Make your goals specific or be ready for God's interpretation. . .

We all do it.  Whether formally on paper, in our head, or just in our spirit.  Our entire life we set goals, things we want to do or be.
Recently, I have been evaluating my almost 40 years.  I started out thinking, wow, I haven't met any of my goals.  It was then in my self-pity, that God was able slap me.  And say, "you met them, take a minute and reevaluate, this time look at them with My boundaries and not Rachel's."

This is what I found -

Goal #1 - I want to be a teacher when I grow up.  
Rachel's Idea
My view of this had me in an amazing classroom full of children who were excited that I was their teacher.  A classroom that other teachers only longed to have - full of wonder, color, technology, and creativity.  I was going to make a difference in lives of countless students.  I was going to be that teacher they always thought of as adults, when they thought of the teacher that made a difference in their lives.
God's Idea
I am the teacher to three amazing people.  I sit at my kitchen table surrounded by laundry, dirty dishes, and lunch plates discussing the Trojan War, atomic structure, how to find the area of a circle, the Apollo space missions, and how to write a good paragraph - simultaneously.  I will the be the teacher they think of when they grow up, by default :).

Goal #2 - I want to change the world.
Rachel's Idea
I was going to do something that people would recognize as world changing.   Something that made this world a better place.  Something that allowed this world to have little more potential.
God's Idea
He gave me three acres of "the world" to change.  I have quite literally changed the physical world on which we live.  What was once over grown and unusable, is now producing food and allowing animals to sustain life.  It is providing a place for family and friends to get away from the hustle and bustle and find hope and peace.  My three acres have potential and there is lot more "world" changing left to do.

Goal #3 - I want a big family.
Rachel's Idea
We were going to give the Duggar's a run for their money :)
God's Idea
He gave me body that would have limits, but heart that would not.  Becoming a foster parent has allowed me to love - at last count 7 little blessings.  Who knows?  Some of these blessing may officially become Medlin's, but all of them have been loved with a mother's love.

Goal #4 - I want to preach The Word.
Rachel's Idea
I was going to be a preacher like all those preachers I know.  I was going to stand in a pulpit and deliver sermons that would make people want to be different.
God's Idea
Here is the definition of preach on google -

Full Definition of PREACH

intransitive verb

1

:  to deliver a sermon

2

:  to urge acceptance or abandonment of an idea or course of action

Looks like God had definition number in mind for me.

And Finally Goal #4 - I want to be a writer.
Rachel's Idea
I wanted to walk through the library and see my name on the spine of a book.  I wanted to write words that move people.  Words that would link in with other goals I had like changing the world and preaching.
God's Idea
He gave me a blog and let me vent my heart about how He deals with me.

Do you see the pattern yet?  All my goals were totally ME centered.  All about how my name would make a difference.  All His fulfillment's of my goals are totally GOD centered.  They can't be described without using His name.   They can't be explained without giving Him glory.  And they certainly would not have been met without His direction.

I am so glad God took my goals and made them His.  I might not be everything I thought I was going to be.  But I live in assurance that God has allowed me to meet every goal.

Silent While Talking

So, what is it about a mom's voice that seems to go unheard?  No, I am not talking about anything political, nothing that big at all.   I am talking about simple everyday, mom is talking and no one responds kinda thing.

Yesterday, had many of those moments, when I know very well that I audibly spoke things.  Yet at the days close, many in the room argued the fact.

And today after rising many hours ago and reminding ever so many time that school started an hour ago.  I sit in the schoolroom alone . . .

I try so hard not to be the nagging mom who always has something bad to say, another problem to take care of, another task to accomplish. . . but when my words fall of deaf ears, I am left with no choice, but to repeat myself time and time again right?

Think I am gonna try something different today.   No nagging, no repeating, just simple calm instruction.  I read a cute saying on pineterest - speak in a low whisper, it more intimidating.

Dear God,
I have to believe that you gave me voice because I have important things to say.
Help me to know when to say those and when to shut up.
Allow my voice to have an audience.
Allow it to be a voice of encouragement, support, and guidance.
Don't let me fall into the trap of having a voice that everyone tunes out, because it has nothing to say worth hearing.

