encouragement

Turn Worry To Peace

January 26, 2018 By Annette1 6 Comments

Recently I was reading in “Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World” and Ms Weaver brought up the topic of worry. This got me thinking you know..how worry creeps into our lives. My frequent health issues lately have people keep asking me if I am worried about our future. They wonder aloud to me that stress may play a role. Worry is a known quantity in poor health. Stress can play a significant role in one’s health.

Therefore, I have to admit.. there are times I wonder, because of the concerned folks in my life, that perhaps I am worried about our future. Sometimes I wonder that perhaps I am just deluding myself, but honestly, I don’t feel it. The stress of the future bearing down on us, is something I don’t feel. I DO get stressed about what my body is doing…because it bothers me greatly. But does being bothered about something necessarily turn into stress? What a person does when something bothers them, determines if they will be stressed about it, don’t you?

It brings me back to the question of worry and how it affects us and how it creeps into our lives.

In God’s word, we are told this “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Phil.4:6-7

How do we get to the point of not worrying?

Prayer

Easy enough eh? Just pray. Talk to God about everything.

So when I’m in out in the rabbitry and getting vexed because someone I’ve been talking with for more than six months about a trio of rabbits who YET AGAIN has cancelled on me… I have a choice, I can continue to be vexed (and with that worry) OR I can talk to God about it. And then options pop into my head, I’m aware that for today..I can handle three extra rabbits and I get a reminder that patience is a good thing to have.

When I’m having a shower and realizing the heat of the shower is making me feel icky so I get out and wonder if I’ll have feel normal again, or more likely… starting to fret that I’ll NEVER feel okay again and will become a burden on my family, I have a choice… will I continue to fret and worry and fear…. or will I say God? Can you get me through THIS MOMENT? Just this moment, not the future, just right now… hold my hand and get me through this moment. You know what happens? He Does. EVERY SINGLE TIME.

When hubby isn’t sleeping well, and I know some of it is lack of job-related, I have a choice. My options are to sit and fret about it or I can … bet you can guess… I can talk to God about it. I choose to talk to hubby about it, and rub his back, and remind him that he does have a calling, but that sometimes, just as in the days of Ezra, that calling needs to be set off to the side for a while. It doesn’t always provide him with immediate relief, but it’s good to talk together and it’s good to talk to God eh?

Prayer is Constant

I once counselled a friend, for whom worry and regret were a huge part of her life, bigger than it was for me AT THAT TIME, and she said: “but I talk to God but it changes nothing I just start worrying again”. My response was to say … so talk to God some more, even if you talk to him 50 million times a day about every little fear and concern you have… just keep talking. God tells us to pray constantly.. so this is just a part of it. Don’t grab your worry back from him, take it to him, leave it with him and if another worry immediately replaces it.. give that over to him too. Talk to him about it.

Thankfulness

Now, this is a part that I often forget and need to be more deliberate about… THANKFULNESS. As I talk to God about my worries, my frets and also need to thank him.

I read a blog post a while back (and sorry I don’t remember whose it was) about a gal who dealt with worry. Her approach as she talked to God was to turn that worry into an opportunity to say thanks to God. For instance, when she worried that they didn’t have enough food for supper she turned that into thankfulness for help given in the past. Isn’t that awesome?

I need to do this more often. I need to make it a point of my living day to day. It is so good to see how God has worked in the past. It’s even better to how he continues to work in the present and how he does have my future covered.

I have learned that it is so true that when I talk with God more, and the more I am thankful to him, the more that God’s peace, which exceeds anything I can understand, will guard my heart and mind as I live in Christ Jesus. This truth becomes more real to me the more I live it out.

So let worry slide away my readers… talk to God, thank him for everything that he has done, thank him in the moment that you are in… and for all the moments he will take you through. Talk to him, praise him, and let his peace become a real part of you.

A Gift for You

A copy-work printable for you. Click on the image, please.

Setting Goals, Regain the Love

January 25, 2018 By Annette1 19 Comments

Recently on a forum that I am part of, a gal mentioned that she “has lost the love of blogging”. Or at least in essence that’s what her comment seemed to say to me. People offered advise, which is well and good, but it got me to thinking. What does one do if they lose that love of blogging? Is there a way of bringing that love back?

