see my grown child at a dinner party with colleagues someday where someone mentions the book title.  "Ah yes!  I read that book in high school, too."  The discussion that continues will find everyone sharing very similar experiences they had with the book, the primary focus for actual conversation being who liked the book and who didn't.  All I will have taught my child with this traditional method is to memorize what others have decided is valuable about a piece of writing, to articulate someone else's observations about it, and to decide whether or not it was fun to do those things.

  

  Here is the ONE RIGHT WAY to teach high school literature:

  * Choose for yourselves.  Whether you create your child's book list or you collaborate on the task, choose books that you want to immerse yourselves in.  What do you want to spend time talking about in the car?  What topics will interest you around the dinner table?  Choose books that will feed into that conversation.  Recommended reading lists are a great place to get IDEAS for books to read, but they are not definitive.  There is no book that MUST be read for a child to graduate from high school.

  * Read with your brain turned on.  It is important to pay attention to the story, the characters and the themes as you read, and a literature study guide is an irreplaceable tool if you or your student struggles to stay focused while reading.  (Check out 7 Sisters' ever-growing collection of $3.99 study guides on many classic works of literature.)  The author put those elements in there for a reason, so read aloud, or read more than once, or read with study helps at your side....whatever way enables you to read with your brain engaged.

  * Read with your SPIRIT turned on.  Knowing what the author put into the book is not enough.  It's so exciting to uncover what GOD put into the book, and reading with an attitude of openness to His agenda for us reveals those things.  Ask God to show Himself in what you are reading.  Even books by godless authors frequently contain illustrations of spiritual truth; God uses the most unlikely vessels.

  * Talk about what you've read.  Have meaningful conversations about books instead of oral review sessions.  Don't quiz your child to see if he completed the assigned chapters; TALK TO HIM about what is grabbing him in the reading.  Encourage him to articulate WHY it's grabbing him.  There are no wrong answers when you are discussing a piece of literature.

  * Allow your writing assignments to grow out of these conversations.  If you use a writing prompt you find from someone else to get you started, that's fine, but only if the prompt is a good fit for the conversation you've already been having.  If your child saw something really out-of-the-norm when she read the book, and she can articulate it and support her observations with examples from the book, GOOD FOR HER!  You don't even have to see it yourself; if she can write about it intelligently, she might be able to convince you that you simply missed those things when you were reading the same book!

  Fast-forward the scene in your mind:  ten years down the road my grown child is at a dinner party with colleagues where someone mentions a book title.  "Ah yes!  I read that book in high school, too."  Now imagine how rich the ensuing conversation will be.

  While many others in the circle "learned" the same things from that book, my child will be able to share from his personal encounter with the book.  He can INTRODUCE IDEAS that were stirred in him.  He can SHARE STORIES of how he was changed by that reading experience.  And he can EXTEND A CHALLENGE to the people around him to turn on their brains and their spirits in a deeper way the next time they pick up a book.
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• 4 Ways to Avoid Homeschool Animal School

  24 April 2012 / Career Exploration, Curricula, Differences, High School, News, Personal Growth, Teaching / 2 Comments

  

  This week's topic is gifts/talents/career exploration. So, I pulled up a classic post that says it well. Join us!

  Homeschoolers remember the story of the Animal School:

  Once upon a time, the animals got together to form a school so that all their offspring would be well educated. First, they set standards so that all the students would receive a uniform, quality education. Then they set up their programs: flight class, climbing class, running class, singing class.

  The animal parents were soon dismayed to find out that their beloved child was struggling in some classes and met qualifications for an IEP. The school psychologist informed:

  -the eagle parents that while their eaglet had some hope of improvement in singing class with more tutoring, he was experiencing a statistically significant level of disability in running and climbing

  -the deer parents that their fawn was struggling in all areas except running (an area he appeared to have some mastery)

  -the cheetah parents that their cub had difficulty waiting on the rest of the students in running class and would need special compensations in singing and flying

  All children have areas that are weaknesses. It could be spelling or math or art or attention or coordination. While we all have to work to make certain our homeschoolers learn to conquer, cope, or compensate for those weaknesses, we would do well to avoid making the weaknesses the main focus of our attention.

  Instead, it is wise for homeschooling parents to help their child discover and develop his/her strengths and giftings.

  So avoid having your own animal school by:

  

  It won't be a career, but it was out-of-the-box!

