I wrote this little pamphlet to encourage you, give you tips and show you that other women are happily (yes, I said happily) homeschooling inspite of memory problems, not being able to get out of bed some days (o.k. a few in a row) and overcome major organization handicaps. It is of course not easy, but God's blessings are abundant to His faithful children.

There are several areas I will cover. Common things I found that have a major influence on moms who are struggling. They are:

I will write about Spiritual first because it is the most important of all.

The Lord made us. That sounds so basic doesn't it. He made us exactly how we are. He knew what trials and illnesses would befall us in our lifetime.

The Lord will choose to heal some of us, others He will use our afflictions to witness and teach others about Christian’s faith and daily living. We will never know who has been touched by our life’s' trials, but know this, our Lord is so tenderly holding us in His care. His mercy and abundant strength is there for us to access.

I want to cover some spiritual basics that I have found very comforting in times of trials and being laid up in bed.

This is from the "Short Children's Catechism".

Q 3. Why did God make you and all things?

A. For His own Glory.

Q 4. How can you glorify God?

A. By loving Him and doing what He commands.

Q 5. Why ought you to Glorify God?

A. Because He made me and takes care of me.

We must Reverence our Lord. This means to show Him honor and devotion. To do this we must chiefly spend time with Him through prayer and Bible reading. Secondly through church worship and fellowship (or at home if needed). And lastly through the reading of only the very best books (although the occasional lighter fair may be beneficial to a strained mind).

Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate, forgiving each other just as Christ forgave you.

Donna Bawcom has the following in her book In Pursuit of Female Excellence - Heart "Dispositions Necessary for a Woman's Walk With Her Fellowman"

A. Benevolence

B. Meekness

C. Forgiveness

As Christian women, we must put off the worlds thinking and continually renew our mind, be separate from the world.

Of course this verse can mean fleeing the accepted sins that many people partake in today, but it also means to live your life as God desires uniquely for you. You may not be able to rise every day at 6:00a for devotions and prayer. You may need a daily nap when others do not. You may have to say no to many church/homeschool activities that others are involved in. If this is God's will for you - who can argue? If others give you a hard time, do not share with them or try to convince them, just keep them in prayer.

We must daily confess our sins to the Lord. If you are not sure if you have sinned or offended some one, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal it to you. Make restitution to that person and endeavor to not make the same offense again.

There is no more common sin than that of un-thankfulness. We must submit to God's providence with out murmur and grumbling. He is the perfect parent. If He sees fit to discipline us we must repent and learn. If He sees fit to work in our lives in a way that in contrary to what we planned, we must submit. We can respectfully ask why and the Lord may or may not tell us, but we must be content. We must thank Him continually, weather we feel like it or not.

Through reading the Bible you will also discover Biblical daily living principles. Confess when you have found you have been in error and ask the Lord to help you stay on the narrow path.

The two roots of a life lived in principled obedience are:

1. A saving choice of God - Jehovah is my portion

2. A determined commitment to serve God and to do His will.

The two elements to a climate of principled obedience are:

1. Dependence upon God expressed in real prayer. We are weak and prone to failure.

Only the Holy Spirit can give us the power to obey.

2. Faith in God's promised provisions.

These are wonderful Scriptures to look up about God's promises.

John 15:5 2 Corinthians 12:9 2 Peter 1:3

Romans 6:14 Philippians 4:13

"God has appointed prayer as the great means of exchanging your weakness for His strength." A.N. Martin

The actual process involved in living a lifestyle such as this are:

We choose to obey our Lord because we reverence Him and fear to offend Him because of our deep love for Him. It is not a cafeteria line. We can not pick and choose what to obey.

We also may be called to convictions unique to our own families such as dresses only for girls/women, no t.v., no secular music, children not attend church youth programs or for mom to wear a head covering. If the Lord speaks to us we must obey. If the Lord directs us through our husband, we must obey.

As mothers we know what a miracle conception and birth is. As a parent we know what it means to just stare with wonder at our little one with such a joy in our heart that we think we may burst. We know our children do wrong, even hurtful things and yet we love them so dearly. This is how the Lord also feels about us - His children.

We find so many flaws with our selves and even can be our own worst enemy with harsh words to ourselves. We feel ugly or sad about our childhood or past before being saved.

But you must let go of these things. Your past does not define who you are now - a beloved child of God with gifts and talents given to you for your pleasure and for service to others. Begin to get to know your self as a new creature in Christ.

For me the meaning of peace means the absents of strife. A calmness that supercedes all understanding. It can only come from the Lord. It does not mean no worries, cares or trials, but a mental attitude of how you face them. God gives faith that increases as you pray. The faith will be increased you must believe it!

I think it is also important that we not allow relationships that rob us of peace and undermine our relationship with the Lord by causing strife with family members and other believers. You can be kind and helpful, but do not allow people like this much room in your life. Life is to short to allow people to steal your joy.

