FPEA 2017-Sarah Mackenzie

 

Sarah Mackenzie was AMAZING!  She is a fascinating story teller and inspired a crowd of thousands.  Here is what spoke to my heart🌺

1-When setting your homeschool goals ask yourself this question:  "If someone were to ask your child about their homeschooling 20 years from now what would you want them to say?"

PERSONAL APPLICATION:  One of my personal goals is that I want to have memories of us digging into scripture, character building, and book discussions.  I want to remember watching my boys find their moments of aha.  So on a crazy day I have to guard against letting task oriented emergencies steal from relationship building times together. (I fail at this all the time). 

2-No veteran has ever said that by the time they finished homeschooling they had nailed it.  It's about finding perfection in IMPERFECTION.  

3-It's not our job to create the miracle.  We do our part...cultivate the soil, water, feed, nurture and let GOD create the miracle. (Fruit)

4-You are going to fail every single day and HE is going to delight in rescuing you.  

5-You have absolutely everything you need to homeschool your children.  You've got this because HE's got you.

Three Things That Steal A Mama's JOY!

 

SARAH MACKENZIE TAKE-AWAYS!   The Lord stirred my heart and this is a place to process out ideas and take-always. 

Three things that steal a homeschooling mama's JOY! (any mama for that matter)

1-COMPARISON

We go on social media and we see several moms all snapping pictures of moments in their life where they are shining.  One mom is great at doing crafts, another lives life through field trips, your girlfriend rocks reading a loud big lengthy classic books. But then the enemy comes along and without us even consciously knowing it we combine all those women into one super woman.  We then begin to feel condemnation that we can never measure up.  We think we must strive to become what we admire and we lose our joy in our journey.  

"I get so frustrated when my ideal doesn't match my ordinary" -- Sarah Mackenzie 

PRACTICAL APPLICATION:  Write a job description of what you LOVE doing in your homeschool...what gets you excited!  FOCUS ON THAT and make sure those things are happening in your homeschool.  

PERSONAL APPLICATION:  Putting one verse a week up on the board that we pick apart, memorize, pray. 20 years from now these will be our precious memories.  

PERSONAL APPLICATION:  I love coffee and getting out of the house.  Seth has been asking to do school at Panera.  I finally have older children that we could actually do this.  Make this happen.  20 years from now these will be our precious memories.

2-DUTY

PRACTICAL QUESTION TO ASK YOURSELF:  Twenty years from now your child is at dinner with a friend and the friend asks..."So you were homeschooled what was your mom like"?  What do you want their memories of you to be?  Then be purposeful in your actions so that they line up with the goals that God has given you.  

Stop making things harder than they need to be out of a sense of duty.  Relax, have fun, be consistent in the little things. If you find something simple is working for you and see a great article or idea of how you could make-it-more...DON'T DO IT!  That simple task that is working well and brings you a feeling as satisfaction and joy will turn into a 500 pound boulder on your shoulders when we make things harder out of a sense of duty.

Have just-because-we-can-days.  The truth is that we have to do things we don't want to.  Consistency creates our habits, diligence builds character, BUT WHEN YOU FEEL THE ATMOSPHERE IN YOUR HOME HAS BECOME TOO SERIOUS it's time for a just-because-we-can day!  

What is a just-because-you-can day?  When you feel like it's a waste of time you're on the right track!  You're doing it just because you can.  Put down the math books and go to a movie, go to the beach, go grab yogurt. (These are occasional days throughout your school year) 

PERSONAL APPLICATION:  A little bit of something done well is better than bells and whistles done occasionally. 

PERSONAL APPLICATION:  Find things that bring you joy doing with your kids.

PERSONAL APPLICATION:  Bigger is not better.  More is not better.  Simplicity is KEY!

3-Stop making giant overhauls and instead tweak what you have❤️

Sarah gave an example that was beautiful.  She talked about how she likes to start there day at 9am with prayer, but that she was always feeling anxious and angry because she had spent the hour before making sure kids were up, teeth were brushed, breakfast was eaten.  By the time they came to pray she was not very joyful.  A simple tweak she made to her homeschool was to open with the Doxology instead and then she had us do it with her.  It was beautiful.

Convention 2017--It's a WRAP!

 

What a GREAT day!  This girl is TIRED!  It has been quite the month, but I am SO glad I came.  God stirred, moved, and spoke to my heart intimately.  He is so faithful to fill us up when we COME TO HIM❤️. Loved seeing this beauties today....

 

I LOVED seeing the Riddle's!

 

Diana Snyder was loving Sarah Mackenzie

  

Catching up with sone Clearwater girls

What Kind Of Fruit Tree Are YOU?

 

People and their lives are like trees. Good trees bear beautiful, tasty fruit, but bad trees bear ugly, bitter fruit. A good tree cannot bear ugly, bitter fruit; nor can a bad tree bear fruit that is beautiful and tasty.  But I will say to them, "I never knew you. And now, you must get away from Me, you evildoers!" -- Matthew 7:17-18,23 Voice

Apart from you Christ we cannot bear beautiful and tasty fruit.  In our own strength the effort is wasted and worthless. Father, we ask you to walk before us into this day.  Teach us to be GOD-DEPENDENT and not self-sufficient.

Trusting Him with our pace and our PLACE!

 

FROM THE BOOK UNINVITED...On busyness and agenda's:

Imagine a little girl running with a cup in her hand sloshing out all it contains.  She thinks what will refill her is just ahead.  Just a little father.  She presses on with sheer determination and clenched teeth and an empty cup clutched tight.  She keeps running toward an agenda HE NEVER SET and one that will NEVER SATISFY.  She sees Him and holds out her cup.  But she catches only a few drops as she runs by Him, because she didn't stop long enough to be filled up.  EMPTY CAN'T BE TEMPERED WITH MERE DROPS.

"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you"  John 15:7 (Key phrase:  HIS WORD ABIDES IN YOU so that we're asking according to HIS will) 

"Jesus doesn't participate in in the rat race.  He's into the SLOWER rhythms of life.  Like abiding, delighting, and dwelling--all words that require us to trust Him with our place and our pace." 

"Delight yourself in the Lord and HE will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4