3 Reminders Not to Give Up on Your Homeschool

 

Before I get started, I just want to thank the hosts of this collaboration! Ingrid from Mommy & Mia Homeschool Chronicles, Ashley from Joyful Noise Living, and April from The Simple Rugged Path. If you need mama or homeschooling encouragement or inspiration, I highly recommend you check out these ladies channels! At the end of this post, I will share the playlist with you so that you can check out everyone else who is participating in this collaboration.

I have to say it. I absolutely love homeschooling my children! But, I also have to say this. Homeschooling my children is not always rainbows & unicorns! We have our days, and sometimes weeks or even seasons, of difficult and frustrating times. Sometimes during those difficult times, I dream of how nice it would be to just put them on the big yellow bus and have the house to myself for 6+ hours a day. Hmm, yeah, that dream lasts about a millisecond before the other ramifications start popping up in my mind, and I snap back to reality.

I know I'm not the only homeschool mama to have times like this, so I thought I'd share 3 reminders that I tell myself when I feel like throwing in the towel.

1. Remember Your WHY

What made you make the decision to homeschool in the first place? You researched the laws in your state, the standards that had to be met, the curricula. Why? What did you talk to God about in making this decision? Your husband? Your children? As much as homeschooling is growing, deciding to do it is still very much a conscientious and intentional choice. Many homeschool families have at least a few why's, but there's always one or two big why's as well. 

Big reasons or small, take the time to write out all your reasons for homeschooling. When you get frustrated, it will be easier to carry on if you can look at that list and remember why you're doing all this in the first place.

2. Remember That God Gave Them to YOU

Whether through natural birth or adoption, God gave your kiddos to you. He knows that we are not perfect parents. None of us are. Only He is the perfect parent. We all make mistakes. But, if we rise to the calling God has called us to, everyone can learn. Everyone. Yes, God wants to use us parents to teach our kiddos. But something we can forget in the heat of a frustrating time is this. God wants to use our kiddos to teach us as well.

For many, or dare I suggest, most, homeschoolers, it's not all about academics and book smarts. Don't get me wrong, academics are important. But character development is important as well, maybe even more important than academics. As homeschooling parents, we have the perfect opportunity to constantly monitor and mold our children's character. But, as I mentioned above, we are not perfect, either. And that goes for our own character. While we are trying to mold our children's character, God is working on ours at the same time.

When you're in the throes of a difficult time in your homeschool, think about not only what you want your child to learn from this time. But think about and pray about what God wants you to learn. Patience? Compassion? Perseverance? If you were to throw in the towel, would that mold character in a good or bad way? Sometimes, that is the only legitimate option, but I would say that is a rare case. Giving up may just be a missed opportunity to strengthen something God wanted to work on for you, your child, or both. So, if you're seriously considering this decision, make sure you are praying to God and listening to what He has for you. Just like in our own parenting, we may not always like what God wants us to do, but obedience will always reap the best fruit.

3. Look Ahead

Pull yourself out of the heat of the moment and give yourself a reality check. Look ahead to what the decision to throw in the towel means. We already talked about a missed character opportunity. For me, sending my kids off to school would leave me with two choices. I would either have to passively accept what they were being taught. Or, I would have to actively "unteach" them some of the things they learned throughout their 6+ hours at school. And, I'm not just talking academics.

Also in looking ahead, take some time to look back at all the moments that were going great in your homeschool. The time when reading suddenly clicked for them, and you know that you helped bring that about. The projects you enjoyed doing together. The field trips where you could go wherever you wanted for however long you wanted, and say exactly enough to help them learn something. You know exactly what will excite your child and what will bore them. The reading & cuddle times. Taking a day or week off when you needed instead of being a slave to the school's schedule. Or anything else you can look on with fondness about your homeschooling times up until now.

There will always be hard times, but they will not last forever! As you work through them, you will come back to the good times. And because you persevered, you are both stronger for it, and the good times will be even better for it. What's that saying about not being able to appreciate the sunshine if there's never any rain?

Don't Give Up, Mama!

I hope this post has encouraged you in some way to keep on keeping on with your homeschool. And I will note here that this is not intended as a slam to those who are in fact sending their kiddos to school or have made the decision to send them after homeschooling. This is meant to be encouragement from a homeschooling mama who has had many frustrating times, to another homeschooling mama who may be in the middle of one of those times herself. Sometimes, sending them to school truly is the best choice for your family, and there is no shame in doing what you have to do to be the best mama to your kids. But if you are homeschooling and are in the middle of a frustrating day, week, or season, I hope I have encouraged you to try and push through!