  1) Enrich your child's experiences with creative, out-of-the box field trips

  In my 20+ years of homeschooling, my kids and I (and usually our co-op or support group) have taken field trips to historic sites, wastewater treatment plants, plays, dress rehearsals for operettas, museums, dams, apple farms, state parks, beaches, big cities, re-enactments, concerts, film festivals and more. Some grossed the kids out, others were ho-hum, but some inspired my kids to explore more.

  2) Study something unusual

  If you only cover the 3R's, you may miss a gifting in your child that is waiting to be developed. My oldest son discovered his love of philosophy from a workbook his grandmother sent him, my 3rd son discovered his love of filmmaking as he watch a gazillion historical-fiction films with his history-buff next oldest brother, my second son and daughter learned to love cooking from my friend, Lois, who taught them the ropes in co-op.

  3) Explore any interest

  

  Umbrella School's Praise Band

  If a child expresses an interest or shows a gifting in any area, make the development of the interest/gift part of your homeschool curriculum. When in high school, my daughter developed a passion for photography, we had her take classes at the local community college. My son who loves making music (well, ALL my kids love to make music), develops that gift by playing in 2 praise bands, singing in homeschool choir, playing with his friends and siblings, and taking courses like History of Rock.

  As your child explores, he'll probably discard some interests (mine discarded karate) and gradually clarify what he/she wants to do. These clarified gifts and interests may lead to career choices. Better to explore many things ahead of time than to send them off to college clueless.

   4) Do some active Career Exploration

  I have my high schoolers do my Career Exploration Workbook and (free) Career Exploration Questionnaire.

  I developed these years ago based on my work as a counselor (I do a fair amount of career counseling). I wanted my kids to have a Godly look at gifts, talents, experiences, values, and interests- and seeking God's will and direction. These are the topics I included in the workbook.

  It seems to me that kids make the best choices about college major and/or career if they understand what God has put inside them, how to value their experiences, how to seek His guidance, and how to choose priorities. Career Exploration Workbook and Career Exploration Questionnaire help a high schooler do this.

  Question: What are some ways you have helped your homeschooler explore gifts and interests?
  

   

   

   

• Everyone Needs Retreats

  20 April 2012 / Personal Growth, Prayer / 1 Comment

  The Sisters are on a retreat with other leaders in our homeschool umbrella/day school program this weekend, so this is a re-run of a classic post about...retreats!  Enjoy!

   

  I love retreats and I believe that they are good for the soul.

  

  Marilyn and Vicki on retreat.

  They help me keep perspective in my sometimes chaotic and crazy life. They help me maintain relationships with important people. Most of all, they help me reconnect with God in a very special way.

  No two retreats are ever the same, even if they follow some of the same basic format. Here are some “types” of retreats and the purpose of each.

  The church retreat: Okay, so to some it seems like going away with 60 or 70 other women is not really retreating. But, I come away from each one with a new level of relationship with some of the women, a better understanding of God, and my batteries charged for ministry. Sunday mornings and Bible Studies don’t give us women the same opportunity to just relax and enjoy each other because we are all so busy serving that we don’t have time to connect. Going away (in our case to a hotel by the beach!) where we do not need to cook, clean, or watch kids, is a great time to get to know each other in a deeper, more meaningful way. Our speakers and discussions are always inspiring, and we come home with a new perspective and deeper relationships.

  

  The “we have an agenda to complete” retreat: The first time I did one of these was with our co-op moms. We had always done our planning for the year in between other events, with kids wandering in and out of the room. This works okay, but one year it had been so hectic that the whole year felt discombobulated. So, we went away. We each took about an hour to get by ourselves to pray. When we came back, we talked and planned, uninterrupted, for about three hours. The plan was entirely different than we had expected, but it was an awesome year. Imagine that! When we all prayed, we could hear God’s voice and He directed our path! {If you have some big plans for your group, you might consider hiring a “coach” to help you.}

  Business retreats: Similar to the above retreat, a business retreat lets you step back and look at the big picture of your business. For Christians, it also gives you time to pray - individually and corporately - so that you can stay in tune with God. At 7 Sisters, we start all our meetings with prayer, but retreats give us more time and uninterrupted focus.

  

  Good hiking and good time with God.

