Be Anxious For Nothing

As I am building my blog and combining Modern Mommy Mentor with Country Mama to Many I'm trying to come up with a plan for how I want to post and share my thoughts. After all life seems to run so much more smoothly when there's a plan, at least for me it typically does. 

I have so many thoughts and ideas I'd like to share, and I am excited to get them out there. I'm thrilled to finally be writing again, I didn't realize how much I had missed it. This blog is the perfect outlet for a woman who more often than not finds herself isolated with limited adult interaction. (I'm not begrudging it, it's simply my season of life right now. But, sometimes, I'm just lonely and have so much to say.)

While I don't want to live in bondage to a writing/posting plan, I do want to organize my posts so that folks can know when and what to expect. It doesn't mean I'm posting three times a week or only on those days, this is just a guideline to help me process my thoughts. So I'm thinking something along the lines of this pattern:

Matters of Faith Mondays

What Works for Me Wednesdays

Friday Fellowship

So with keeping to this plan I'd like to share on this fine Monday about a topic that I struggle with quite often: Anxiety. Despite knowing that anxiety is wrong in the eyes of God, I still often find myself over come with it throughout the difficult trial of life. 

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

But with Christ I have the freedom to break free from this bondage of anxiety and to replace it with peace and acceptance in that whatever happens is God's perfect will.

"Whatever is lawful is legal. Therefore whatever is legal is lawful. 

Whatever is lawful is ethical. Therefore whatever is ethical is legal"

I recently watched a movie where these words were being recited, in the opening scene, over and over again. Apparently, a very successful finance man was trying to convince himself that the business deal he was in the process of making happen was indeed ethical ~ it wasn't. But, because what he was doing wasn't illegal he'd convinced himself it was indeed ethical. Sadly, he ended up losing his job and so much more from just this one deal. If only he'd listened to his conscious.

We are in the process of selling our house. Mercy what a long and painful story, that I most likely will share one day, but that day is not today. We currently have a tentative contract based on the buyer selling their current home. But, as is due process for the purchase to be finalized when they do sell their home we must have a home inspection. 

Today is our home inspection.

To say I'm nervous is an understatement! to say I'm anxious is an understatement! My current state of affairs is a pure hot mess of gut-wrenching-I-seriously-can-NOT-do-this crazed woman! But, we have no choice, it has to be done. 

The sell of our home is dependent on this one man inspecting it. To make matters worse our realtor has warned us that we got the 'bad luck of the drawl'. This specific inspector, coming to inspect our home, has been the cause of many deals gone 'south' for our realtor. (insert massive sigh and the onset of hysterical crying)

Thankfully I am a woman of faith and I've got this, or more likely God has got this! He knows all about our financial woes and our fears, struggles, and anxiety in regards to the NEED of us selling this house ASAP. Trust me The Good Lord has gotten an ear full every.single.day. for months from me in regards to the sell of this house! But, we all know God does things in His own timing. So, I must remain patient and trust that He has my good will in the forefront of all His doings and either the inspection will go well or it will not. Either way it will be God's will and He will carry us through.

Funny thing is our realtor made some suggestions for us to do in the hopes of making the inspection go more smoothly. Are you kidding me? Seriously, is this legal? Is this ethical? Why should anything I do effect the outcome of the inspection of my home? Is this really happening to me? Why is adulting so hard?

Then my thoughts rush to our home inspection. Did the same thing happen to them. Is that why so many things were not what they said they were to be once we took ownership of the home? Did they sway their inspector and that's why we suffered the consequences of a really bad deal? (Oh, but the difference from us to them is that we've fixed all those issues that were 'missed' during our home inspection!)

I'm finding that throughout this mess that if I keep my eyes on Christ and continuously lean upon His Holy Word; my fears are as water rushing under a bridge. But, I'm not going to lie, when I stop and think about anything other than those precious bible verses I've memorized the anxiety nearly over comes me making me vehemently ill and unable to catch my breath. 

"For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Isaiah 41:13

Lord willing at the close of this day our home will have passed inspection and we will be well on our way to finalizing the sell of our home. If not then it just wasn't meant to be and I'm sure the Lord has something else all the more better for our future. We just have to keep remembering that simple truth! 

We are His and He is ours!

(through the good times and the not so good times)

So, how do you handle anxiety and stress? What are your favorite bible verse to quote during times of overwhelming fear? 

With Love and Hope,

Jennifer

How to Exercise When You're A Busy Mom

I am extremely passionate about being healthy and helping other women achieve optimum health. Here's another post from Modern Mommy Mentor regarding how busy mamas can make exercise a daily part of their lives....

Lets face it, it's hard enough to exercise before kids, but once babies are in the picture exercising quickly gets put on the back burner! A mom's job is endless: 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. It doesn't matter if you work outside the home or not, the responsibilities of raising children is nonstop and demanding. The best way to keep up with this magnitude of responsibility is to maintain your health. Proper nutrition and daily exercise are essential to keeping YOU in the best health you can be to effectively manage your beautiful tribe.

The question remains: How does a busy mom maintain an exercise routine when she can barely manage all of her daily tasks as it is? Mothers can make every excuse in the 'book' not to exercise. Removing those excuses is the key to creating a healthy exercise routine which can carry you through motherhood and beyond. The following steps are simple yet effective ways to insure you are taking the best care of yourself through physical activity; so that you can adequately serve your family.

• Ask the Lord to help you establish a life-long exercise routine that is within your physical capabilities.
• Don't compare yourself to other women, especially fitness models who have most likely been 'airbrushed'.
• Commit to waking each morning before your children to exercise a minimum of 5 days a week.
• Choose short, yet effective workouts such as HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) combined with weighted exercise (use some dumb bells, they help to build strong bones and keep osteoporosis at bay).
• Invite an accountability partner to join along in your fitness journey. Share your victories and struggles with each other, but most importantly hold each other accountable to your daily workouts!