As I was reading in Pep Talks for Writers, I came across this chapter which spoke to my heart on this topic. When I struggle with blogging, wondering what I can write about, I find myself starting to set goals for myself. What can I blog about on Mondays, what love of mine can I share on Wednesdays, anything special I can come up with that fills a need in my heart, and perhaps might fill a need in the hearts of my readers?

And you know what happens?

It’s amazing.. because it happens EVERY TIME.

I feel inspired. I go ah…. Wednesday I need an art post.. what can I talk about? OH.. and Thursdays is my book study day …. and oh.. music, sharing music with others.. I gotta do that on Sundays, it’s a day of praise and worship. Having goals ignites my creativity.

Having goals though leaves me with this question… what happens if I miss a week. Will my readers become unhappy? What if they miss me? What if missing me a week means they don’t come back? What if, what if?

Cause you know? Life happens. It does. Kids get sick, symphonies need attending, husbands need loving, critters and laundry and weather… they all play a role in our lives and what gets done (or doesn’t).

You need a plan

This creates a need for a plan if I get diverted, so what does one do?

I know what I do….I schedule like mad. Finding myself writing book reviews, hymn studies, and art books up WAY ahead as much as I can. That leaves me with usually just a couple (or three) posts that I somehow want to/need to, fit in over the course of a week and since I spread out those “need to days” it’s easy enough to write half a post one day if necessary, and then another half post another day and bam.. it’s done! NO STRESS…

You know what else I’ve learned? People are OKAY if you miss a day, they are. Some might even ask “hey, you okay girl?” (which seriously is AWESOME). So again.. NO STRESS.

Goals are still set, creativity is still inspired, but the end result is my love is rekindled.

Regain your love in writing. (if indeed writing is a love of yours). Regain it through setting goals, seeing the creativity that brings as you find what you are passionate about, share that passion with your readers, but set that goal. Even if it’s just 250 words a day that you can write about, and by the end week you have one article, or perhaps even two… it’s a goal worth pursuing don’t you think? A goal worthy of finding your love again?

As always, I made up a simple sheet to help you in your goal making…your desire to find your love in writing, cause having a goal, setting your deadline… brings about the magic of loving your writing again. Really.. it does. 🙂 Download here.

Just One Thing

October 23, 2017 By Annette1 2 Comments

I keep thinking back to the writer’s conference and what I could take away from it. Do you know why? I don’t want to waste the learning. If I don’t think about it and write about it, and keep the notes ready…then in three months it won’t have mattered that I went…and wouldn’t that have been a waste of hard-earned dollars!?!?! Not my thing at all!

I keep coming back to a line I kept hearing. Set a goal, just a singular goal. Just change ONE thing. Don’t do more than that. Just one thing, one style, one character, one setting, one social media. Learn to do that one thing and do that one thing well. Then do one more thing.

So instead of looking at five things you want to do and (or in my case a million and a half things)….and feeling totally overwhelmed and stumped. You break that down into ONE thing. And yes, try to keep it to the ONE thing. And yes.. I know .. it’s really hard to do that. Perhaps we can practice together? 🙂

For instance, let’s say you want to increase your social media presence. Should you tackle them all at once? (just so you know, if you are thinking that way.. DON’T, just DON’T). Take one, learn it, read about it, study it, try different things, until you have a good handle on it, and then .. tackle the next one. OR don’t. Perhaps all your audience is in the social media presence you are currently using.

Your next goal might be something else… like…if you are a novelist, really learning how to research a time period, or building a believable character, or learning to use action words without going overboard. Learn that one thing, and then use that learning to go on to the next thing.

So you aren’t looking at FIVE things (or a million and a half things) you are looking at ONE thing. Just one. Anyone can do ONE thing can’t they?

What one thing do you think YOU can do?

Me… I’m going to move my blog so I can get my CSS something or other. Just one thing to get, I found a lovely gal to help me out, got a goal of November 1st to get the finances done, and then a goal of mid-November to get the blog set up nicely. Then Christmas will happen (and the busy-ness of the season) which will bring us to next year’s goal… to get a poem published in a magazine. Should be doable you think? Just one poem.. and who knows what the next step might be? God knows, literally, cause I don’t.

All I have to do is to make the ONE goal. Going where I think God is leading me.
Just one goal.

Tell me…what’s yours?

Original picture by Bill

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Keeping it all straight when doing reviews

September 4, 2017 By Annette1 10 Comments

The question was recently raised on one of the review boards that I am part of, how do you remember to do a review, not forget anything important and such like? I thought I’d post what do in hopes that it might encourage (or help) others.