  Personal prayer retreats:  This is by far my most favorite of all retreats. In fact, I am so convinced of the importance of these that I try to schedule three or four a year. Most of these are held in a cabin in a state park. Vicki and I do these together (truthfully, I’m too much of a wimp to go to a cabin in a state park for a couple of nights by myself, besides it’s more meaningful if I can discuss things with my best friend). In this kind of retreat there is no agenda except to have time alone with God and follow His leading. We have probably done around twenty of these and no two have been the same. I like to hike and pray,Vicki likes to sit and listen to the birds (she can even tell them apart, just by listening). I always come away feeling like I am ready to handle, with God’s help, what life is going to bring.

  BTW- If you'd like to retreat with a good prayer journal to guide your prayer time, check out our 7 Sisters Prayer Journals.

  

   

• 5-Minute Friday: Good-Bye

  13 April 2012 / 5-Minute Fridays, Personal Growth / 9 Comments

  On Fridays, we link up to Lisa-Jo at www.thegypsymama.com and use her prompt word for a 5-Minute Friday post.  According to Lisa-Jo, "We set a timer, throw caution to the winds and try to remember what it was like to just write without worrying if it’s just right or not."

  I add a challenge for myself; I try to connect the prompt word to whatever our blog theme has been for the week.  This week it's been our Spiritual Walk.

  Ready, set, go!

  We all know the feeling of calendar overload.

  It's that knot in your stomach when you look at the upcoming day, or week, or month and think, "HOW is all of THAT going to fit???"

  In the last couple of years God has shown me the importance of taming my calendar, of scheduling backwards by starting with the things that are truly important to me on the grand scale, the long-run picture of my life.  Once I have put time aside for those pursuits, then I add in all the "stuff of life" that can quickly run my whole world if I allow it to.

  Saying goodbye to things that aren't truly important is an oddly painful experience.  I would love to be so wise that when I recognize something is actually unnecessary according to God's plan for me, I would casually toss it aside.  But I have found that this not the case at all.

  The expectations of other people sometimes makes it hard to say goodbye to an activity that for them is important but to me is a waste of time and energy.

  The way I've done things for so long, the habits I have formed, yammer at me in the silence of my mind when I try to say goodbye to something that has always had a place on my calendar squares.

  My fears of falling short, of mis-hearing God, of leaving out something that I should have realized was needed...these fears hammer on my emotions when I decide that goodbye is in order.

  Isn't everything in our spiritual walk a part of learning to trust God?

  Don't I know that He is faithful?  Unfailing Love guiding my life?  Yes, I know it; sometimes it's hard to trust it.

  Especially when I'm supposed to say goodbye to something....

  ============================================
  If you need to take a look at what perhaps deserves a heart-felt, "Goodbye!" on your calendar, click here to download our FREE time-management tool Scheduling Backwards.

  For literature study guides that will encourage you and your homeschoolers to dig into the true stories of other Christians who learned to let go of things they had always held dear in order to embrace the abundance God had planned for them, visit the EBookstore for Joni: An Unforgettable Story, Brother Lawrence's The Practice of the Presence of God, Something Beautiful for God by Malcolm Muggeridge, Corrie ten Boom's The Hiding Place, and Brother Andrew's God's Smuggler.  These books will improve your understanding of what really deserves priority in your life...and thrill you as well!

   

   

• My Identity

  11 April 2012 / Career Exploration, Helping Others, Personal Growth / 0 Comment

  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:9-11 - NIV)

  I am a single, adoptive, biological, homeschooling mom. And, yet, this isn’t really what I am, this is what I do. I am a child of the King, created for good works. God prepared them for me - before I was even born. This is where I should be finding my identity.

  

  Visiting Hobbiton with my daughter

  Let me back up a bit. My oldest daughter has been known to say that I “set an impossibly high standard”. This is a compliment (sort of). So, I’ve been giving this some thought. I’ve come to the conclusion that I may (or not) have been setting an example of some high standards, but I have not been setting these standards for her. You see, my job is to follow God’s direction for my life. Her job is to follow God’s direction for hers. Each of us has a plan (a plan to prosper and not harm, to give us a hope and a future) that has been set in place by the God of the universe. How cool is that?

  Perhaps I have not emphasized this enough for my children. Their identity does not come from being a part of my family. It does not come from being homeschoolers, or soccer players, or musicians, or actors. It comes because God has a plan for each of them. He sees each individual’s strengths and weaknesses. He sees each individual’s potential. He sees what can be accomplished through His strength.