HIIT workouts have been my saving grace to remaining committed to a daily exercise regime. I exercise 6 days a week for 15 minutes with moderate exercise sequences which target my whole body. Through this type of exercise I have been able to lose 50 pounds and maintain the weight-loss for 6 years, and nearly 4 pregnancies. This types of short yet intense workouts are super easy to incorporate into a busy moms schedule. For more details on how I use HIIT in my busy mom life, check out this post.

One of a mom's most important assets is her health. Without a healthy body she is unable to sufficiently manage her home and serve her family.  Our families deserves the best that we can give them. When we purpose to maintain a healthy diet and remain committed to daily exercise our bodies respond with improved sleep, ample energy, positive mindset, as well as reduced sickness and injuries. I encourage you to make today the last day of excuses in regards to NOT exercising. The steps listed above are the exact ones I have used to remain faithful to my daily exercise routine for the past 6 years.  I invite you to use the same steps to make your health a priority with a personal workout program that can easily fit into your busy mom life.

With Love and Hope,
Jennifer

HIIT: A Busy Mom's Best Kept Exercise Secret

Here's another post from Modern Mommy Mentor in regards to how I strive to stay healthy....

Six years ago I was 31 years old and 50 pounds overweight. I have always exercised, mostly the latest video fad workout program or running. Yet, I could never seem to get rid of all the weight before we were pregnant again. It was a very frustrating cycle and not one I really wanted to continue repeating. I knew there had to be a better way to permanently get the baby weight off and keep it off.

Now with our debt-free, one income budget, there is no way we could afford a gym membership. My husband works long hours and I really don't like disappearing the moment he gets home to go for a long run. My only option, if I am going to exercise, is to do it at home. To make things even more complicated, we don't have the space for huge exercise equipment like treadmills or weight machines. In my desperation to once and for all lose my excess weight, I began an intense search to find a fitness program that I could affordably do from home, fit into my crazy busy life, and that would actually work!

In comes the best health and fitness program for busy moms: HIIT, which stands for high intensity interval training. After hours of research on the internet, the Lord led me to the most amazing workout program I had ever heard of. It sounded too good to be true! The proponents claimed that I could exercise 15 minutes a day, 6 days a week and rapidly lose weight. In complete desperation, and not believing this system would remotely work, I threw caution to the wind and starting doing daily HIIT workouts. And do you know what? I actually started to lose weight!!!! It was a complete miracle!

I won't over-exaggerate the truth here, I did decide to cut my sugar intake at this time. To my complete and utter disbelief, within three months I had lost 50 pounds!! Honestly, I was only exercising 15 minutes, 6 days a week and the only dietary change I made was to cut out my sugar, and I was actually losing weight. It was one of the greatest gifts I had ever been given and I made a commitment then, to do my best to share it with as many women as possible. That was nearly 7 years ago and I have never looked back. I have been able to maintain my HIIT exercises (altered slightly) throughout my pregnancies, which has enabled me to quickly lose the baby weight within just a few weeks of giving birth.

How I Make HIIT Fit into My Busy Life

• I create two monthly, 15 minute HIIT exercise sequences which include half cardio and half weighted exercises (typically with dumb bells). One Sequence focuses on upper body, while the other focuses on lower body.
• I invested in a HIIT timer which allows me to easily perform my exercises each day. You can also use an interval APP.
• Each HIIT workout sequence is divided into 15 exercises. 50 seconds of exercise as fast as I can do them, and 10 seconds of rest or set up for next exercise. I design my workouts so that I alternate 8 'cardio' (usually speed roping) exercises with 7 different weighted exercises like arm curls or squats.
• I alternate my two HIIT workouts Monday through Saturday and rest on Sundays.
• I make a point to wake up before my children each day to get my exercising done before they are underfoot and in the way. It's my time to focus on my health and keeping my body strong and healthy.

And that's it, a super easy exercise system that ALL moms can fit into their busy schedules. I mean, seriously, we all can squeeze in 15 minutes to do something for ourselves to help make us stronger and healthier, so that we can better serve our families. With HIIT there is no excuse, you can easily design your exercise sequences to fit your personal fitness levels AND you don't need expensive equipment, memberships, or huge slots of time carved out of your already busy days to exercise. A HIIT timer or app and a few dumb bells, that is all I've used for the past six and a half years to LOSE 50 POUNDS and keep the weight off for 4 subsequent pregnancies! Trust me when I say HIIT is the best kept exercise secret for all busy moms who desire to be fit and healthy! If I can make it work, so can you.

With Love & Hope,
Jennifer

Ditching the Clutter: A Busy Mom's Guide to Home Organization

I truly believe organization is the key to productivity and lets face it wives and mothers are responsible for doing the impossible. Our proverbial plates are often spilling over with things we must get done. Here's a post I wrote for Modern Mommy Mentor for how I try to keep the clutter to a minimum....

For anyone who knows me or who has read any of my blog posts; knows that I have a very type-A personality. I thrive on planning, order, and structure. When I started having children I had to learn a whole new way of living. I’d much rather have my children than the cleanest, most organized home, but there are some bonuses to preferring a systematic way of handling life. I find that life just works so much better when our home is organized.

The scriptures tell us that even God prefers life to be handled with order and decency. Should order be achieved in lieu of serving God and our families, no, but the two should work harmoniously together. When our lives are organized it allow us to think and work more effectively. We must first acknowledge and accept our need for organization and structure. Second, organizing our homes must be a family effort. Mom cannot be the sole proprietor of keeping a home organized. Husbands and children play important roles for maintaining an organized home.

Getting every family member involved as active participants makes organization easily achievable.
After acknowledging a need for an organized home and convincing family members of their vital role in keeping a home organized, the most important key to organization is STOP BUYING! Before I buy something I pray about it and wait for God’s answer, no impulse buying for this family. You might be surprised at how God answers when you start praying about your spending habits. I often find that after a week or two I really didn’t need the stuff I thought was essential. It’s amazing how much of the clutter starts disappearing when you stop buying unnecessary products.

