How Would You Rate?

If your wife rated you, how would you do?

My husband: 
– Decisively leads our family in pursuit of the Lord Jesus. 
– Makes decisions consistent with our children becoming dynamic followers of the Lord Jesus.
– Speaks of the Lord Jesus’ working in his life frequently with the family. 
– Makes decisions consistent with his owning the responsibility of the family’s spiritual direction.
– Makes decisions consistent with his owning the responsibility of the children’s behavior.
– Sets the example and inspires our children to be diligent workers as they prepare for the future.

“And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself” (Luke 10:27).

Steve

Guaranteed Cure for Too Busy

Do you struggle with time to:

  • Read your Bible daily in the morning
  • Have Family Bible time
  • Spend time with your wife
  • Spend time with your children
  • Increase the value of your vocational skills
  • Exercise

Someone screams, “The house is on fire. Get out!” Whatever you were too busy doing before, now means nothing. You have a new priority that produces action. Brother, your problem isn’t time but misplaced priorities. 

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Matthew 6:33-34).

Steve

Will You be Next?

Last year while hiking two 14ers with the family, I had some discomfort in my chest. I attributed it to the cold and very heavy exertion. I would either slow down or rest to relieve it and then trudged on. To my disappointment, I recently encountered a similar ache during Teri and my exercise multiple days in the cold. I realized I needed to get it checked out. 

Today, a heart catheterization and two stents later, (99% blockage on one and 90% on another), I’m sharing what I’ve learned.  

1) Family history of heart disease should be taken very seriously. 

2) Proper cholesterol levels are very important as well as blood sugar levels. 

3) The amount of excess weight one carries is a significant factor. 

4) Exercise alone isn’t good enough. 

My Brothers, I want to encourage you to consider the above points and get your cholesterol checked at least yearly and move the numbers in the right direction. 

“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

Two Schools of Thought

1. Let children be children.


“The simple inherit folly: but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.” (Proverbs 14:18)

2. Childhood is the season for preparation for life.

It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.” (Lamentations 3:27)

Which do you believe is best? Which do you consistently practice as your raise your children?

How to Schedule Your Homeschool Day

I love seeing happy, productive homeschooling moms in action! Could part of their happiness and peace be because they are accomplishing what they know they need to do each day? A key to being successful with homeschooling is having a homeschool schedule that lets you be a dynamo managing your time. Your homeschool schedule helps guarantee that everything is done that needs to be done whether it is the school work, meals, housework, or laundry.

Where to Start Planning Your Homeschool Schedule

Exactly how does one put together a homeschool schedule? Begin by figuring out what time you think is a reasonable start time for school, and then work backwards and forwards from that. Most homeschoolers start school at 8:30 or 9:00 each morning. 

Begin With Your Morning Time

Let’s say you want to start school at 9:00 a.m. Now make a list of what needs to be accomplished before school and how long each activity will take. That might look something like this:

Personal Bible time – 1/2 hour
Exercise – 1/2 hour
Shower – 1/4 hour
Help little children dress – 1/2 hour
Make breakfast – 1/4 hour
Eat breakfast – 1/2 hour
Breakfast cleanup and chores – 1/2 hour

If you total up this time, it is 3 hours. That means you need to get up and be on your feet ready for your first scheduled activity, at 6:00 a.m. To write up your schedule, put each of those activities in a time block beside the time that you want it to start. Simple!

Work with your Afternoon

Most homeschools take a lunch break from 12:00 to 1:00, and then head back to school for another hour or two as needed to complete their curriculum requirements. 

Often mid to late afternoon is unproductive time, but it doesn’t have to be. Put activities in the late afternoon schedule that are important to you, but might otherwise be neglected. This could be time to plan for school or meals, individual time with your children, ironing, or cleaning. What about teaching a daughter to sew or doing craft projects with the children? Maybe you need to run errands one or two afternoons a week after school. Incorporate those activities in your after-school schedule.

Then make sure you slot a time very late in the afternoon to do dinner preparations. When it is on the schedule, you have the delight of a hot, home-cooked meal for your family to enjoy together early enough to have special family time each evening.

End Your Homeschool Day Successful

If you want to get up in the morning to start your productive homeschool day, you must make sure you go to bed early enough to get the sleep you need before the alarm goes off. A tired homeschool mommy is headed for discouragement quickly! 

In our example, if you need 8 hours sleep, then lights out at 9:45 p.m. It will take a few minutes to wake up and get dressed before your first early morning activity starts at 6:00.

To be in bed, ready for sleep at 9:45, you want to have your focus on that goal and manage your evening time accordingly. That means putting the children to bed early enough so that you have some personal down time and also time with your husband. 

Follow Your Homeschool Schedule

The schedule keeps you on track, but only if you follow it! There will be a dozen or more things a day trying to pull you off schedule, from your own laziness to your best friend wanting to have a playdate. Seldom, if ever, should laziness win over your schedule. There may be times that the playdate does, though. This depends on whether you have been faithfully keeping your schedule and doing what needs to be done. If you have, you just might be able to give a resounding “yes” to the invitation. That’s part of the joy of a schedule—letting you do extras because you are keeping up with your priorities.

God wants you to use your time for His glory: “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:17). 

If you want more help with homeschool scheduling, Managers of Their Homes is a practical, proven resource for you.