  One of the blessings of parenting is to help each child find and develop his or her strengths. As homeschoolers, we can incorporate these activities into our daily lives and integrate it into our education.

  How well are you helping your child find and follow God’s plan? Are you encouraging his strengths, while helping him overcome or compensate for weaknesses? After you have done that, are you willing to get out of the way and let God direct his paths?

   

  If your high school student is struggling with finding a direction for after high school, perhaps you can encourage

  

  Check out "Career Exploration" in our E-Bookstore

  him to branch out and try some new things. We have some resources in our bookstore that can help. Check out Career Exploration, Introduction from Psychology from a Christian Viewpoint, Human Development from a Christian Worldview, or some of our drama resources.

• Personalizing Scripture

  10 April 2012 / Bible Verses Revisited, Personal Growth, Prayer / 4 Comments

  Your homeschool is a great place to teach your children to memorize scripture.  When I was young I memorized many Bible verses, and that word that was hidden in my heart comes to mind quickly and easily even after all these years.  Another skill you can teach your children that will bless them for the rest of their lives is to personalize scripture when they read it.

  Personalizing scripture is more than just intellectually acknowledging that the Bible is God's word speaking to me today.  It is asking the Lord to help us take real ownership of the truth in His word as we read it.  Here are a couple of ideas for getting started personalizing scripture.

  Psalms are an easy place to begin.  Many of the psalms are very much a personal expression of the psalmist's feelings.  Memorizing a few verses from various psalms expressing feelings common to human beings provides a vehicle for getting comfortable praying the word of God.  When we pray to God what He has already included in His word, there is an immediate focus and power in that prayer.  For example:

  • "You are a shield around me, O Lord; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head," (Ps. 3:3) is a great verse to pray when I am discouraged.
  • "Lord, You have assigned me my portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure," (Ps. 16:5) when I am trusting Him to provide what I need in a situation.
  • "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer," (Ps. 19:14) when I realize that my thought life is straying into critical judgments, or worry, or bitterness.

  Beyond simply learning to pray scripture verses that I have memorized, I have also found great blessing in meditating on a particular short passage of scripture, emphasizing a new word or phrase each time I run over it again in my heart.  For example:

  "Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long."  (Ps. 25:4-5) is a verse that becomes personal as I meditate on each piece of it.

  • SHOW ME Your ways...  I need You to show me, Lord.  I will mess it up if I just try to figure out Your word and my life on my own.
  • Show me YOUR ways...  I am surrounded by a world that wants me to do things the way other people think I should.  I need to live YOUR way, or not at all.
  • Show me Your WAYS...  I find lots of knowledge about You in the Bible, but I need to learn the WAY to apply that knowledge, to live out what I have memorized.

  And so forth!

  Many of the epistles are filled with instruction to Christians.  From these passages, I can personalize the scripture in the passage to help me clearly focus on the importance of owning that truth in my own life.  For example:

  Galatians 3:23-24 says "Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed.  So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith."

  As I read it again, I learn that this applies to me specifically.  "Before faith in Christ came to me, I was held prisoner by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed.  So the law was put in charge to lead me to Christ that I might be justified by faith in Him."

  As I meditate on it, I can pray His words back to Him:  "Before I had faith in You, Lord - and thank You for GIVING me faith so that I could believe! - before that I was a prisoner.  I was bound up by my inability to fulfill the requirements of the law.  I was locked into that failure, unable to ever break free from the sentence of "Falling Short" that hung on me all the time.  You revealed faith in Christ to me, You introduced me to salvation because I had already seen that my situation was hopeless under the law.  I understood that I was never going to cut it as PERFECT on my own; the law showed me that, and I was prepared by the law to know that I needed the salvation Jesus Christ provided in Himself for me."

  Wow!  My heart gets happy and my eyes get weepy just typing this blog post.  Those verses in the Bible are there for us to take as our own, to understand as God's word to us personally.

  Including these types of exercises as we have times of devotion with our kids in our homeschools will help lay a foundation of understanding in their hearts.

  They will grow up knowing that God's word is more than a book; it is life.

  ========================================

  For a personal look at the first chapter of Genesis, download the FREE Bible study guide from our EBookstore.

  Vicki's Prayer Journals are filled with various exercises to sharpen the focus and deepen the richness of your prayer life.  Click here to view excerpts.