3 Easy Steps to Ditch the Clutter

• Simplify, consolidate, and eliminate: This pertains mostly to the kitchen and bathroom, but it could easily be applied to any room. Many products can be combined to do the same job. Such as using one all-purpose cleaner or using a bar soap to wash and shave with. The mainstream media and marketing gurus have convinced us to use a different product for every task which promotes unnecessary and excessive spending. When in reality many homemade, non-toxic products can be used for multiple jobs and work just as well. Many utensils and tools can be consolidated.
• Baskets, totes, and uniformity: Loose objects go perfect in baskets and totes. My cabinets are organized with baskets holding an assortment of loose items, such as lids, canning supplies, toilet paper, essential oils, medicine, etc. My basket system is purely a time-saving necessity. Everything has a specific location which allows me to spend my time actually doing the tasks at hand as opposed to searching for the tools required. Uniformity works great too. When things are done in a specific yet simple way, children can easily learn to be willing participants in keeping their home organized. For instance, we have an array of different blocks. Each type of block is kept in a tote and all totes are stored in one specific location. Yes, they can play with the blocks, but when they are finished playing, they know where and how to put them away.
• Purge: Before Christmas and all birthdays toys are purged. My reasoning with the children is; "To get new toys they must get rid of some of the old". We cannot keep every toy they receive. Any broken toys are thrown away immediately. Books and homeschooling materials are kept in one location and purged yearly too. As for clothes and shoes, we keep a pretty simple variety. Each child has an average of four sets of 'play clothes', three sets of 'good clothes', 2 pairs of night clothes, and a weeks worth of under clothes. Shoes are kind of iffy, truthfully each chid has one good and one play, but somehow there are always seems to be strays that need to be put away in storage.

Organizing a home should not be a burdensome task, it should be done as an extension from a desire to create a peaceful home environment. From my personal experience our home operates much better when everything is in its place. The heart of organization begins with Christ and ends with families joyfully working together to keep a home running in decency and in order.

With Love and Hope,
Jennifer

This is a picture of the kitchen in the big house we bought and sold. This is not a staged picture, it was exactly what it looked like after each meal. :)

Taking Back Your Evenings: Why We Do NOT Do Extracurricular Activities

Once folks find out that we purposefully do not do sports or other extracurricular activities I'm typically inundated with questions of curiosity. And then usually comes their defense as to why they choose to do them. I'm not here to convince you one way or the other, but I am here to share why we choose to do things counterculture. AND to let you know there is an alternative, you don't have to follow the 'crowd' - you CAN raise children unto the Lord without participating in extracurricular activities. So here's another post I wrote at Modern Mommy Mentor....

The family unit is a true gift from God. Our current culture makes it mighty difficult to cultivate healthy family relationships. Families barely see each other long enough each day to have a conversation much less build lasting relationships with those who should matter most. Parents both work outside the home, children are sent away all day to school, and then evenings are filled with a myriad of activities for all members of the family. With these types of schedules its no wonder the family unit is struggling.

There's a misconception these days, that extracurricular actives are necessary for raising well-rounded children. While children may be more adept to team work and nurturing a competitive nature; they're missing out on key skills to thrive in marriage and parenting. We all know children learn best by what they see and experience first hand. When a child witnesses the daily interaction between their parents, they are gleaning valuable resources for when they establish their own families. The more the family is separate from each other the harder it is to create those valuable teaching moments.

We knew when we began having children that we wanted something different for our family, especially for our children. We wanted to pursue a home life that enabled us to develop close relationships with our children. It was our hearts desire to give them adequate training in maintaining healthy family relations. Relationships that would go so much deeper than just 'folks who share a house'. We searched the scriptures and the wisdom of the few families we had encountered who were purposing to live counter-cultural to today's norms. As we prayed and studied God's word we realized there was so much more to choosing NOT to do extracurricular activities.

5 Reasons We Do NOT Do Extracurricular Activities

1. We financially could not afford the high costs of extracurricular activities for a large family. The costs of equipment and materials required to do most extracurricular activities is very costly and not conducive to a modest single income.
2. We wanted to eat our family dinners together every night. Eating meals together and sharing the events of our days is just something special we cherish and we don't want them interrupted by practices, games, lessons, etc.
3. We wanted to have family worship in the evenings. Teaching our children the word of God is the most important aspect in raising our children. To consistently join in family worship we knew we had to plan our evenings to where we were at home and not spread all over town in different directions.
4. We didn't want our children confused as to whom their authority belonged to. We are all ultimately accountable to Christ, but God places parents over their children. When we start adding in other adult authoritarian figures, confusion can easily become an issue. If a coach or instructor tells a child to do something that is against the parents teachings, the child is put in a difficult situation that could have been avoided.
5. We didn't want to undo the purposeful sheltering we were doing through homeschooling. We homeschool for many reasons, but one reason is to shelter our children from ungodly influences until they are more grounded in the faith to handle situations which are contrary to the teachings of Christ.

There are many defenses as to why children should participate in extracurricular activities, but for our family we believe there are far more negatives to separating our family in the evenings. We value the time we GET to spend together. We've found that simply replacing traditional extracurricular activities with intentional family adventures is sufficient in filling in the gaps of not doing sports and other lessons. We are a not against athletics, the arts, or other special interests that could fill our evenings. On the contrary we are a very active family and enjoy learning plenty of new and interesting recreational activities; we just prefer to keep our evenings as a special time for encouraging healthy family relationships.

With Love and Hope,
Jennifer

P.S. Picture is of my sweet Titus taken by me, we may be anti playing sports ~ but little baby boys in ball caps with a ball and glove is just too cute. :)

Faithfulness & Contentment

Most people don't do anything without a reason. We all have a reason why we wake up each day, go to our jobs, clean house, stay at home with the children, go to bed at night, etc., etc., etc.. Whatever it is that we are doing each and every moment of our lives: there is a reason why. Now I'll admit sometimes when we're in the throws of something we may not have a clue why we're doing it, but I believe if we stop and look hard enough we'll discover exactly why we're doing it.