First thing I do for Homeschool Review Crew reviews is to check the board to see if my name is on it. Then I put on google calendar when the review is due.

By putting them in the calendar right away I know that I won’t be over committing myself for what are generally big reviews.

I then start a draft post on my blog.

This allows me to fit my other material around my reviews so I don’t have a series of just reviews posting on my blog. I can space things out a bit.

I also put things like my disclaimer, and other required items in immediately. That way I know I have the right links and images.

Then it’s just a matter of time, using the material and talking about it with other homeschoolers until the review is due. Adding comments and thoughts along the way.

I also utilize an app called simple note for quickly jotting down thoughts and ideas while out and about with the lad. Simple note is very easy to use and is good ONLY for taking notes, I can’t do images. Images are all stored in their own file. I periodically remove all images and save them on a thumb drive, I don’t need all these images cluttering my hard drive.

As I write the review I try to keep the expectations in my mind, to this end I frequently check the thread where all the vendor and product information is held.

If I keep on target, when the review is due, all I need to do is add additional photos, double check that all my links are working properly and do my final link up.

I do have to admit that I don’t follow this system perfectly, some reviews are tougher to do than others, some reviews are so easy I almost forget to do them, and sometimes life gets busier than expected so I don’t pre-write as I should. But as long as I follow the first two steps I have three days in which to get the review done and linked up! 🙂

How do you keep it all straight when working on reviews?

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

Are you Prepared to Wait?

August 18, 2017 By Annette1 6 Comments

As I sat here thinking about what to write as a letter of encouragement I had to admit, I was drawing a blank. I thought about combining this post with my Five minute Friday post…and I actually might still do that, but my mind is full of the activities of the day.

I woke up this morning to a note left by my lad “I’ll be back at 8:10” he was out looking for ant, he came back all delighted he found a new type of ant (queen and male). But what kind was it? Soon I heard the request. “MOM!!! Can you help me email the ant man? Maybe he can help me figure it out.” For the rest of the day the kept asking “Mom, have you heard from him yet? How long do you think it might take?”

He happily helped me care for our critters and then did his math and history for the day, I started working on the cold cellar.

I thought, this will take maybe a couple of hours.. I…. was…. wrong…

You know what we discovered? A stinky smelly potato bin.. oh my. Now.. we knew we had something going on there, but we needed the time and motivation to deal with it. Our move in another six months is good motivation yes?

First we had to clean out all the stuff that a certain loved one had tossed in there over the years, then we removed the potato bin.. the wood was rotting! Hence the odour… Loved one to the rescue, figuring out how to get it out! Once it was out I kicked (literally) the guys out of the way, donned a mask and cleaned up the mess under the potato bin. Boy.. rather icky that!

Then came the fine work of sorting through and deciding.. am I willing to move this? NO? Okay, list it for sale after cleaning it. Do I want to keep it? Okay.. clean it up and organize it. I toss old canned jars of food, and garbage and.. well.. should have taken a picture but didn’t.. our lovely big bin couldn’t fit ALL THE TRASH!

Wow.. I have to admit, it feels so good having that big job done. And it’s clean and no spider webs or icky smell. It’s lovely.

Which brings me to this point… It took me ALL day to clean it out. ALL DAY.. I was so very tired, the lad was tired as I had him running up and down the stairs taking things out to the recycling and garbage bins. He worked hard.

All day to clean a mess up from before we were married and was just added to over the past 15 years, cause it’s the basement right? Hubby wasn’t prepared to deal with getting rid of stuff (cause he’s as much a pack rat as I am) so I just left it, I knew sooner or later he’d want to and why put pressure where it simply didn’t need to be?

Which makes me ask this momma… are YOU prepared to be patient? Are you prepared to let time take care of that struggle that staring you in the face?

I could have pressured hubby over the past 15 years.. I could have really. I could have said let’s argue about it, let’s make a stink … but I didn’t. I knew that in time it would be dealt with and then it would all over and done with in one day (a long day mind). When a fellow is ready to let go so it’s not a stressful matter.

That boy child who is so focused on whatever issue… are you prepared to wait it out. To enjoy the good, to train the needful and to just wait for the right timing? To see that boy become a man full of character and wisdom? That girl who is becoming a woman and doesn’t fully see who she is yet… are you willing to wait her out, to give a nudge when needed, a hug and a spot of encouragement saying “it’ll come out okay in the end lovey?”

