Life in General!

Well, the answer to that is not easy.  It depends.  I think that when you have toddlers and older kiddos, you need to have a time that is a quiet time and use that for your harder subjects that your older kids need you to help them with.  That isn't an easy fix, is it? But I see you, dear mom or dad, with your toddler that is running the school hahaha!  They are probably right now standing in a chair with disheveled hair, maybe has some clothes on, one sock, and is definitely clutching something in their chubby, little hand. How do we do this?  How do we teach our older kids when we have these monsters, I mean, precious angels?  The answer is we just do it!  You and I both know that they toddler years, while difficult, are fleeting.  These babies are only little for a short time.  Here are some things that I did and some of my friends did that helped me when I was needing to teach my older kiddos. 1.  Pray and devotion time -- Before you start your day, pray with your children and

    Ever since I can remember, I have always loved this time of year.  Fall.  Just hearing the word, or typing it in this case, makes me so happy!  The thought of seeing pumpkin spice everything gives me such joy.  The ever-changing landscape of our forest as the leaves shed their green skin for colors of orange, gold, burgundy, fluorescent shades of red and a coral color that I only see at this time of year paints an incredible picture.   Fall!  It also takes me back to when I was a child and would go to church on Wednesday nights.  It would be warm to start off with, but as the sun set, the night air became chilly.  I would don a sweater or a jacket and walk home with my mom and brother -- dad would stay behind to lock up the church.  We would walk the path that led us home and would crunch the leaves that had fallen as we made our way.   Sometimes in the fall, we would have a fire outside at someone's house and roast hot dogs and marshmallows.  I remember thinking how delicious

  I just got done reading a sweet post on Facebook, and the lady was sharing about how she was struggling.  She mentioned how this blessed her.  Proverbs 16:9, "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps."  In my mind looking at this, it makes me think that we are not always the best planners for what we should do.  According to this verse, we should look to the Lord for our direction.  How can we know what God wants us to do?  Scripture!  If the plan you have doesn't line up with the Word, then chances are, it is not what God wants us to do.   In our lives we have plans, right?  We have plans to graduate high school and either work or go to university.  Most of us have plans to marry and have children.  Most of us have plans that those children will marry and have babies and give us grandchildren.  Most of plan to live out our days, hopefully retire, and have happy lives.  What do we do, though, when a wrench is thrown into our plans?  Or what i

  Good grief!  I can't believe that it has been since January that I have written!  I wonder why?  Oh, yes, hahaha!  I have two wrestlers, a special-needs son, a daughter in a Christian school, therapy every Monday that is 108 miles round-trip, a daughter that has moved out and is working, a self-employed husband, my own tutoring business, and then managing the tutoring schedule, not to mention housework.  LOL -- It is just life, I suppose.     I have been hearing lately some recurring themes that all seem to revolve around one topic -- time.  A long time ago, we lost some babies, a set of twin boys and a single boy.  Within 3 years we lost 3 babies and had 2.  That is another topic for another time.  But as I listen to people, a lot of of times they talk about their time or lack, thereof.  I remember a therapist and counselor that I saw after we lost the 3rd baby boy told me that I needed to change my mindset.  I kept saying that "I didn't have time" to do this or th

 One Sunday  we were in our church service, and our Pastor ministered to my spirit.  He talked about how we could make it through difficult times.  I want to share with you some thoughts that I wrote down from Pastor Greg Marcus's sermon.  He read from John 14:1-4.  He mentioned how chapter 13 had just had the Disciples go through some pretty challenging things.  Things didn't look good for them, and sometimes, things don't look good for us.  The title of his message was "Help For a Troubled Heart."  He shared with us that we should learn to escape our fears.  I know that this is harder for some than others. Some of us have more challenges in this as we deal with anxiety or depression.  It can seem impossible.  Pastor Greg shared that when fear creeps that we need to seek help in the scripture.  Think about it! The very power that Jesus has can be ours, too.  We just have to seek Him and trust.  Isn't that so easy for me to type?  But in the scriptures that we

  Before I post this, I have to preface it by saying that I have been honored to be teaching with a fantastic company, Cambly.com since September of 2021.  I found out about them by another VIPKid teacher.  I went ahead and applied and started teaching with them.  It has changed my life.  I have met some amazing people and have made some new friends!  Precious friends!  With that said, last August I was dealing with the knowledge that my then current job was going to end and that I was going to have to tell my students goodbye.  I would like you to now read my thoughts that I wrote at that time and how God helped me through a time of sadness.  I hope something I wrote might help you.   I have had the high honor of teaching with a company that teaches Chinese children English.  A mandate has caused a change in this where over 100,000 teachers are not being allowed to teach them unless they live in mainland China.  Since that is not an option for me, I know that I will not see these you