I kind of have a reputation for being wishy-washy or even worse a flake. I have wavered in so many areas of my life that I wouldn't even want to start trying to tell y'all about them. For one I'd be embarrassed and for another I may actually lose any ounce of credibility I posses through telling you all my shortcomings. Sad thing is this is not the sort of reputation I want to have nor do I desire to pass these awful traits on to my children.

My husband is the polar opposite. He is grounded. He hardly ever sways in his convictions. He's a man you can count on regardless of the situation. He makes me want to be a better person. He keeps me grounded and often bursts my bubble at times just to keep me from floating off into Never Never Land. He truly is a good and godly man ~ a man I know I don't deserve, but thank God for every day.

So here's a major confession: I'm struggling with this website. Yes, I know I'm only a few days in ~ now y'all can see exactly where I can be a flake (insert groan). You ask why am I struggling? I'm sure y'all will find it quite humorous, really. Y'all see my last two websites were 'paid-for' websites. They were quite fancy with all the fun bells and whistles. And, well, Blogger for free is just very limiting. I don't want to share too much and seem ungrateful; because after all, it is a FREE blogging platform! I truly am thankful to be able to write and hopefully encourage other women on their walk with the Lord. But, I do want to be real and genuine as possible, sharing my struggles.

Funny thing is I can't even remotely validate a 'paid-for' website because I have zero intentions of trying to make a profit from my blogging. I'm over that garbage. It almost makes me angry just typing it ~ thinking about how nearly every blogger out there is simply waiting to market their next product and sucker you into buying it. Convincing you that your life will never be the same if you don't purchase whatever they're marketing. Chances are you'd be just fine, and most likely you could find the exact same information on another website for FREE. 

So as I struggle through this angst, I'm trying to remember what is my purpose of this blog. Why am I here? AND to give myself some goals and accountability in regards to this blog.

1. To encourage christian women on their journey of being a wife and mother. especially those who homeschool and homestead.
2. Keeping myself accountable in my journey of following Christ.
3. Sharing our family and lifestyle with those who are interested in the 'simple life' (specifically an alternative to social media - where I can no longer 'hang my hat')

Wow! And there you have it: my reasons why. My reasons why I'm choosing to blog at Country Mama to Many. None of these reasons are dependent on any special Theme or blogging layout, and for that I'm grateful. But these reasons ARE a perfect springboard to keep moving me forward, to not give up. To prove I can remain faithful and content where the Lord has me. And who knows maybe one day I might just find my self back at a 'paid-for' website with more flexibility. 

For now I will graciously be writing on my free Blogger blog and I will keep my reasons why in front of me as I purpose to be content. I will share my heart and do my best to honor God with what I write. Removing this negative flaky stigma that seems to over shadow my character is important to me and this I believe is a great place to prove I can change. After all change can be a good thing! Not to mention what a perfect life lesson to use to teach my children about faithfulness, contentment, and how to allow the Lord to use you wherever He plants you!

"He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much." Luke 16:10

With Love and Hope,
Jennifer

P.S. Picture is courtesy of Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. I'm still under the old adage that every blog post needs an image, lol, and I just happen to think this one was pretty. :)

Organized Chaos: Homeschooling with Babies & Toddlers

Yes, I'm going to go ahead and share three posts in one day! I'm anxious to get all my posts moved over and start adding fresh stuff, so here's another one I wrote over at Modern Mommy Mentor. And hey y'all this one also includes my first freebie for over here at Country Mama to Many!

Homeschooling can pose many of it's own challenges in the best of circumstances; add a baby, a toddler, or both and it can quickly become a complete nightmare. Don't fret, mamas, you're not alone and there are ways to minimize the distractions. Yes, it does take a bit of juggling, and adapting; but by this point in the game I'm sure you're quite experienced in those departments! Take heart and keep reading to help get some ideas to make your days less stressful and more productive. Especially make a point to scroll to the end of the post and get your FREE Mama's Homeschooling checklist!!

We're in our 13th year of homeschooling and we have run the gamut of distractions, disorder, and pure upheaval during our homeschool days. Enough to make me romanticize about the glorious yellow cheese wagon that passes my house twice a day, and how easily it could whisk my crazy kids off to a day of someone else teaching and training them. And with that fantasy includes my toddlers going to daycare for someone else to potty train, clean up after, and corral all day long. My house would be clean and organize and my stress level would be drastically reduced. But, nope that's not what God has called me to, that's simply not the path for our family.

God called me to homeschool a long time ago. I fought it for some time, but literally had no peace and became vehemently ill after putting our oldest into public school for kindergarten. After three weeks we un-enrolled him and never looked back. Oh, I can assure you, I've threatened to send them all back, but they were always just empty threats. The days are long but the years are short. It sounds so cliché, but I can't believe we're about to graduate our first-born child! Has it been an easy road, absolutely NOT, but it has been 100% worthwhile and exactly what we were suppose to do.

Over the years we have developed a system which works to help keep the chaos to a minimum during our homeschool days. The more children we have had, the more we've had to adapt and adjust our homeschooling to accommodate the range in ages and the myriad of needs each child 'brings to the table'. While there are many facets to our system, today I'm particularly addressing how we handle the babies and toddlers of our crazy crew. Trying to educate older children while entertaining and containing the youngest members of the family can be mighty difficult, but with these few tips I can assure you homeschooling can be done with babies and toddlers.