We have all been through these times. If you have encouragement for mamas going through this right now, I would love for you to comment so we can all help each other out! Thank you for reading, and have a great week!

Collaboration Playlist: 3 Reminders Not to Give Up on Your Homeschool

Digging Into the Word: Proverbs 2:1-9

 

It's been awhile, but this week I thought I'd continue in my Proverbs study. If you're just joining me in this, scroll to the bottom of this post and be sure to check out the links to the previous studies I have done. I'm just sharing a portion of the book of Proverbs, then sharing the thoughts I have written down in my Bible study journal on that portion of scripture. As always, I highly encourage you to do the same with your own study of the Bible. If you have any thoughts on this portion of Proverbs, I would love if you would share them down in the comments!

My son, if you receive my words,

And treasure my commands within you,

So that you incline your ear to wisdom,

And apply your heart to understanding;

Yes, if you cry out for discernment,

And lift up your voice for understanding,

If you seek her as silver,

And search for her as for hidden treasures;

Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,

And find the knowledge of God.

For the Lord gives wisdom;

From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;

He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;

He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;

He guards the paths of justice,

And preserves the way of His saints.

Then you will understand righteousness and justice,

Equity and every good path.

~Proverbs 2:1-9

From my journal

This section is pretty self-explanatory. If you listen to and obey these words (the words of the Bible), seek knowledge and wisdom, and seek to know and apply truth, you will have understanding. You will understand the fear of the Lord, you will find the knowledge of God. He will be your shield, your guard, and the preserver of your way. You will understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good path. Studying these words, God's Word, is important for you to gain Godly wisdom!

I think it's important to realize that none of this means you will have a perfect, smooth-sailing life. Trials will come in this life, even for the faithful. God's Word tells us this. But, we can have peace, understanding, and even joy when we know God and when have the wisdom to discern that He is ultimately in control.

Previous Proverbs Posts

As promised, here are the links to my previous Proverbs studies:
1-Proverbs 1:1-7
2-Proverbs 1:8-9
3-Proverbs 1:10-19
4-Proverbs 1:20-27
5-Proverbs 1:28-33

Thank you, everyone, for reading today! Stay in His Word, and have a great week!

Love, What Is It?

 

As Valentine's Day approaches, I notice that many people take this time to reflect on the question, "What is love?" And it seems that the world has at least a few definitions of what it is. Notice, if you just look at the world and the society of the day, it seems like the definition of love is constantly changing.

But in the end, there's only one definition that matters. It's the only definition that I'm interested in discovering. And that is how God, the very Creator of love, defines it. God's Word is His love letter to us, His children. If we want to learn the true meaning of love, all we have to do is open up our Bible and read it!

What Does the Bible Say About Love?

 

Here are just a few of my favorite Bible verses that speak on love.

 

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;  does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;  does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;  bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
 Love never fails.
~1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

...that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days;...
~Deuteronomy 30:20

But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You.
~Psalm 5:11

You who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.
~Psalm 97:10

Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble.
~Psalm 119:165

Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
~Matthew 22:37

"And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
~Mark 12:33

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me."
~John 8:42

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
~John 13:1

Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him."
~John 14:23

************************************************

I could go on and on! There are so many verses in God's Word that speak on love. This is just a tiny sampling.

So, as we celebrate Valentine's Day tomorrow, let us reflect on the true meaning of love expressed by God through His Son, Jesus Christ. And let us carry that into all of our relationships throughout the year.

Book Review: Fame

 

Good morning, everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend! Mine was filled with reading a book that I could not put down. First of all, I have been hearing a lot of reviews lately about Karen Kingsbury. You know who you are! Well, you've convinced me! I went to my library and checked out her book, Fame, which is the first installment of her Firstborn Series.

Actually, this is not the first book of Ms. Kingsbury's that I've read. Quite awhile ago, I read One Tuesday Morning, the first book in her 9/11 Series. I remember really enjoying it, and I remember needing a lot of Kleenex! I just recently learned that that is a series, and that there are 2 more books in it. Since it had been awhile since I read One Tuesday Morning, I thought I would get that first and reread it. Then I would read through the rest of the series. However, my library didn't have that available at the time. So, I looked at the various series in the back of one of the books and found Fame on the shelf as a first in a series.

I brought it home and it sat patiently on my desk while I finished a book I was currently reading. Then, I dove in! Since this was essentially a new author to me, it took me a couple of chapters to really get settled into the book. However, it didn't take long to put me on the edge of my seat.