"May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing and acceptable unto you, Oh Lord, my rock and my redeemer"

Amen

PS.  Lord, feel free to give a good hearing test, just to make sure they still know how to listen :)

The Waiter

Well, I used to think I was a great waiter.  No not the person who takes your order, refreshes your drinks, and gets a great tip at the end of the night.  I mean the person who sits, watches, and embraces each moment that is passing in no hurry to get to the next moment.

Well, if you are know me and are already laughing, stop it. . . since you didn't tell me or I didn't listen when you did.  I have learned all on my own that I am a horrible waiter.

Six months now I have been waiting for the next step in our life to unfold.  Something that I thought would take a couple of weeks, has now morphed into six longs months with no end in site.

I look back at those six months and become so frustrated. . . I never once stopped and embraced the moment (well maybe once or twice) but over all I flopped.  I put my life on auto pilot and coasted through six month of my life.

Six month of memories, six months of devotions, six months of moments that make life sweet and enjoyable all just pushed to the back burner, because that day might be the day that it would all end.  That day might be the day the waiting would be over.

I can't go back.  The past is the past, but as I sit here and think about tomorrow.  I want my thoughts to focus on the little things of the day.  The memories, the teachable moments, the laughs, the quiet time in God's arms. . .not the anxious thought that tomorrow could be the end of the waiting.

Dear Lord,
I am not praying for patience!!!!
But I am praying that I learn to be a great waiter.
And if you want to include tips - that would be great :)
Amen

Warning - Full On Homeschool Blog Post

While I dream about the former, the later it a reality for our house.  

Hands on learning happens a lot, around here.  

And this is one reason we homeschool,
not for the 10 page history paper, but for the Solar Cooker :)

//jugglingpaynes.blogspot.com

Smile for you :)

Math with my youngest . . .


http://www.babyblues.com/archive/index.php?GoToDay=2010-07-18

Chances are you have one too. . . 

Don't ask me how . . . just ask me why!

Do you ever get tired of people asking you how you do it, when they find out you homeschool?

I wish they would just ask me why instead.

You see when you ask me how, I become overwhelmed with all that I do wife, mom, teacher, cook, laundress, nurse, maid, gardener, pet keeper, dental hygienist, manicurist, pedicurist, chauffeur, lego club leader, equestrian mom, plumber, handyman, curriculum assessor, grocery shopper,  . . . (i need to stop this is getting overwhelming. . .see I told you).

But when you ask me why, then I am reminded of why I made the choice to lead this crazy life.

I would be happy to go over the list of reasons why we homeschool.  (Note - "why we" - homeschooling works for us, that doesn't mean it's for everyone,. There are a lot of mom's out there who don't homeschool, and yet their list is longer than mine - I do get that.)

There are two reasons for why we homeschool that soar to the top of my list.

1) Several years ago my husband and I were in process to adopt a little boy.  After 18 months of loving, naming, and caring for him, the courts decided to move him into a different home.  We lost our baby.  It was on that day, when they loaded my baby in the car and pulled out of my driveway that I realized, we are not guaranteed tomorrow.  I only have this moment to spend with kids.  I only have today to tell them I love them.  I don't want to let them go eight hours a day for someone else to impart to them.  I want to be the one who does all the imparting.  I want them to know who I am, who their dad is, and how God allows us to be the people we are.

2) My young husband already has 23 years in with Chick-fil-A.  When you do the math you will see it is his first and only job (except for one experience that I will let him tell you about).  People eat chicken when they aren't in public school.  So holidays, breaks, and Saturdays are the times when he is guaranteed to work and work long hours.  Homeschooling allows my kids to spend lots of time with dad, that if they were in public school, it just wouldn't happen.  We school hard in the summer, at holidays, and yes even on Saturdays.  But we also go camping and spend lots of time with dad in the middle of September, the first of January, the second week of May, . . .you get the picture.

See it's true . . . I told you why we homeschool and here even as I type. . . I find myself excited and ready to tackle some more of my crazy life.

So now, it's your turn - Why do you homeschool?

Be ready to feel invigorated and ready to tackle at least on more of your crazy days :)

Summer Reading List

I was surfing the web looking for reading lists for my kids.  I found this great list on Christianbook.com.  I want to share it with you.  We use it year around, not just summer.  Here are lots of great, wholesome books to add to your repertoire. http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/cms_content?page=1163091&sp=86209

If you have must reads; please post them as a comment for all of us. . .