Homeschooling With Babies & Toddlers

1. Give your day over to the Lord. Pray for your homeschool day and trust the Lord to orchestrate it the way that He sees fit. Get done what you can get done and don't worry about the rest.
2. Recognize and accept that you will have distractions. Plan accordingly for phone calls, visitors, minor accidents, and discipline needs. There are a multitude of interruptions that can occur in a day, simply acknowledge this and plan to adjust your day.
3. Minimize scheduling events such as doctors appointments and extra curricular activities during your typical school time. Creating a consistent school schedule that children can depend on is beneficial for all ages.
4. Don't compare yourself to the public/private school system or other homeschooling families. What works for one family will most likely not work for another family. Evaluate your family and determine the best schedule, system, and plans which allow YOUR family to thrive.
5. Group as much academic lessons as possible. Our family combines bible, history, science, writing, projects, art and all field trips. We start our day doing 'table time' which alternates these subjects throughout the week. I add more advanced material for the older ones and make adjustments for the younger ones as needed.
6. Utilize all 'restraining' devices (lol). Such as high chairs, booster seats, play pins, bouncy chairs, swings, etc. We take advantage of these  baby items often, especially during table time. The younger ones can typically be entertained for quite some time in a highchair with some toys or baby snacks.
7. Take advantage of nap times. Schedule lessons, especially one-on-one time during baby's nap time.
8. Assign sibling play time. We schedule each of the older children to take turns playing or reading with the younger kiddos, while I'm doing one-on-one with other children. This allows the older ones a small break from school and it encourages a special connection between siblings.
9. Set the toddlers to play close by you with quiet toys such as blocks, sensory boxes, and other educational toys which do not make noises. I require my toddlers and preschoolers to play quietly near my feet while I am doing one-on-one with other children. This allows me to keep a close watch on them and helps them to learn to play by themselves.
10. Consider homeschooling year round. A year round homeschool schedule has been a major blessing to our family. With this type of system we are able to reduce our workload through high stress seasons and pick it back up after life settles back down. We can easily keep our daily school time to 3-4 hours, which gives us plenty of flexibility and reduces the stress of trying to get so much done in a day. I love that I can plan for a few hours of school, a few hours of home management, and then still have plenty of time leftover to devote to the little ones.

Homeschooling is truly a gift from the Lord, even when your family dynamics create challenges. Learning to ebb and flow with those challenges is perhaps the greatest lessons of the day. Teaching your children to be involve with and help with the babies and toddlers is a life lesson that will stay with them for a lifetime. Building a strong family unit through a homeschooling system which includes all the family members, even the babies and toddlers, will only improve your children's overall academic experience. So, mamas it's time to relax, create a simple schedule, delegate junior mama's helpers, and enjoy your homeschool day.

With Love and Hope,
Jennifer

P.S. To help you keep the chaos to a minimum and stay productive throughout your homeschool days. I've create a Mama's Homeschooling checklist which you can print to help keep track of your one-on-one time with each of your children. I simply print off a sheet for each of my kiddos at the first of the week.  I write in what I plan to do with each child for the week. Then after we do their lessons I can check off each subject to make sure we're staying on target for our academic goals. Sometimes it's the simple things which help us simplify the most, but we've found these little checklists to be a super awesome asset to our homeschool days. I hope they will bless you as well.

Mama's Homeschool Checklist

Homeschooling With Learning Disabilities

Homeschooling is an extension of who I am and where my heart is. It is one of my deepest desires to encourage all mothers that they can and should home educate their children. Here's another one from Modern Mommy Mentor talking about how even children with learning disabilities deserve a home education.....

I have been told by parents, on more than one occasion, that the reason they can not homeschool their child is because their child has a learning disability. I find this all the more reason to pursue a home education, and I speak from experience. Today I’d like to share something that has been heavy on my heart lately. I want everyone to know that home education and learning disabilities can beautifully coincide, even if it doestake a lot of prayer and hard work.

To be perfectly honest, all of my children have experienced some form of learning obstacle(as I prefer to call them). We have addressed each one with prayer and trusted in God to sort out the details. My husband and I have worked tirelessly to help our children overcome many of these learning obstacles. That’s what parents should do! Nobody has my child’s best interest at heart more than me and my husband and I will never trust someone else to adequately address their personal needs and that includes the gift of learning.

We have encountered color blindness, speech impediments (2 children), severe speech delays, and a child with high functioning autism. We have never used the ‘free’ resources provided by the government, but we havedone our ‘homework’ and learned how to address each learning obstacle with God’s grace, mercy, love, and prayer. I have been overwhelmingly inspired and encouraged by God’s hand in each and every situation.

We recently experienced a glimpse of the miracle God is working in our six-year old’s life as he struggles with autism. Everyday, I consistently do his lessons with him; which includes working with numbers, writing, and reading. I have to sit with him and help him through every question, number, letter, and word. Sometimes I have to help him hold his pencil to write, but we do it, everyday. All my previous children have done the same work and could do it independently, but not him (and that’s okay). My prayer is that one day he willbe able to do the lessons independently. Well, this week he surprised me by bringing me two assignments that he had completed by himself! Can we say Hallelujah!!!

I send all the praise to the Lord above, for it is only by Him that we can be the parents our children need us to be. Unfortunately, more days than not I fail at this one simple task, even with God’s grace, but that is not God’s fault, but mine. Most days it would be far easier to put my child into a public school system, take advantage of all the “free” programs, and let someone else deal with the challenges that come with educating and tending to a child with special needs. But, that wouldn’t be God’s plan for our family. God didn’t give these children to anybody else, but solely to me and my husband. God’s word says He will not give us more than we can handle and that He will provide a way for us to address every need we will ever have.

Through our efforts of home educating children with learning disabilities I have learned a few things to make the journey a little more peaceable:

1. Pray over your child before lessons
2. Maintain a routine and stay consistent with academic requirements
3. Seek to have quiet during lesson time, remove distractions
4. Set realistic goals
5. Be cautious with ‘advise’ from others
6. Take things slow and let your child set the pace
7. Don’t let your child sense any frustration on your part (trust me you’ll experience it at one time or another)
8. Don’t compare your child to other children, especially academically
9. Do lessons orally, sometimes holding a pencil can just cause problems when in actuality your child really does know the subject matter
10. Give lots of love and praise

Having a child with learning disabilities is not without many challenges, but with those challenges comes the opportunity to practice faith and watch God work. God has created all of us special and unique and I think that is awesome! I wouldn’t change any of my children if I had the chance; each one is a blessing and has enriched my life beyond anything I could have ever imagined. I praise the Lord for giving me each one of my children and allowing me to home educate all of them. I will go to the ends of the earth to insure each of my children are given every opportunity to learn the lessons God has for them.

