The Time is N:OW

One thing you can't deny is that when God wants your attention, He'll be sure to get it.  It's really just up to you to pay attention to what He is saying.  God has been gently nudging me for a while now and no matter how much he nudged, I wanted to make every excuse about it not being time.  "I'll do this after this happens...", "I'm gonna start that in just a bit...", "I'll clear my plate a little when...".  However, recently, God said, "NOW!"  He didn't ask me to make the move in a little while after every thing fell into place perfectly, He asked me to make the move NOW...actually, He asked me a few months ago, but I'm just now getting around to it.

I've been carrying a lot on my plate.  More than I can handle.  I didn't want to let anyone down, I didn't want to lose a little income, I didn't want to let go and just trust that just maybe God knew what He was asking of me.  At the end of 2014, I prayed to God to give me a word for this year.  The word he gave me was TEACH.  At the time, I had no clue what that meant.  I went on to volunteer for things at church, I put forth more effort in teaching my kids little trades, etc.  It wasn't until I entered into the New Year that I came to realize that he wanted me to teach my daughter.  I pulled her out of school and began homeschooling her.  The amazing thing is that she began to learn like she had never learned before.

Ironically, at the same time, I knew God was asking me to pull my youngest son out and homeschool him as well.  I didn't feel fit.  I made up every excuse.  He was speech delayed, he needed the extra help, the professionals knew better.  However, in the last few months, it has become more and more obvious that God wanted him to be home with me.  My sons behavior changed, he began to hate school, he would cry and beg to not go, he constantly asked when I would start homeschooling him.

The time is NOW.

I had this idea in my head that things all had to line up just right.  That things had to be perfectly organized and all my ducks had to be in a pretty, little row.  The reality is, like the saying goes, "God doesn't call the prepared, He prepares the called."

In 2 short weeks, we are going on a new adventure.  One where I will be working from home, studying for a Real Estate exam, and teaching my children in the way God has asked me to...for a while now.  I'm excited and so are my kids.  We are embracing the NOW that God has given us.

The Ramblings

I've recently embarked on the journey of homeschooling my daughter...again.  After a few weeks in Middle School, she decided that it just wasn't for her.  I'm a single mom, I work several odd jobs, and am currently studying for my real estate exam.  You would think homeschooling in and of itself would be overwhelming, but if anything I find that it has helped me to become more organized, thus keeping my sanity.

Confession: I am addicted to office supplies.  Washi tape.  I mean, what is the  genius that came up with that stuff?  It's wonderful.  Not only is it pretty, it is so versatile.  It does everything from decorating to crafting to labeling my otherwise not-so-pretty notes.  Also, I feel that there must be something going on with my abundance of binders, but I'm not sure what that is all about yet.  I'll be sure to update as soon as they find their purpose.

Back to homeschool.  I have created a mixed curriculum for my daughter.  We are utilizing Abeka books, as well as many other materials that we have picked up here and there at yard sales and Goodwill.  I'm absolutely in awe of the plethora of curriculum pre-built for us on the internet, as well.  My daughter is an art fool and we recently discovered CurkovicArtUnits which have already prepared the curriculum along with videos.  My daughter is digging it and honestly, I'm quite the fan of anything already prepped and ready to go.  We make modifications when necessary, but so far, things are going quite smoothly.

Anywho, the ramblings were necessary in order to properly procrastinate the continuance of studying, organizing, filing, prepping, and babysitting the 5 kids that are running around my house.  Wish me luck!  I'll include pictures of what's going on in our homeschool and organization techniques next time!