We all love a great book . . .

Happy Reading!

Summer Break - NOT!

Well it's getting close. . . that time as a homeschool mom I dread. The end of the public school year.

You see, we are constant homeschoolers, because we are constant breakers.  Let me explain.  We don't ever really take an official break in our school year.  But we take frequent pauses to go camping, spend time with visiting relatives, spend days off with dad, let mom have a break, etc.  So, we homeschool year around.  In fall and spring, when the days are cool and pleasant - school days are short and time outside is long.  But on those hot summer days, when just looking outside makes us sweat - we have long school days and short outside time.  This is a great plan and my kids love it until all of our traditionally schooled friends get excited about "Summer Break".  And they look at me with those puppy dogs eyes and say, "mom, are we going to work all summer!"  And I look back with my most gracious smile and scream, "Yes, we are gonna work all summer, we haven't done thing all year!!!!!"

A whole month

You know they say time flies when you're havin' fun. Well, it also flies when you just tryin' to survive. The last month here at the Medlin Homeschool has been one of the those months. Where you just strive everyday to keep your head above water and you make sure your kids aren't going stupid. lol So as I looked today and realized that a whole month had passed since my last post. I realize that sometimes life is not full of great quotes and lessons that enhance our abilities, sometimes life is just survival. Sometimes the reward of homeschooling is just the fact you did it one more day. Sometimes your kids learn perseverance more than English. Sometimes you have season when you just need to keep going. . .

I hope that amazing things have happened in your homeschool this last month. I hope that your are proud of yourself for surviving one more month. You can do it girls. The Lord gives us strength when all of ours is gone. Now we may not have enough strength to log in and blog. But He will give us strength to be the wife, mom, teacher . . . He created us to be.

Until next time, hopefully not a month. . .

Happy Homeschooling :)

Sometimes the Truth is Funny :)

Thought you gals could use a laugh today.

Found this on another homeschool blog.

Gallons, Quarts, Pints, and Cups - THIS IS COOL!

Cold Days ?

Okay, so it's cold enough in TX today to have a Cold Day - not a Snow Day - no precipitation, but a Cold Day :) the whole town is shutting down.

My question today is?

What do you call off "School" for?

Here is our list - camping, amazing weather, house guests, birthdays, new exhibits or exciting events at the Zoo (we are members), dad's day off work. . .

Please tell me, when do you call off school?

Math Lesson with God

I am not a big forwarded email kinda gal (or copy and paste as the case may be),

but my dad sent this to me and I wanted to pass it along.

I am so gonna work this into a math lesson :)

The Beauty of Mathematics!!!!!!!

1 x 8 + 1= 9
12 x 8 + 2= 98
123 x 8 + 3= 987
1234 x 8 + 4= 9876
12345 x 8 + 5= 98765
123456 x 8 + 6= 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7= 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8= 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9= 987654321

1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 +10= 1111111111

9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x 9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888

Brilliant, isn't it?

And look at this symmetry:

1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111 x 11111 = 123454321
111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321

111111111 x 111111111 = 12345678987654321

Mind Boggling….Isn’t it?
Now, take a look at this...
101%
From a strictly mathematical viewpoint:

What Equals 100%?

What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?

Ever wonder about those people who say they
are giving more than 100%?

We have all been in situations where someone wants you to
GIVE OVER 100%...

How about ACHIEVING 101%?

What equals 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help answer these questions:

If:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Is represented as:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Then:

H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K

8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

And:

K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E

11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

But:

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E

1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

THEN, look how far the love of God will take you:

L-O-V-E-O-F-G-O-D
12+15+22+5+15+6+7+15+4 = 101%

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:

While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, It's the Love of God that will
put you over the top!

great ideas . . . lead to big questions

So I had this great idea last night as I lay in bed trying to sleep, that I was gonna blog about today, but for the life of me - I can't remember.

Must not have been that great then - huh?

Do you ever have trouble keeping up with it all? Do you sometimes think if your brain has to hold another spelling word it just might explode? Do you find that you dream of three different English lessons coming alive and seizing your vocal cords? Do you wonder if anyone else fantasizes about lesson plan fairies and instant math brain chips?

Do you find that just surviving Monday is a major life goal?

Here is to you and knowing you can do it - YOU CAN CONQUER MONDAY - I know you can :)

Toys. . .

