Morning time: what it is, whether or not it’s only for homeschoolers, and how we structure ours

Over two years ago, when my oldest was in first grade at a local public school, and I began exploring the idea of homeschooling, the term "morning time" kept coming up in various places where I researched. Some homeschoolers term this "morning basket" or "circle time," but the principle of the concept remains the same, …

Motivation behind our goal-setting; the empty promise of self-improvement vs. growth for the purpose of blessing others

It's February, so maybe the talk of goals and new-year-new-you has died down a bit, but the self-imposed pressure can still linger, right? Those who are successful are sharing about their victories in their goals of weight loss, new habits, new learned skills, etc., and the temptation to do something and do it well is …

Obedient, cheerful generosity over practicality; some post-Christmas reflections

The post-Christmas blues. It hit me even harder than usual this year, which is weird because I had it all planned to be the opposite. You know, I had planned on leaving the decorations out until the twelfth day of Christmas, and keeping the Christmas music playing, and other similar festivities. But, for some reason, …

What do Christian faithfulness and Christian friendship have in common? Part 2: True encouragement in friendship

In Part 1 we talked about Christian faithfulness and how obedience in our work glorifies God. One of the ways our work can be God-honoring is through it's implications for how it affects the church, too! I've been learning through this webinar that one of the greatest ways we can encourage others around us is …