• Teaching Them Diligently Convention Wrap Up...On the Road Again

  19 March 2012 / Conventions, Give-Aways, Humor, News, Personal Growth, Relationships, Stories / 0 Comment

  Here we are driving home from Spartanburg, SC and the Teaching Them Diligently Convention, rolling along in Marilyn's vehicle (yet to be named) typing on her Macbook (named Genie) using her cool MiFi (possibly about to be named Mini)! Wow! What a whirlwind weekend plus this has been! Here's a wrap up of some of the highlights since Marilyn's post on Saturday.

  We forgot to mention that our last official act before closing up on Friday was to re-arrange the furniture. While Sabrina was in the bathroom, Marilyn and I totally transformed our booth layout. We wondered if she was awake enough to notice? She did!  It was a much better fit for our corner spot. We had even more entries in our giveaways!

  Saturday morning we had the pleasurable company of Lynn, founder of Founder's Academy, for the early ride to the Expo Center at Restoration Church. Many of us exhibitors came in early at the request of the families of the 400 or so men attending the Prayer Breakfast.

  Our day included lots of visits from folks who had attended Sabrina's Drama Workshop - The Drama really did start here in Spartanburg! Sabrina really enjoyed visiting with Beth from Florida and even spent some time brainstorming how they might work together in the future. Thanks to all of you who came by to gain and give wisdom, ideas and encouragement.

  

  Sabrina and Beth brainstormed some great ideas about drama in Beth's area

  Of course we were delighted to have some more time with Abigail! Lisa and Matthew Lewis of Home School Enrichment Magazine are great people - homeschool graduates, successful business owners, homeschool advocates and wonderful parents. They were kind enough to let us get our "baby fixes". Marilyn was missing your grandbabies at home and Sabrina and I just love babies.  We got to take walks and visited with Shatterpoint Entertainment - she was fascinated with the Jericho movie (Did you vote for it to "get on the shelf" at Walmart?)! Then we visited a booth with balloons and went to on to visit Richelle at Virgina Soaps & Scents to drink in all the yummy sights and smells!

  As the day was winding down, the line at the Rhino Recording booth was winding around the corner. I scooted over to buy copies of Sabrina's workshop on CD. If you were wondering why her workshop was listed under my name, it's because I am the one who got her this gig after all.

  Our booth was directly across from JM Cremp's and all their cool toys.  We were highly entertained by sword fights and shot at by rifle-bearing soldiers. One of their best toys was the arrow shooting slingshot/crossbow. It was repeatedly shot across the room and onto the wall over the heads of passersby. Ask Marilyn about the face of one woman who unsuspectingly had an arrow launched over her head!  Marilyn and I both had to try it before we left! Thanks, Mariah and family!

  In what felt like the blink of an eye, the first Teaching Them Diligently Convention was over and we were packing up. Much to our delight, we were able to fit our the entire contents of our booth onto the hand truck that we had crammed into the car. We were on the road again...

  Thank you so much to all of the folks who made Teaching Them Diligently run so well - David and Leslie Nunnery, Kristin and Jeremy Pressley, Coie Watson, the convention volunteers, the iserve team from Restoration Church and a HUGE THANK YOU to Jenni McClure!

  

  Pollo FUNdido!

  To reward ourselves for our hard work and managing to get everything back into the car, we headed straight for On the Border. Our call ahead order of Pollo Fundido and perhaps the best chips we've ever had, were ready and waiting when we arrived. We whisked them and ourselves back to the hotel for a jammy party and decompression session. We made a huge list of the great things that happened this weekend, found only a few "yucks" and things we'd tweak next time, prayed for ourselves and everyone at TTD and even laughed til we cried over silly jokes.

  On our way home, we had a fabulous time of prayer and sang our praises to the Lord for our own mobile Sunday morning worship.  After a little traffic, a few bathroom/stretch breaks and a lot of miles and solving the world's problems, we dropped Sabrina off in Fredricksburg, VA for some much needed vacation days with her wonderful hubby!  Not long afterward, we pulled into Marilyn's driveway! Hope you enjoyed our road trip posts on our Teaching Them Diligently Homeschool Convention adventure and look forward to another road trip to Great Homeschool Convention in the Northeast in Hartford, CT in June!