A comment on a past post got me to thinking.

What is the favorite toy in your house?

Is it a constant steady? Or are your toys preference fickle?

Three kids means three different favs - because they would all never agree on one.

So as of Jan 2011 our constant and steadies are and have been for quite some time . . . . (drum roll please) . . . legos and cars. The whole toy world could disappear, except these and life would go on at my house.

I know what your thinking, I said three kids and only two toys. Well, the princess, has never had a favorite, she has never been a big toy player, she was born to old to play with toys . . . lol. She enjoys the non-tangible things - time with friends, being outdoors, loving on animals, etc. So if all the toys in the world disappeared she would not even notice :)

So now it's your turn. . .

I really want to know, please tell . . .

Simple or Complex

I have found that simple is better than complex in so many areas, recently.

Here is an example of one -

I tried for so long to find, create, use curriculum that was bright and vivid, full of stuff and pleasing to the eye. Recently I felt impressed to go with a new curriculum that was very plain and to the point, but very God centered. Oh my goodness, what a difference. They sit and do their work. They organize their desk and papers. They even want to do the lessons.

So, if your days seem to be an overload on the senses. . .

If you find your kids having trouble focusing . . .

. . .maybe just maybe simple is better that complex.

Friday still unplugged!

What do you do on Fridays?

We ease out of school and into the weekend!!!! Fridays are light for us. We do some school, but usually never a full day. We tie up our loose ends before the weekend and then spend the rest of the day just doing stuff. Only Mon-Fri is unplugged at our house. The kids may not use anything that requires a plug until the weekend - ex. tv, wii, ds, computer games (the computer is used during the week for research during school, but not play). So Friday is our day to get into something that stimulates our mind, not our electric bill. We have been known to spend time in the kitchen, or the backyard or even in the garage. We sometimes spend the time together or we may just have sometime apart working on crafty creative things. Many days by Friday we just need to be alone . . .lol.

What do your Friday's look like?

I am excited to hear . . .

just a smile today . . .

Okay no grand enlightenment today . . . just a cute story I found in an old edition of the magazine The Teaching Home. March/April 1994 to be exact, told you it was old, but the story is still cute.

When You're Stuck Improvise

My two daughters and my son, who was then 3, were playing Hide n' Seek. The girls had been counting and then finding their little brother, who would scream with delight. Then they decided it was his turn to count, and to my surprise, he agreed. So the girls took off as their brother covered his eyes with his little hands and said, "One, two . . .(pause). I don't know how to count!" He stood there thinking for a few seconds, then said, "God is great, God is good. Let us play hide n' seek. Ready or not, here I come!" - Mari Larkin, Tampa, Florida

So today, just remember if it doesn't go as planned - improvise!

Core Subjects

What are your core subjects?

Do you use text books, "living" books, computer, or . . .?

The Medlin's are an eclectic bunch. We use mainly text books and cover seven different subjects. We don't stick with one publisher or process, we just do what fits each kids personality or the homeschool budget :)

Looking forward to your comments -

Type away. . .

Schedules, Calendars, Events, OH NO!

This is one that I have pondered each year and still have not found the perfect solution.

This topic, like yesterday, can be broken down into two different topics.

Daily Schedule -

How does school work at your house?

Is it a come and go, just so you get it done by the end of the day kinda feeling?

Or do you ring a bell, start with calisthenics and the pledge, and time each event through out the day?

We have tried it both ways :) right now we are caught somewhere in the middle.

One of the best tools I found when trying to make my daily schedule was the book Managers of the Their Home - while I do follow it to the letter. It does help me see what each of the kids need to accomplish and what I need to get done each day. I really like to use it at the beginning of each school year when I am planning out my year.

Weekly Schedule -

One way we try to keep a schedule going in our house is a Google calendar - each family member has a calendar and we are all linked together. This allows us to see where everyone is and what their doing each day. The kids have their school schedule in it, their extra curricular activities, their church stuff, etc. I have the school schedule, my monthly mom's meetings, church events, etc. And my husband puts in his work schedule, day off, church activities, etc. We can easily see any conflicts and lap-over and then decided, if we eliminate something or split up - I go one way, while dad goes another. It has helped so much this year, and we rarely forget an event now!

Now it's your turn . . .

Enlighten me, girls!