Don’t let learning disabilities be a reason not to home educate your child. I can’t imagine what would have happened to my six-year-old had we put him into public school. Fortunately, we will never know, for he will always have the sanctuary of his home as his platform for learning. There is no one better suited to educated a child than his or her mother, that is the way God designed it. Don’t be afraid of the unknown, live out your faith and trust in God to help you through the challenges associated with home education and learning disabilities.


With Love and Hope,
Jennifer

Unschooling With Purpose

Since it is the season of 'back-to-school' I reckon I'll post all my past homeschooling posts from my Modern Mommy Mentor website. Here's one sharing how we intentionally make learning a life-long passion instead of a brief season of life....

Our family views home education a little different from most folks. We didn’t come to these beliefs over night, but after much studying of the scripture, prayer, and research. Just like so many facets of our nation, the education system in our country is inadequate and broken. from the beginning of our home educating journey we knew we didn’t want to conform to the world’s ways just because that’s the way its always been done. That is why we choose to take education beyond the typical classroom and utilize something I like to call Unschooling with Purpose.

Recently, I saw on social media where parent after parent was plastering their children’s report cards for everyone to see. I’m sorry, but I just cringe at the thought of “grading” children. If a child doesn’t make straight A’s and B’ does that make them any less of a human being, are they not special or worthy of a parent’s praise? I would challenge parents that if their children are NOT making the “grade” than they need to evaluate their personal involvement in their child’s education, how well the teacher teaches the materials, and whether or not your child is being given every opportunity to learn said material through different venues and outlets. Not ALL children learn the same way! I truly believe children want to learn, do well, and succeed but they MUST be given every opportunity to do so. (which isn’t usually found in the realms of sitting at a desk for 8(+) hours a day with 15-30 other students the same age.)

I don’t grade or test my children. I am INTIMATELY involved with each one of my children’s education. I know whether or not my children grasp the concepts taught without grading them. We do not move on to new subject matter until I am convinced they fully grasp the content. The few textbooks we use are simply used as a springboard. We ONLY use them as a GUIDE to keep me aware of topics I feel are beneficial for my children to learn. And we don’t do every problem or even every lesson. Learning should not be tarnished by requiring children to learn topics so they can pass a test.

I really don’t understand why homeschooling families feel the need to recreate the public school system. I am not talking about having a school room, I actually think it’s beneficial to have a designated place to store all the home educating supplies that can be accumulated over the years. What I’m referring to is putting your children in a designated grade, making them do text books (workbooks) all day, completing 'so many lessons' in a year, etc. Our family does NOT place our children in a specific ‘grade’. My children begin learning at birth and Lord willing they won’t stop learning until they are called home to heaven. We do lessons year round and every day; every moment we are awake is an opportunity to learn and grow in wisdom and knowledge.

We focus on teaching godly character, inspiring the LOVE of learning, and teaching practical skills that will enable them to be competent capable godly men and women who can adequately manage their own households. I listen to my children’s interests, engaging them in conversations about their hopes, dreams, and desires. I purchase books and materials that will encourage them in their God-given passions. We involve our children in our daily lives, not giving them restrictions on what they can learn and do because of age. Given the opportunity children can learn to do most anything. We allow our children the freedom to be creative and use their minds. We limit their ‘technology’ time, trading it for a more constructive activity.

Learning shouldn’t be separate from our every day lives, but an extension of every moment we get to experience. The gift of learning should never be governed or restricted by anyone. Yes, there are certain topics that are important to learn, but they should never be force-fed for the sake of that’s what someone thinks should be learned at a specific age. Our time on this great earth is numbered and it is our sincere desire for our children to experience all that God has for them to the fullest. We’ve come to the conclusion that this can only be accomplished by breaking the bonds that come from the typical classroom environment.

I have truly been in awe as I’ve watched my children grow in wisdom and knowledge. We’ve given them the freedom to learn at their own pace. We’ve brought them along side of us as we’ve worked and learned new skills. But, most importantly they’ve been given the privilege to learn in a safe, non-hostile environment where the only expectations they have is to do their very best unto the Lord.

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men." Colossians 3:23 (KJV)

As a parent I believe it is our duty to give our children every opportunity to grow in wisdom and knowledge. For our family, we knew that would be impossible if our children attended school outside of our home. We will not support a broken educational systems that ‘graduates’ record numbers of children each year who can barely read or do basic math; by placing our children in those programs. Praise the Lord we still live in a country where we have the freedom to home educate.

It is an honor to be used by the Lord to lead my children through their academic journey. Just today, my oldest son said he loved to learn and hoped to learn as many things as possible. Once a child develops a heart for learning and realizes they can learn anything, there is no stopping them! Education does not have to be bound to a classroom, Unschooling with Purpose enables our family to experience the true joy home education.

With Love and Hope,
Jennifer

Perks of the Year Round Homeschool Schedule

We are homeschoolers and have been for over 14 years! We've recently graduated our oldest son from our homeschool ~ it went so fast 😢 But, since it's apart of who we are I've always written about it. Here is a post I wrote last year about why we homeschool year round....

When you begin homeschooling there are an array of different aspects to review and evaluate.  Not to mention all the normal every day mommy responsibilities that must be continually addressed. All these crazy dynamics can quickly overshadow the joy of homeschooling. The days can seem long and overwhelming with the weight of wanting to 'do it all'. But, in reality the load is too great and impossible to achieve while working in the parameters of the traditional academic school year. Which is why I highly encourage the year round homeschool schedule.

It's so easy to get overwhelmed with the many demands of motherhood and homemaking without homeschooling. Add in homeschooling and it's a certain recipe for a mommy overload. Many mothers are quick to recreate the only academic system which they know once they start homeschooling: the public school system. And so begins the massive overload of schoolwork, extracurriculars, and general life demands. This system is broken, and will NOT work within the home setting. Give yourself a break mamas and ditch the system. Trade it for a nontraditional academic program rich in family and the treasures this world offers. There's so much to see and experience outside the classroom, which gives children a solid background to launch them into any career field their hearts desire.