• Slow and Steady Wins the Homeschool Race

  14 March 2012 / Healthy Living, Personal Growth / 2 Comments

  As Marilyn, Kym and I take off this afternoon in Marilyn's outrageously over-packed vehicle (we decided to strap Kym on the back bumper to get everything to fit...), we begin our VIRTUAL ROAD TRIP to the Teach Them Diligently Convention post series.

  There has been a lot of "Hurry!  Quick!  Gotta have it yesterday!" in our last few weeks at 7 Sisters.  We had curriculum to complete, display copies to print, video DVD's to burn, and workshop notes to prepare.

  

  Will you come along with us?

   

  We also, oddly enough, had to continue homeschooling our own children, and make plans for our families to still be alive when we return from TTD.

   

  All that hurrying can set an unhealthy tone in our homeschools if we aren't careful.

  Whether you are hurrying to get out the door for a road trip, or whether you are hurrying to get to church on time, today's post is a loving reminder (to ME as well to you, dear reader!) that ---

   

   

  --- wait for it ---

   

  --- no, seriously, wait for it ---

   

  --- I'm not kidding.  That's the reminder.

   

  Wait for it.

  God has such good things to teach us in our homeschooling adventures.

  He has lessons for our kids in academics, in extra-curriculars, in character development, in relationships.  He has lessons for us as the parents in all of those arenas, too.  And God refuses to be rushed.

  He is NEVER running late.

  He never hurries to get something done.

  He is not taken by surprise when things don't go according to OUR plans.

  The things that we seek to accomplish by means of a formula ("Well, so-and-so's book said that in 10 easy steps I can...."  or  "My friend said she did this for one week and...") are things that God wants to accomplish according to His perfect plans only.

  The things that we seek to accomplish by hard work (I'm not knockin' hard work, just sayin' don't rely on it) are things God wants to accomplish according to His unlimited power and might only.

  Whether you are hurrying to get through a tough academic challenge (linear equations....ugh!), or hurrying to get a homeschool club or group off the ground, or hurrying to get dinner on the table, I hope that today's post will remind you that trusting in God is the most effective strategy for anything you need to accomplish.

  He has tools in place that we know nothing about; He will reveal them to us when the time is right for us to use them.  He is not stressing about the fact that our lesson plans said we are "supposed" to be in Chapter 11 before April 1st.

  When we firmly fix our eyes on Him (prayer and the Word FIRST, before we start planning the day), we find that even when we are moving fast and working hard, we are not RUSHED and HURRIED and STRESSED.

  That's when things can really be accomplished.

  That's when Christ is glorified in our homeschools.

  That's when we start to look more like Jesus and less like screaming lunatics.

  Psalm 74:16 says:  "Yours is the day, and Yours also is the night."  He arranged the 24 hours we have in each rotation of the earth, and He will see to it that everything that truly MUST be accomplished in each day will happen....if we will trust in Him to accomplish it in us and through us.

  See you from the road!

  ====================================

  If your prayer time or Bible study needs some encouragement, check out our Prayer Journals and the FREE in-depth Bible study for Genesis Chapter 1 in the EBookstore.

• 5-Minute Friday: Empty

  09 March 2012 / 5-Minute Fridays, Literature, Personal Growth, Prayer / 7 Comments

  On Fridays, we link-up to www.thegypsymama.com and use the prompt word Lisa-Jo posts for a 5-minute post.  Here's what she says about why 5-minute posts are important:

  "We write because we love words and the relief it is to just write them without worrying if they’re just right or not. So we take five minutes on Friday and write like we used to finger paint. For joy in the process. No matter how messy the result."

  I like to give myself an additional challenge, and find a way to tie the prompt word in to whatever our theme has been at 7 Sisters for the week.  This week's theme has been CHARACTER STUDIES.  This week's prompt word from Lisa-Jo is: EMPTY.

  Ready, set, go!

  Could I really empty my life of all the familiar stuff that makes me feel significant if God called me to?

  Could I empty my schedule?  My email contacts?  My closets?  Could I just give it all away, even the shoes???

  Sometime around 1650, a man named Nicholas Herman gave away everything that was familiar and significant from his 40 years of life thus far, and he entered a Carmelite monastery in France, taking the name Brother Lawrence.  Because he had not received enough education to be a priest, he was a simple lay-brother, and served first in the monastery kitchen, and later in a sandal-making shop.  His life was emptied of all that had defined him for 40 years in answer to a call from God.

