Scrappin'ings

Dying to Self

AOP (Alpha Omega Publications) sent out a very good devotional today by email. At this time of year, when we should be feeling joyful, we're sometimes stressed out, feeling put-upon, and maybe a little overly sensitive (especially around the inlaws). This devotional is a good reminder to die to ourselves and let Jesus Christ be seen through us. It's not about us...it's about Him. Enjoy.

Dying to Self
Monday / December 15, 2008

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

Homeschooling is not what you thought. Those images of perfectly happy children soaking in your words of wisdom have evaporated. You feel like you have bitten off more than you can chew. You are reevaluating. Homeschooling involves sacrificing more of your precious day than you intended. "What about time for me?" you ask....

Read the rest of the devotional online at AOP by clicking here.

While there, take a look at materials you might need for the second half of your school year. You can save 12% by using coupon code SAVEBIG. Or, just read the devotional and be blessed. :-)

Guest Bloggers Wanted!!

Do you have a homeschooling-related blog, either here on HSB or elsewhere? How about a homeschooling website? Can you write well? Do you have a heart for other homeschooling moms who keep their kids at home in spite of tough times or the desire to quit?

Then Thoughts on Homeschooling Anyway would like to give you a platform. If you've had experience with jumping (or crawling) over life's hurdles and stayed steady with your homeschooling, or even just had a rough day and you want to share how you got through it, then be my guest for a day. Or maybe you're one who decided that putting your kids in a brick-and-mortar school was the best thing for your family...your story may be helpful, too.

Unfortunately, not everyone who contacts me will get to be a guest blogger, but don't let that stop you! Let me see what you've got. All guest bloggers will get a link back to their blog/s or web site/s. This is free advertising for you! (All entries from guest bloggers will be lightly proofread for spelling, grammar, and punctuation, but nothing will be rewritten.)

If you think you'd like to share your story with someone who really needs to hear it, email me at sally@homeschoolinganyway.com.

I look forward to working with you!

I Shouldn't Take Such Chances

I really don't know what happened to me in November. I entered the Twilight Zone or something, I'm sure of it. My blog was doing so well, I was getting new readers, then I vanished from the face of HSB. Or so it seems. I took a chance that I might lose readers, and I really shouldn't do that!

Life has a way of eclipsing our priorities, doesn't it? The urgent, stressful things clamor, scream, and whine for attention, while the stuff we really should be focusing on starts to wither.

To be blunt, I spent November stressing about money. With four kids, a dwindling income (or so it felt), bills, braces for one child and another needing them...and Thanksgiving, an anniversary, and Christmas looming on the horizon, I became very stressed (still feeling it, actually). But all the while, the Lord was there, saying, "Focus on Me. Put Me first. Everything else will fall into place."

I'm still waiting for everything to fall into place, because, ashamedly, I haven't been putting Him first. The noise of the stress and anxiety I was facing was drowning out His quiet reminder. It takes real discipline, apparently, to take your eyes off the bills that are due and look instead to the One Who "owns the cattle on a thousand hills."

The holidays can be very difficult for many people. For quite a few, stressing about finances completely wipes out any joy we may otherwise feel. For others, missing a loved one who's passed on makes this season a bleak one. I'll be addressing this in the next issue of the Homeschooling Anyway newsletter, and giving some ideas on how to put the joy back into your Christmas. (You can sign up by clicking the link at the top of this page.)

But for now, I'd like to leave you with some verses that the Lord keeps bringing to mind. I need to print them out and post them above my desk. (Out of sight, out of mind!) I hope they'll encourage you, too, to put Christ first, not just at Christmas, but always, and in everything.

Deuteronomy 28:1-14 

Isaiah 58:6-11 

Jeremiah 17:5-8

Malachi 3:6-18

2 Corinthians 9:6-15 

My Response to the Election Results

Many bloggers here at Homeschool Blogger take part in an event called "Wordless Wednesday." Today I would like to do that, too, as I really don't feel like talking about the election. I will (oh, I will!), but right now I am feeling very down, and need to take some time to absorb all of this.

Without further adieu, here is my Wordless Wednesday contribution. I hope you can see it okay:

Remember to Vote Today!

This is it: Election Day, 2008! Remember to take the time to vote today. If you don't know where your polling place is, you can find it by going here. This is the Google search page for finding your election information. Various state info is also listed on that same search results page, so you may want to just scroll down and find yours. You could also do your own search for "polling places Washington" (replace "Washington" with your state).

I plan to leave in just a while to go make my mark on this election, because every vote matters. I'll let you know my thoughts later on.

Don't stay home -- your vote counts!