Encouragement is the inspiration that gives us hope.

Let’s first examine what erodes our encouragement, inspiration and hope. Your answers may be different from ours, but here are some that we have found.

Not taking care of ourselves, not only in bodily needs, but also taking time to allow our hearts and minds to be recharged and enlarged. How much better our attitudes are when we are well rested, fed and have had a chance to ponder the things that we hold deep in our hearts. Are you taking care of yourself?

We all have stress from various sources in our lives. How we choose to handle that stress makes the difference between a small problem or a larger one. How are you handling that stress in your life? Or is it handling you?

It’s human nature to compare, ourselves, our children, and our families. There is always going to be someone better or worse than you. Learning to borrow good ideas and not trying to adopt another’s lifestyle or philosophy will help you to remain content in your circumstances. We highly recommend writing out your family’s “homeschooling statement of purpose”. This written document will allow you to focus on the basic reasons that you are doing all this in the first place. It can be changed as your circumstances change. What are you comparing?

We all experience confusion, doubt and uncertainty from time to time. Again, like the stress, it’s something that we can choose to handle or we can let it handle us. Remember that the author of confusion is Satan. That doesn’t mean that we, as sinful human beings, aren’t sometimes lured into that vicious circle of doubt. But so long as we don’t wallow in it, or continually visit that cesspool, trusting to God to lift us out from it, this should just be a minor distraction diverting us for a short time from our hope. Are you clinging to the doubt, or to the hope?

Unresolved conflict eats away at our peaceful spirit. You cannot find continuing inspiration and hope if you don’t work to resolve that conflict in your life. What are you doing to resolve that conflict in your life?

Work to eliminate the activities of little or no benefit that steal away your time and energy. Having that homeschooling statement of purpose really helps you determine what you can and should eliminate from your schedules. What can you do to eliminate those time robbers?

So these things can erode our inspiration and hope. We’d like to suggest to you that you spend some time with the book of James. It’s only five chapters long and speaks to us of profiting from our trials, having our faith push us into being “doers of the Word” (James 1:22), taming our tongues (especially teachers in James Chapter 3), learning and practicing humility, patience and prayer.

What builds up your hope and inspiration? We all know that God is the source of all inspiration. He can use whatever means He chooses to touch our hearts. Every good and perfect thing is from God.

So – some practical suggestions when you are having a “terrible, no good, rotten day” and you can’t see the end of the tunnel.

Take a break. Break your myopic momentary view, and look at the big picture. Take a walk. Make a cup of tea. Take a shower. Call your spouse. Shoot some hoops. Sing. Eat some chocolate. Whistle. Do the devotion you skipped this morning. Play any game with the kids. See who can make the strangest face. Be silly! Laugh. Cry. Write a letter. Attend a conference.

Call a friend – someone who won’t condemn you for your temporary feelings but will encourage you back to the eternal things that matter. Jesus is always available to us. But remember also, that God works through other humans to provide that inspiration to us that encourages us and gives us hope.

Our loving Father surrounds us with exactly what we need when we need it. Believing that is an act of faith. Acting on that faith is a means of expressing our sanctification in our vocation, that of being a spouse, parent, homeschool teacher, a support group leader, and helping others along that same journey.

 Abiding in His gracious peace, love and mercy,

Mike and Paula