Are you prepared to NOT be stressed out over something that time will take care of?

I just want to encourage you… to wait.. and then in the waiting.. to be ready, ready to act, to talk, to work, to encourage, to don a mask (if needed) and clean out the ickiness from bad decisions made, to sweep out the old, to make it look new again, to just get the job done even if it’s exhausting. But until then.. to just wait and see and enjoy what you have now.

The good Lord tells us to wait on him. He knows the right timing for things. Don’t rush it.
Trust him, oh just trust him, believe me.. IT’S WORTH IT!!! It really is.

Come along won’t you on this last day? You can find us all here, and you can start with this list.
Annette – A Net in Time -Five
days to celebrate back to school, curriculum choices, supplies, things
to do and encouragement for you. Come join us won’t you?

Ashley – Gift of Chaos – Join us as we go “back to school” with a First Grader and a Preschooler!

Betty – Let’s Get Real
– I am a veteran homeschooling mom. Our family’s
passion is to glorify God in all we do and say and we pray that God will
use our lives for His glory.

Chareen – Every Bed of Roses –
I’m about to enter into my 20th year of home educating. I have two
graduates and am currently homeschooling our youngest. I’m looking
forward to sharing with you in the week ahead.

Christy – Unexpected Homeschool – Join us on our journey as we homeschool our only child through her high school years while dealing with chronic illnesses.

Crystal – Living Abundantly
– Living Abundantly seeks to help Christian women and homeschooling
families live abundantly, even when the thief tries to destroy your joy.

Desiree – Our Homeschool Notebook
– I am Mom to 4 kids, and this is our place to share our family and
homeschool adventures. This year we will have children in 11th, 6th,
4th, and 1st grades, and we are all excited to get back to school.

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

You can’t do it all!

August 17, 2017 By Annette1 6 Comments

Did you know that you can’t do it all?

You can’t.

It takes a community to educate a child.

To that end.. we happily use the community to educate our son in the things that we can’t.

What do we farm out you ask?

Physical Education.
I can take him biking, hiking, swimming, kayaking etc. Can happily and easily do that with him, but I can’t teach him archery, or soccer, or karate. so you know what I do? I farm those things out to skillful people who can teach it!

Tell me.. do you have to farm out phys ed? Or are you able to teach it at home? If so, what do you use? If you are not a “phys ed” type person what does it take for you to teach it?

Group Education
Two different homeschooling groups, one that does co-op days, field trips and group learning times. The other that plans monthly field trips – some for educational, some just for the social component, while a few are mixed.

Co-op days are so much fun and yet hard work! Depending on the class you teach…. some are so easy… like teaching about rabbit care, and others are a challenge when you don’t know how much children can or cannot do and you expect one thing and get something completely different.

Field Trips!
I know nothing about caves and yeah, I could research them OR better yet, I could take the lad and dad on a cave tour! What better way could I give the lad a chance to get excited about a natural phenomenon that pictures and videos can’t elicit. An expert in the field that loves what they do .. passes it along to the students.

I could bring him to the zoo where he can ask zoo keepers questions, and they could reveal things about the animals that we wouldn’t even consider.

I can discover a radar museum and have the lad talk with a war veteran who can teach him the importance of good mapping skills and knowing what the radar is pointing out (life or death to be precise!)

What amazing field trips have you been on?

So Many Options.
There is SO much out there, people who can teach an art form I only recently discovered. People who know something about the history of a region, people who can speak a different language and SO MUCH MORE. It’s amazing!!!!! Sometimes I wonder, what great learning experience is awaiting me just around the corner… don’t you???

Check out what the rest of us have to say. 🙂
Here’s a list to get you started, see the rest here!

Jacquelin – A Stable Beginning
– We are in our 9th year of
homeschooling using a Classical ~ Charlotte Mason approach. Come along
for the good, the bad & the ugly.

Jenn – Treasuring Life’s Blessings – Jenn is a mom to 8 children. She shares about her everyday life, homeschooling and favorite recipes.
Diana – Homeschool Review
– Diana has been home schooling since 1992 and has tried many styles of
home schooling. Her blog reflects home schooling, crafting, and family
life.

Elyse – Oiralinde: Eternal Song
– When I asked my family to describe me, they said I
am an “introverted gypsy made of music.” My online moniker is Oiralinde,
which is an elven word meaning “eternal song.” My life is full of
music: love, laughter, and memories.