  I don't know whether it was that radical step into a cloistered order of monks or not, but SOMETHING in this man's life caused him to take hold of a very concrete "practice of the presence of God," and later he also encouraged others (he never considered himself a teacher because he was untrained) to adopt a similar attitude in their relationships with God.  The little book that was published as a collection of conversations with and letters from Bro. Lawrence has been a huge impact on my life.

  He learned that every activity is FULL of the presence of God, no matter how EMPTY it might superficially appear.

  He learned that every moment of our day is FULL of conversation with God if only we will EMPTY our ears to listen to His voice instead of the noise of life around us.

  He learned that a kitchen with a FULL sink of dirty dishes is just as holy as an EMPTY stretch of floor before the altar in a church.

  I want more of the kind of EMPTINESS in my mind and heart that will allow for the FULLNESS of the presence of God!

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  Click here to download the study guide I wrote that accompanies Brother Lawrence's Christian classic The Practice of the Presence of God.

  Your homeschool high school student can get a lot out of this little Christian classic, and the study guide questions and background information will help turn this literature assignment into a Character Study.  It was said of Brother Lawrence, "his example was a stronger inducement than any arguments he could propose.  His very countenance was edifying."  Add this often overlooked man's life-story to your list of Character Studies in your homeschool!

• Character Studies: Kym Smythe

  07 March 2012 / Healthy Living, Homeschool Information, News, Personal Growth / 5 Comments

  (Kyn's gonna kill me for this, but it is true.)  One of the best methods for doing character study with our homeschoolers is to model the desired character qualities for our kids. Kym Smythe is a good example of a living character study for her homeschooled children.

  The character quality she models is service. Kym has an internal radar for people in need or distress. She devotes time to tangibly helping- she runs errands, makes phone calls, organizes volunteers, takes folks on hikes, and visits. She has been a blessing to many. That said, here is a post written by Kym about volunteering at homeschool conferences:

  

  Kym and Sabrina relax a bit during a conference

  Top 5 Reasons to Volunteer at Homeschool Conferences & Conventions(including a Money-Saving Tip!)

  

  Come by and chat with Marilyn, Sabrina, and Kym at TTP

  ‘Tis the season to go to Teaching Them Diligently (TTD), Great Homeschool Conventions, Great American Homeschool Conferences and/or any of the many great options out there. I’m gonna let you in on one of the best kept secrets – Volunteering!

  In one of my other professional lives, I was a Lactation Consultant (IBCLC, to be exact) and had the blessing of coordinating the volunteers at our professional association’s international conference for a number of years.  The tips below come from those experiences combined with my homeschooling conference adventures.

  5 - Learn new skills – Wanna try your hand as a greeter, distributor of information, guide, director, counter, monitor, registrar, host/hostess, stock guy/girl, children’s activity leader?

  4 - Acquire service hours for your student(s) - Whether you are seeking specific numbers of hours to document or merely want the experience of serving the Lord and others,  at TTD teens are welcomed and encouraged to volunteer too!

  3 - Learn more about the convention itself & how to get the most of your time & money there. Need I say more? You’ll get to know at least some part of the Teach Them Diligently Convention crew, the Convention and/or the Spartansburg Expo Center better than most participants.

  2 - Save money on your registration – At TTD, for a commitment of 4 hours, you will get $20 off your family registration.  If 2 adult members of the same family volunteer for 4 hour shifts, your registration will be completely paid for!!

  1 - Meet new friends –It’s all about community here at 7 Sisters. Whether you know hundreds of other homeschoolers or not

  

  Volunteering is a great way to model character for your homeschoolers

  a one, it’s always a blessing to have a new friend. Working side by side for a few hours could be the beginning of a beautiful new relationship!

  We’re talking about TTD so much in this post, because we’re heading there in less than 2 weeks! Stay tuned for more information about Great Homeschool Conventions – especially the Northeast version – our next formal Convention stop!

  God bless Coie Watson for coordinating all these folks.  If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Coie at CWatson@teachthemdiligently.net. For more info about the Teaching Them Diligently Convention, go to http://www.teachthemdiligently.net/.

  Question: What are your top reasons for volunteering?

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  One great example of service was Brother Lawrence, who learned to live in God's presence in his daily life of service. He writes about it in the classic: The Practice of the Presence of God. Sabrina has produced a study guide for the book. Great way to develop character and literature skills at the same time. Download today for $3.99.