I had better do something besides whining today!! Thank you to all who encouraged me in regards to my last post.
The best way to deal with feeling bad is to do something about it. So perhaps you will follow along as I try to get it together!
What is "it" exactly? For me it is having things run a little smoother. To keep my home a little better, to teach my children what is truly important...to grow into the woman I can be with God’s help.
One verse keeps coming to mind... "The joy of the Lord will be my strength" Nehemiah 8:10 Oh to be more joyful! I really want that.
The best way to grow and change is with His help. My first priority is to spend more time reading the Bible and praying. I have struggled to get up earlier than my children. I say earlIER because it is not a matter of getting up early...I do...it is just difficult to beat them out of bed sometimes. This is an important time though. It helps to start the day out with Bible reading and prayer, even if it is short and sweet. I have also considered leaving my Bible open on the counter so that when a window of opportunity presents itself I can easily feed on His word. Listening to the Bible on CD or tape is also a wonderful way to fill up. I have done this while doing dishes or cleaning the kitchen. I find it to be most beneficial. It is nicer to do when the children are in bed - I cannot block out their noise!
Next step....A family mission statement (or something of the sort)
This was suggested by Reformingmama who pointed me toward these posts at Preschoolers and peace. Where Are You Going? Part One and Where Are You Going? Part Two
Prayerfully decide what is important to your family. What do you hope to achieve through the years? What is your goal for your children? The ultimate goal for my children is Heaven! To have them know God, love Him, obey Him and spend eternity with Him. With this in mind I can make decisions more easily by measuring them up alongside this goal. It helps put things into perspective. I want them to be truth seekers. To not accept what they see and hear but to question and investigate and come up with answers so that they can stand before God confidently on their own two feet.
Clear out the Clutter!!
This is by no means a new idea. I have been decluttering for a few years now. I guess it is not a job you finish! It is also helpful to have some kind of idea of how you want to go about home maintenance. Everything just seems to run more smoothly when your home is in order. Not to mention how it helps our attitudes! Some great sites with practical information:
Large Family Logistics
Clean Heart Clean Home
FlyLady
Set up reasonable goals and routines and do your best to stick to them.
Flylady really helped me understand the value of a routine. It helps with keeping your home under control and your schooling on track!
And remeber this little quote from Flylady, "Housework done imperfectly still blesses your family"...I think this applies to homeschooling too!
It is nice to have a plan. That way you can keep track of what you are doing and see yourself moving toward your goal. I like to check things off. It gives me a great feeling of success to check off our subjects for the day as well as our cleaning tasks. This is something I have not been doing as often as I would like to. I am going to start doing this more. I have used Lindafay's list for schooling. Mamma1420 also created some lesson checklists that are free for you to use.
There are more ideas floating around.....but this is all for now.
The LORD is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
My heart leaps for joy
and I will give thanks to him in song.
Psalm 28:7 | 