With this nontraditional way of thinking homeschooling no longer looks like something we do each day for so many hours, but an extension of our lives. Instead of only recognizing 'school' as what happens when working through workbooks and textbooks sitting at a table; acknowledge it as something we do from the moment we are born until the moment we enter the gates of heaven. Learning happens 7 days a week and 365 days a year.  It is a privilege and gift from the Lord. People, especially children, are in a constant state of learning. Give them the opportunity to explore, listen to their interests and help them soar through the world of academics.

I agree that there is a time and place for traditional school texts and even workbooks, but they should never be the sole source of learning for children. It has been proven time and again that children learn best through hands-on lessons, preferable self-driven by their own initiative. As a homeschooling mother we would be wise to sit back and be simple observers; even helping to create and spark our children interests with as many 'learning outside the box' opportunities as possible. All the seasons throughout the year can be used as a learning platform for children. When we limit the academic year to just a few months and only to that which can be taught in a classroom; we are gravely limiting their options for true academics.

Once your academic platform is rooted in viewing homeschool as an extension of each and every day; it's easy to see why a year round homeschool is the best option for fulfilling the many demands of life AND educating our children.

Top 5 Reasons Why We Homeschool Year Round

1. Access to all the seasons to fully incorporate 'outside the box' learning experiences through field trips and hands-on learning.
2. Reduced hours spent schooling each day so that normal, every day activities can still be accomplished (like house cleaning and doctor appointments).
3. Relaxed holidays. Focus on academics can be traded for family festivities and truly enjoying the special season instead of  the drowning in the weight of school work.
4. Easier to plan for sicknesses and unexpected distractions. Sicknesses are going to happen and unfortunately so will other life-altering events. With a year round homeschool schedule it's easier to take off 'school' for those seasons of life.
5. Children have the time to be children. Their days should never be consumed with boring structured academics. They should be free to explore and enjoy their childhood. Adulthood and rigid schedules will be apart of their every day norm before they know it. Why not let them enjoy the freedom of adolescents to it's fullest?

I could continue on and on in regards to the many reasons we love the year round homeschool schedule. It just works for our family as does the nontraditional approach to homeschooling. I realize the year round nontraditional homeschool platform may or may not work for each family; but, the most important goal for each homeschool mom should be finding the balance which will allow her to find the true joy in homeschooling. The days are long, but the years are so very short. Don't waste them overwhelmed and bogged down with too much book work. Enjoy the time you have with your children, it truly is a special gift from the Lord.

With Love and Hope,
Jennifer

August Harvest

Despite my better judgment and personal convictions in regards to social media; I have spent the past 2 years immersed in Instagram. Looking back I feel cheated and swindled by the Deceiver. But as with so many mistakes in my life God did use my time there to cultivate a few 'real' relationships. And for that I am grateful! 

The funny thing with the internet and social media, even blogging - you can recreate yourself over and over again. You can be anything you want to be. Unfortunately that can backfire and ultimately God always knows the true you. You can't run from God. Fact ~ Like it or not.

Our family has been 'homesteading' before homesteading was the thing to do. We did it because we were called to do it and because we had to do it. We had a very long season of 'leanness' and growing our own food was just what had to be done to make ends meet. (government assistance is just not an option for us - everyone has to do what they feel led to do, this is just our own personal convictions and story)

We had gotten to the point where we purchased very little in the form of food from the grocery store because we'd learned to grow AND cook with what we the good Lord provided through our very large garden and animals. 

Long story short (or maybe simply for another day) we backed off of our homesteading efforts and kind of just did it for a hobby and a nice supplement to our dietary needs. So, when I created my Instagram account I shared very little about our past homesteading efforts. 

Because of our personal background I enjoyed following others on similar homesteading paths. And since I'm typically a chatty person and like to help others, I often tried to share some wisdom, tips or suggestions in regards to gardening, animal husbandry, and food preservation. But much to my dismay they were not well received and typically brushed off as a woman who didn't have a clue! Insert gasp! 

See ~ because I had run from God and my true calling I was unable to be used by God to help these young up and coming homesteaders. The point of this post is not to debate social media but the fallacy in misrepresenting yourself in any form wether virtually or in realty. And I'd like to say I'm not trying to be prideful or boastful, I just happen to have years of experience and unfortunately mistakes under my belt that it would be nice to spare other folks those same setbacks!

Despite me running away from our simple life and homesteading lifestyle we have maintained a garden to some degree every year and this year was no different. The main summer garden season is currently wrapping up and soon we will be prepping the soil for our fall gardens. Which is one of the many wonderful perks of living in the south: The opportunity of 3 growing seasons! 

Despite us currently living 10 minutes from our old homestead where our gardens are located, we've had quite a successful garden and have preserved way more produce than I had expected we would. God is good like that always giving us more than we deserve. His mercies truly are never ending.

"The Lord is merciful and gracious, 

slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy." Psalm 103:8

Our Muscadines, Scupindines, figs, and blackberries are all producing giving us a little here and there. When it isn't much (like this half

gallon mixture) I just add them altogether in a freezer bag and freeze them for smoothies when the kale and spinach starts producing in the Fall.

 We've had our best ever harvest of butternut squash! We've picked at least 30 of them ~ I really should have kept count!

August is the season of okra in the South! We like it battered and fried of course but I will 'oven fry' it on occasion.

Any extra that we can't eat fresh, is cut and put into freezer bags and added to meals (from frozen). But you can fry from frozen too, it just tales a little more work and isn't nearly as good as frying from freshly picked.

The peppers are slowing down ~ about a gallon every picking. This year we've dehydrated most of the hot peppers to pulverize into crushed pepper to sprinkle onto meals. We all love spicy hot food around here!!

