Want a little homeschool new year encouragement for you, homeschool mama?
Pay attention to your thoughts.
Since I was a reading child, I enjoyed capturing clever quotes into a quote journal. I owned two large books of quotes on various topics. Many years later they were handy for college writing.
Henry David Thoreau might have been my first educator because I memorized one of his quotes first.
Henry David Thoreau said, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation.”
My young child didn’t get it but I thought it sounded like it must be wise. As an adult self, I get it.
There’s also the entire book of Proverbs, the book of Ecclesiastes, oh and tons of other books, podcasts, and people that have provided me ideas, like these treasures:
“Too much thinking–not enough living,” God, author of the Bible.
“Collect before you direct,” Gordon Neufeld, author of Hold onto your Kids.
Brendon Burchard, from The Charged Life, first introduced me to daily focussing on three words.
These focus words help us to, well, focus ourselves on particular intentions.
My words for this year, expansion, encourage and invite.
Each of those is a word focussing my thoughts on my business, my engagement with others, and my engagement with my kids.
I create words for my kids too.
I’ve also prayed specific words for each of my children each year: gentleness, courage, and confidence. (Still praying on that gentleness one).
Some years I’ve chosen specific words for each of my four children too. Like…
- relational & empathic,
- develop & expand,
- self-nurturing & boundaries,
- cool & self-soothing.
The more I pay attention to these words, the more I attend to the needs of these words manifesting in each of my children. (And the less likely I’m going to get in the way of them.)
Words have a powerful effect on our lives.
And after you’ve seen my long list of words, words, words, you know that I am…thorough, intentional, oh and…wordy.
Get more encouragement in the book: Homeschool Mama Self-Care: Nurturing the Nurturer
lovely post, and very helpful!