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.