Felicia – Homeschool 4 Life
– Well, it’s back to school time and we homeschoolers have more to do
than others to get ready. … We all
could use a little encouragement and guidance during this transition
time from summer to school. That’s why we’re here!

Hillary – Walking Fruitfully – I’m a mama to six, from 7 years old up to 16. We homestead and
homeschool our crew in a relaxed, Charlotte Mason-inspired way, even
through high school.

Jacqui – Homestead Bounty Blessings
– I am a wife, mother, teacher, homesteader in training, and believer
in Jesus, my Savior. My blog shares my
journey in gardening, chicken keeping, homeschooling and homesteading.

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

Review: Head First

May 27, 2017 By Annette1 2 Comments

Imagine a day where you are going to have fun skiing with your family and an unexpected tragedy occurs. You slide down a hill, losing your skis and smashing headfirst into a tree. You survive.. but not well.

What is YOUR reaction? What would your outlook on life be? How about those in your inner circle? Positive or negative?

In the book Head first: a crash course in positivity, Steve H. Lawton gives 8 principles in positivity to help you through whatever crisis you might happen to face.

Steve Lawton suffered a horrible accident and came out of it better than before he went in. He learned the power of positivity and wrote this book to share those lessons with you.

8 lessons.

8 Chapters.

8 principles in positivity.

The lessons are simple to learn.
The steps to making them part of your life are explained and broken down in to small steps.
Each lesson is accompanied by a practical worksheet you can fill in, or ways to breaking down a problem into smaller steps, or just needing to change your focus from yourself to others.

The eight lessons in positivity are
1. It happened that way for a reason.
2. Focus on what you can control
3. Learn to laugh in the midst of your pain.
4. Small Steps to a larger goal.
5. Know When and where to push yourself.
6. Invest positivity into your network.
7. Creating a positivity practice.
8. Embrace growing pains and learn from your struggles.

Worksheets to help you grab hold of the principles he is teaching, with scattered quotes throughout the text to help inspire you:

Recommendation?
Yes and no
Yes. I have to admit, it’s a great book. It is. Practical and helpful. I love how the author gives practical ways to put his advice to work. The Worksheets and tables.. great stuff. I really like that aspect of it. If one works through all the 8 steps in this book your life will be changed. Your manner of approaching life will be influenced for the better. Thinking positive helps your brain, your heart, your body. It’s a scientific fact (as well as a social one eh!) Honestly.. I liked the book and plan to hang on to it for a while. 🙂

No…even with all the positive thoughts you have in the world.. you CANNOT always change your life circumstances. As I write this I can hear my lad in my head coming up with all these reasons why even if you think positively why it can’t always fix things. Sometimes, even with all the positive things you can do in the world, you can’t fix things. Sometimes a broken body will stay broken, sometimes broken relationships will stay broken. Will having a positive attitude help you work through that and past that? FOR SURE. So don’t misunderstand me. Positive thinking can and will help you work through the big stuff (and the small stuff in life) but sometimes.. life bites you back anyways. It does. 🙂

I regret that God seems to have played no role in his thinking. Again, don’t misunderstand me, this fellow came back from a horrible accident. Regained use of his body against the odds. He attributes that all thinking positively and I look at it and say “there’s the grace of God at work”. He used an ability God gave him (thinking positively) to influence his own thinking and to help heal his heart, mind and body as he moved through the consequences of this accident. I just wish he saw that. 🙂

Title: Head First! A Crash Course in Positivity.
Author: Steve H. Lawton
Published by Fedd Books
Reviewed for: Advantage Media Group
Pages: 150

Where can I find it?
Amazon.ca – Head First! A Crash Course in Positivity

Amazon.com – Head First! A Crash Course in Positivity

This post may contain affiliate links – using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool – thank you!

encouragement

Turn Worry To Peace

Prayer

Prayer is Constant

Thankfulness

A Gift for You

Setting Goals, Regain the Love

You need a plan

Just One Thing

Keeping it all straight when doing reviews

Are you Prepared to Wait?

You can’t do it all!

Review: Head First

Amazon Affiliate information

Tinker Crate Affiliate

encouragement

Prayer

Prayer is Constant

Thankfulness

A Gift for You

You need a plan

Want to Stay Informed?

Thank you!

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Amazon Affiliate information

Tinker Crate Affiliate