Homeschooling: Staying Encouraged

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This month, the Teach Them Diligently blog is offering a blog hop where you can find LOTS of encouragement all in one place! So, if you are feeling discouraged in this homeschooling journey, please click over and read from a few fellow moms who have been there and may still be there! 

I’ve talked a lot recently about how hard homeschooling can be for me. I guess I just want to be real with ya’ll and let you know that I don’t have my act together, I don’t always have the perfect lesson plans, my house is more often messy than anything, and I get to the end of our days and wonder where I went wrong! ha!

Mothering and homeschooling are the hardest things I’ve ever done. I was a kindergarten teacher, I thought this stuff would be a piece of cake. Whoa did God have a lot to teach me. 🙂

Mothering and homeschooling are humbling, sanctifying, difficult, joyful, frustrating, and just more than I ever imagined it would all be.

Can you relate? You are not alone, sweet friends.

For some reason, as moms, we also struggle with something called mom guilt. Why is it that we feel bad when we take a break, go out with friends or even to a homeschool conference for the weekend? I don’t know about you, but the last time I checked, every JOB out there gives you some type of “time off” whether that is vacation time, sick days, personal days or just taking a day off with no pay BECAUSE YOU NEED IT. 🙂

Recently, I shared these 4 ways to take TIME to RENEW our hearts.

TIME with the Father. Truly, this goes without saying. But, how many times do we wake up rushed, exhausted, already running late…and we neglect that time with Him. I’m not one of those that is a staunch advocate for your time with God being in the morning. Sometimes, it’s the middle of the day and I just sneak off for a few minutes to pray or read a Psalm. ANY time we can carve out for God is worth it…His Word will not return void! That sufficient grace from 2 Corinthians?? So many times that sustaining grace comes from a few minutes spent clinging to His Word in the desperate moments.

TIME away. When God blessed me with the opportunity in May to attend Teach Them Diligently in Nashville, I was at a low point in my mothering & homeschooling world. I was ready to give up but didn’t feel like God was giving me permission to do that yet. 🙂 I wasn’t even planning on attending TTD, but God knew I needed it so desperately! And He was right. I came away with such encouragement from the awesome sessions and was inspired & renewed once again to keep up this crazy homeschooling life.

TIME with friends. {or those who make you laugh!} This one isn’t particularly easy for me. I’m an introvert. Generally speaking, I’m an insecure introvert. Double whammy. 🙂 But, when I am intentional about making time to spend with a girlfriend, I always, ALWAYS come away feeling better. It’s even better if this friend can make you laugh. I haven’t always had people available to keep my kids on a regular basis, so it’s hard sometimes to just make a plan to meet with someone – but if you can find a way, I recommend that you do this on a regular basis. Even once a month. For the past few months I have met with a friend and we’ve ever walked together, eaten lunch together or just chatted after church…but her encouragement means the world to me. We were made for relationships, ya’ll. Call that friend (or email, if you’re phone phobic like me) and make  plans to have lunch together next week!!

TIME with your husband. This may be another one that is hard to come by. But, sometimes, as homeschooling moms, we forget that our marriage came first and should STILL come first. My husband and I don’t take regularly schedule date nights, but we do have parents that will offer from time to time for us to go out on a date…and we always take them up on it when the offer is there. 🙂 Even just a cheap dinner out {alone} can do wonders for your MARRIAGE and for your own SOUL. We have to take that time to reconnect with each other…because the good Lord knows it rarely happens in the CHAOS of this crazy homeschooling life. 🙂 grin.

If you are needing some encouragement, I hope and pray that you will take the TIME to allow God to renew your heart!

Finally, in addition to taking TIME to renew our hearts, sometimes an afternoon sitting outside, under a tree, with a big glass of sweet tea is in order. With a good, encouraging book, of course! Here are my favorite go-to books for staying encouraged as a mom:

• Fit to Burst : Abundance, Mayhem, and the Joys of Motherhood (in the middle of this one now – it’s just what I needed!)
• The Ministry of Motherhood: Following Christ’s Example in Reaching the Hearts of Our Children
• Pocketful of Pinecones
• Beyond Survival: A Guide to Abundant-Life Homeschooling (my all time favorite homeschooling read)
• Mitten Strings for God: Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry
• Desperate

So, I think I’ll get off this computer and go read one of my favorite books. I’m needing a little down time myself…

Also be sure to check out the 8 remaining locations of the Marketplace Events hosted by Teach Them Diligently, because this could be the refreshment your soul needs. That is what Nashville did for me.