This week, in honor of the first episode of the Homeschool Sanity Show on the Ultimate Homeschool Radio Network, I thought I would feature encouraging posts from some of the other hosts. I figured October’s about right for some encouragement! Note that some shows may not begin until later this fall or next year, but it’s a great time to bookmark or subscribe for later!
Hal and Melanie Young host the Making Biblical Family Life Practical podcast. Most homeschooling parents have times like these and the Youngs have some encouragement.
Carlie Kercheval provides encouragement and tips for dealing with a fact of life for most homeschool moms. I would have loved this article when I had babies who weren’t sleeping through the night. She and her husband Michael are the hosts of Learning to Speak Life.
Katie Horner, expectant mother and host of a Spanish homeschooling podcast, has put together a fantastic list of posts on homeschooling through every baby stage, including sleeplessness.
I love Kendra Fletcher’s premise here. There is a certain kind of book that can drive us crazy. Kendra and her husband, Andy, host Homeschooling in Real Life.
Jen Reyneri, host of Destination: Inspiration, shares her perspective on scheduling and a review of a program that has helped her and her children mange their day.
Are you a leader? If you’re anything like me, you’ll say no.
Unfortunately, in our culture, saying you’re a leader or even that you aspire to be is seen as a negative thing. We’ve come to equate the power-hungry, the arrogant, and the unscrupulous with leadership. That’s unfortunate, because we don’t have as many quality leaders as we need. When elections roll around, we groan because we have so few good options. But the impact of a negative view of leadership extends beyond politics.
One of the consequences of a negative view of leadership is we fail to recognize our own potential.
At our church’s women’s retreat, one of the women told me she saw me as a leader. That wasn’t surprising considering I lead Bible studies and have been in charge of numerous programs over the years. What was surprising is that I didn’t see myself that way.
I have internalized the idea that it’s not ladylike or appealing to seek leadership. I’ve just allowed myself to “fall into” the role, so I can’t be accused of being one of those aggressive people no one likes.
While my negative attitude hasn’t kept me out of leadership, it has kept me from developing my leadership potential. I haven’t worked to develop as a leader. I haven’t fully considered the impact of what I say and do on the people I lead (even if only by example). I’ve certainly experienced the consequences of this. I started a small group Bible study years ago without any leadership education. I believe that I could have prevented some serious problems that developed, had I thought of myself as a leader from the beginning.
A second consequence of a negative view of leadership is we fail to raise children as potential leaders.
At one time, my strong-willed son expressed an interest in a political career. It didn’t take long for the media to beat that idea out of him. But I didn’t help. Deep down, I assumed that in order to succeed in politics, my son would have to lack character. Rather than training him in what it means to be a godly leader, I just hoped the interest would go away and it did.
If we aren’t really clear on what a leader is, how will our children understand?
We can raise up a generation of godly leaders with education.
When I first read Dan Black’s blog On Leadership, I wondered what I was reading it for. Not only was I not a leader, but I wasn’t interested in leadership. Dan must have been inspired by the Holy Spirit, because he kept interacting with me through my blog and Twitter and I was impressed. He was really behaving like a godly leader and he was so young!
The more I read, the more I realized that studying leadership wasn’t much different than the personal development material I pore over. The only difference is intention. Leaders develop themselves so they can serve others. That was a completely different definition of leadership than the one I was operating from. I started paying more attention to what Dan wrote.
When I read his new book, The Leadership Mandate {affiliate link}, I felt I finally understood what it meant to be a leader. Of course, it has nothing to do with the talking heads on TV! I realized that I needed to teach my children the principles in Dan’s book so they would be willing to lead as the Lord calls them and would know how.
We can raise up a generation of godly leaders by developing as leaders ourselves.
The Leadership Mandate isn’t just a book describing good leadership; it’s a book that suggests how to live it out. There are action steps for each aspect of leadership. What’s even more important to me than the specific steps is the new attitude this book has helped me adopt. I’m not living for me; I’m living to serve others! Whatever I choose to do is an example to others for good or evil.
Embracing my leadership potential has been very freeing. I don’t feel I have to hide it. Instead, I can focus on how to help people using what the Lord has been teaching me.
That is the mandate for every Christian — to love others — is it not? I hope you will read The Leadership Mandate and will join me in developing your leadership skills and raising up a next generation of leaders. If you get the book this week (beginning 9/30/13), Dan is offering some free bonuses. Make sure you check them out!
Do you think of yourself as a leader? Why or why not?
I have been having so much fun looking for great articles to share with you each week. Like most things in my life, I end up with more than I can possibly use. If you aren’t a Facebook fan of Motivated Homeschooler, I invite you to like the page and you’ll get even more hot homeschooling goodies each week. I also tweet and pin, so I’d love to have you follow me on Twitter or Pinterest if you use those media. If you’re a blogger who’s featured here, be sure to grab your “Featured On” button from the footer of this blog. And please keep linking up! I love reading your posts.
Easter is less than a week away, but there is still time to use some of these fantastic ideas from Happy Home Fairy for keeping the resurrection of our Lord the focus of the holiday.
This post caught my eye because I have five of these wonderful creatures. If you’re raising one, too, you’ll smile at this post from Parenting and Homeschooling in Faith.
Spring is the time when all good homeschoolers start thinking about curriculum for next year. So You Call Yourself a Homeschooler has a great method for not just tracking curriculum you’re interested in, but saving money on it, too.
We got a bunch of snow in my neck of the woods this week, but soon it will be time for the insects to come out and do their thing. Creative Homeschool Ideas shares this insect video featuring close-up photography that turns bugs into fascinating monsters. It’s free to watch on YouTube. Love that.
If you’ve just decided to homeschool or you know someone who has, don’t miss this letter from Moms Mustard Seeds. I would have LOVED to have had this letter when I was just starting out.
What do muffins have to do with homeschooling? Everything! Breakfast begins the day and if you eat something as incredible as these sound, the school day is bound to go well. I’ve got to try these SOON.
Now it’s your turn to share what’s hot in your homeschool this week. Don’t have a blog? Feel free to share in the comments.
I’m a Christian psychologist turned homeschooling mother of six. My life can be a little crazy, so I look for sanity-saving ideas to use and share. I hope you’ll read my About page to learn more.