The next section I am going to write about it health. In the "olden days" good health was valued more than wealth. For anyone who has an on-going health or pain problem, they know this to be true.

At the risk of sounding harsh I often wonder if my own health issues were forced upon me by lack of obedience to the Lord's will. The fruits of my often bed rest has been much prayer and Bible study. What true rest and restoration I have found there! The Lord has also impressed upon me how to avoid more serious health problems by paying attention to the warning signs.

Everyone has a different tolerance to pain. Having said that, pain is still a signal from your body to you that something is not right.

Often from repetitive movement you can have a flare-up of pain in a joint or muscle. You have to decide if the activity or task is worth it. You may want to take a pain reliever before you begin to off set the flare-up. You can learn your stopping point before it is too late and then stick to it. Don't let others make you feel bad because you do not finish or take breaks often. This is just how you must live your life.

Pay attention to your body. If you keep pushing your self and ignore the signals you will end up worse off. You must re-think and change you way of doing things.

You will have bouts of insomnia. Don't be alarmed if you do. There are several things you can do to help it pass quickly.

If it becomes a problem, there are over the counter and herb medications that can be taken as a last resort.

This is the toughest problem facing a busy mom. There is laundry to do and the house to keep up on. You do school from bed, but meals still have to be made. The children require constant supervision and direction from you, and you just want to keep your eyes closed.

I think by much prevention and a careful watch of our energy account we moms can slowly have more high-energy days and less in bed days.

You may want to consider backing out of all outside the home commitments and put an end the children’s' running around for 4 - 6 months. Yes, it will cause a stir, and maybe people will not be happy, but isn't your health worth it?

Your priorities should be for a time just:

school – Bible, math and read alouds. Children who can read take turns with mom.

laundry – Children bring you dry clothes, put wet in drier and mom put clothes in washer.

meals – children can make sandwiches, have fruit on hand and healthy cereal also.

family – give children hugs, write notes to friends, kind words for husband.

If your are struggling, this will be too much already. Keep it simple. Let the answering machine get the phone, have your husband return the calls. There are many ways to educate children, don't worry that they will fall behind if you let up on the regular schoolwork and do reading for the most part. Your meals can be simple and wholesome. Try to do 1 load of laundry a day and have your husband do the bulk on Saturdays. This is just until you get your energy account filled back up. Then stay un-busy. Carefully choose what you and children will be involved in. Just because everyone you know is in a new co-op, don't feel you are cheating your children out of a great educational experience. Prayerfully consider what the Lord would have your family involved in.

Our mind is an amazing thing. It is able to be so creative and think of the most wonderful things. It is also capable of such dark thoughts and unhappiness that it can cause a physical reaction in our body and even interfere with the healing process when we are ill.

These are some very sound truths I learned from one of Donna Bawcom’s workshops. We must set our mind on things above. We are no longer serving our flesh, but serving the Lord. Our thought life must be molded by the word of God.

Our thoughts produce our desires and disposition. These in turn effect our will. Our will brings on our actions and responses. Repeated actions become habits. Habits are what form our character.

If you bring your thought life captive to the word of God, you can combat anxiety, anger, loneliness/abandonment and suffering. 2 Corinthians 10:5

Some personalities and temperaments are more prone to mental anxiety. Do not give up hope. God will supply us with the strength and wisdom if we seek it to combat this. The book of Psalm was very helpful for me to read. David cried out the Lord and sought His protection from those who would harm David and cause him to be fearful.

I already talked a little about cutting back so you can manage the home when ill. When you do have energy you will need to use it as an opportunity to tackle your to do list. It might just be mopping the floor or cleaning the toilet.

I think everyone, older children and adults should have a day planner or notebook system for keeping track of appointments, special days as well as to do lists and many other things. It is just a tool, if you don't use it, it will be useless.

I have a workshop on home organization. It is full of ideas and encouragement. There are also forms in the handouts you can use for your own home. Contact me if you would like a copy.

When ever possible, as soon as age allows, begin training children in chores.

Here are a few ideas

The next day begins the night before.

Keep clutter and piles out of your house. It is hard to think when every where you turn there is a mess. Keep counters and tables clear. By all means have pretty decorations, but get rid of the mess.

Do meal cooking ahead of time. There are several books on the market on this topic. I sell the "What's for Dinner" Menu Planner. There is also the Once a Month Cooking - Dinner's in the Freezer - Frozen Assets. It takes the same amount of time to make one tuna casserole as to make two. Serve one and freeze the other.

Have a basic daily schedule that will become second nature to you. It could be something such as:

* Prayer * Breakfast * Kitchen Clean-up *Get Ready (personal grooming) * School *

When your basic schedule has been met, you can consider what else needs to be done and if it is wise to pursue it.

I hope you found this little booklet helpful. It has been on my heart for a long time to write it. May the Lord give you the strength and abundant blessings as you walk with Him.