Monday's Prayer

Lord, may we trust You to fulfill our hopes and dreams for tomorrow and focus on the things in our hand today!

A few of the ladies from our group went to the Southeast Homeschool Expo in Atlanta this past weekend. It was a weekend filled with inspiration and encouragement as we listened to speakers such as Jessie Wise, Susan Wise Bauer, Jim Weiss and Randi St. Denis. Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer have co-authored a book that I jokingly call my "homeschool bible." The Well-Trained Mind is a great roadmap for the homeschooler who is interested in the classical education model, as well as general direction in teaching different subject areas. It is the most comprehensive book on homeschooling that I have read or even know is available.

Jessie Wise shared her thoughts in a workshop called "If I Could Do It All Over Again." Here are some nuggets that encouraged me: "If I could do it all over again, I would:

• Smile more
• Speak more words of praise
• Sing more
• Be less serious
• Be happy in the daily life"

Good stuff, huh? I think I am going to post this on my bathroom mirror, so I won't forget! It is so easy to get caught up in what needs to be done or accomplished that we forget to enjoy the process and this precious time with our children. And, this is a special time to be with our children---a few years that will quickly slip away!

Another "nugget" that I received from that workshop is her instruction to "live your life in chapters." Don't feel like you have to try to do everything now. As Solomon said, there is a time for everything, and it is not all at the same time!

There will be a time for you to write that novel, create that clothing line, be a paid accountant---whatever your dream may be! Focus on today, and trust God with your dreams of tomorrow. Who knows? You might even find that your "today" is preparing you for a "tomorrow" that you never thought was possible!

Look at Jessie Wise: a homeschool mom of three, who is now a grandmother and traveling the nation. Through her book and her speaking, she is encouraging and impacting thousands of lives!

Let's choose to enjoy this chapter of being a mom and impacting, perhaps even changing, the future. Give everything you can to what is in your hand today, and I believe that God will bless your tomorrow in ways you cannot even imagine!