Finally the tomatoes are slowing down. Whew! Tomatoes can wear a person out! All we did with the tomatoes this year was make tomato sauce. As the season is dwindling down we're quartering the tomatoes, placing them in freezer bags, and freezing until we accumulate enough to make it worth our while to have a canning session.

Our oldest so graciously bought 20 chicks (we've lost 2) to help keep our family supplied with farm fresh eggs. The middle kids are handling their necessary care, but my oldest is still providing for their needs. Which is a huge blessing to our family and we are grateful for his contribution to our homesteading efforts!

My goal is to only cook/bake with farm fresh food either grown from us or through small family farms. We are blessed to have a local honey farmer who produces amazing organic raw honey. We typically purchase a 'seconds' batch in a 5 gallon bucket but this year he didn't have any of those so we're running low on our honey. We were so graciously gifted with 2 quarts of honey this week which will be rationed through the very last drop!

So, how's everyone's gardens wrapping up this season? What are you doing to get ready for the fall gardening season? I'd love to hear your garden goals? I'll be sharing ours very soon!

With Love and Hope,

Jennifer 

New Beginnings

New beginnings can be just as scary as climbing a really big tree. Country Mama to Many is a personal fresh start. A new beginning of sorts where I can share the trials and triumphs of our family with those who desire to know more about us or who are curious how we live a simple life with a bunch of children in a modern world.

I'm not here to draw attention to myself or become the next big mommy blogger. That's just not who I am or what I am after. I am here to be a witness and an example of a Bible believing wife and mother who has made some mistakes along the way. I'd love to say I won't stumble in the future ~ But, I'm fairly confident I will. I am not a quitter; when I fall, I will simply jump back up, brush myself off and continue on this beautiful journey of life God has set before me.

This is not my first attempt at a blog. My first blog was Mama Economics. It was a paid-for website with all the bells and whistles. I worked nearly three years building that website for it to be taken out by the cunning hands of the evil one. (No sense in discussing the details, as gory as they were, God closed that door and so be it.) Mama Economics was devoted to sharing our life and how to live a Christian-based debt free life. I learned a lot about blogging and how cut-throat the industry truly is. Sadly, now days it's all about making money instead of building lasting relationships and actually helping blog followers - it truly is a pathetic sign of the times.

Because I truly do have a passion for writing and encouraging others, I created a second blogging platform through Modern Mommy Mentor. Sadly this was during my many falls from Grace. I had succumbed to the modern world of "I must make money from home". Sadly I spent countless hours creating a very nice website (to the eyes of the modern world of course). I sold a digital cookbook that I had written to help pay for the website. I bought professional pictures to put on the website; because that's what 'they' tell you to do. {seriously- insert eye roll} I marketed like I was supposed to, using social media and all that jazz with the hopes that I'd 'make it big'. But I hated it, it wasn't me or what I wanted to spend my time doing. It became all about making money and not about sharing my god-given wisdom with those who might actually glean from it.

God has given us all many talents and when we do not use them to bring glory to Him, we are truly acting like spoiled brats. When our ultimate goal is to make money and not simply to be used by God we're doing a huge injustice to God, the world, and even ourselves. Life is more than money. Wisdom is a gift and not something that should be taken for granted.

"Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding." Proverbs 23:23

So Country Mama to Many is my hopeful attempt to redeem myself as a writer. A place where I can share what God lays on my heart. Even if the topics will most likely be as broad as the many personalities represented amongst my wild brood of nine, lol. But, I promise the posts will be authentic and genuine, written from my heart, about me and my beloved family.

But, because I don't believe all my writings were for naught over at Modern Mommy Mentor; I am going to be reposting some of them over here. Before each post I was specify that it was from my previous blog.

I'm just giving y'all a heads up for the potential of some over posting! 🙈

Thanks so much for following along on this wild and crazy journey of ours I'm glad you're here!

With Love and Hope,
Jennifer

Coming Home

Life has a way of changing. Changing regardless if we want it to or not. Sometimes the change is drastic while other times it's subtle.  

Sometimes the change is our own undoing. Did we fail to seek the Lord? Did we seek the World? Was it the cunning Deceiver who lured us away? 

Change can be good and refining but often times it's simply destructive. 

Are we humbled at the feet of Jesus, seeking His wisdom through bible reading, prayer, and meditation. Have we sought the counsel of godly advisers when we are faced with major life changes? (Are those godly advisers truly godly? Do they uphold the teachings of Christ or have they adapted them to simply coincide with the conveniences of the modern culture?)

Once we've determined the new direction is in fact of the Lord; each of us has a personal choice as to how we respond to the change in our lives. We can either go along cheerfully adapting and learning with a gracious spirit or we can drag our feet grumbling and complaining, looking for every opportunity (excuse) to go the other direction.

We have the beautiful free will to CHOOSE to embrace the path God has chosen for us ~ keeping our eyes fixated on the Cross as Jesus leads the way.

The alternative is called rebellion.

Are you a REBEL?

From a person who has chosen the path of rebellion, I can assure you it is a dreadful, joy-robbing, desolate place which draws you further and further from the loving arms of the Father. 

"I have spread out thy hands all the day unto a rebellious people which walketh in a way that was not , after their own thoughts." Isaiah 65:2

Even if we find ourselves a great distance from God, that doesn't mean we must stay there. He is ALWAYS waiting, ready to welcome his children back into His ever-loving/ever-forgiving arms. 

I've made a myriad of choices over the past 3 years which have painstakingly drawn me away from God and my true calling on this earth. But, through a series of life-altering events Jesus has brought me HOME ~ back to Him and His will for me in this sin-laden world.

"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." Isaiah 55:7

With this victory comes an earnest desire to share my journey.  An open accountability diary of sorts where I give a glimpse into my little world as I seek to finish the race God has set before me.  

And so here begins Country Mama to Many: The writings of an old school wife and mama to nine, intentionally living for Christ in rural Alabama.

Thanks for being here and sharing the journey with me.

With Love and Hope,
Jennifer