Fame is mainly about a woman in small-town Bloomington, Indiana who works for a local children's theater company. When she was younger, she dreamed of being a famous actress. Out of the blue, she gets a call from a famous Hollywood actor who wants her to audition to be in a big-time movie with him. She would be the female lead opposite him. Even though it makes no sense how they found her, she decides prayerfully to pursue this opportunity of a lifetime. God has plans for her, even though those plans may not be what she imagined.

There are a couple of other intriguing side-stories going on in this book as well, involving different characters in the series. I really enjoyed this book, and I highly recommend it! I am definitely going to be reading the rest of the series!

However, looking at the series of Karen Kingsbury with this particular family, I have discovered there is an earlier series I should have started with. That is the Redemption Series. So, the next Karen Kingsbury book I will be checking out of the library is Redemption. I can't wait to read more about the lives of the characters I met in Fame!

So there you have it! I hope this review was helpful to you if you've been contemplating adding some Karen Kingsbury books to your TBR. Let me know in the comments what you've been reading lately. And, if you're a Karen Kingsbury fan, I would love to know your thoughts on Fame. Or tell me your favorite book. Thank you for reading, and have a great week!

Declutter With Me: Kitchen Food Part 1

 

Happy Saturday, everyone! Normally, I would have written this post this past Monday, but my Food Prep post went out instead. Then, I decided to take a short blogging break, since I had a lot of other stuff going on this week. So, here we are on Saturday after a week back in the kitchen with Flylady. I have yet to finish decluttering my entire kitchen. However, I did get the whole bank of cabinets shown above completed!

Last month, kitchen decluttering was easy. I had kept up the other side of the kitchen pretty well, plus it was mostly dishes and bigger items. This side? Almost all food. Yikes! Those food cabinets can get out of control quickly if you're not keeping them up. And that's exactly what happened in my house.

I forgot to take a before picture, but here's what they look like after I was done decluttering and reorganizing. The two on the left is my baking and liquor cabinet. The two in the middle is snacks, miscellaneous THM supplies, and condiments. The top shelf for this holds extra stock that I don't need to open yet. The one cabinet on the right holds all things for coffee, tea, and other hot beverages. The top shelf of that cabinet holds cups we don't use very often but keep around in case we need extras for company.

Next month when we're back to the kitchen, I will hopefully be able to finish decluttering in there. All I have left is the bank of cabinets below the above counter. Those hold a few dishes, small appliances, and the kids' snacks and treats.

I'm really excited about this coming week, when we're going back to the main bathroom and one other room. For the one other room, I'm going back into my laundry room. But more specifically, the pantry closet that is in my laundry room!

I really need to declutter and organize in here, since I'm slowly working at building my supplies back up. My 13-year-old son decided this past week to reorganize it. However, his idea of reorganizing is to stack everything together to get it all "neat," without worrying about what they are. LOL! I decided to leave it for now, as it does look better. But, it's getting organized for efficiency next week! Then, I will also share more about how I'm going about stocking it up on my current grocery budget. Also, look in the future for posts about what I keep in my THM pantry/refrigerator/freezer!

Let me know down in the comments if you've done any decluttering this week. Share your progress! Also, if you frequent my blog, you may have noticed that I've been playing with the design. Let me know what you think! I'm trying to make it a little easier to navigate than just having the static pages. That's it for now, have a great weekend, everyone!

Food Prep With Me: THM Edition

 

Happy Monday, everyone! It is the first Monday of February, and I just spent most of my weekend getting serious with food prep to keep me on track with Trim Healthy Mama. In this post, I will share with you what I did.

First, a side story. I realized that I have lost my appetite lately. At first, I thought I was just being lazy. Then, I started "forgetting" to eat breakfast. A couple of weeks after that, I noticed I was having to force myself to eat anything for lunch even. I was skipping snacks, and by dinner time I was finally hungry, just not ravished. Being on THM plus being a Type 2 Diabetic, I knew I had to do something before my blood sugar numbers started the roller coaster.

Every 3 Hours

Timing is everything! Part of the THM plan is making sure you eat every 3 hours. Going any longer than 4 hours can tank your metabolism, and going less than 2.5 hours can lead to fuel stacking. This means you are taking in more fuel before your body has had time to fully process the fuel from the last time you ate. During the last month, my timing has really fallen apart. Skipping meals and snacks will do that! And I know that at least part of my loss of appetite has to do with the fact that I've messed up my metabolism a little. 

Food Prep is Key

And of course, when my appetite is gone, I have no desire to spend time preparing food that's just for me! For breakfast, lunch, and snacks in our home, you're pretty much on your own as far as figuring out what to eat. Which explains why those were the meals I either chose to skip, or grab some not-so-optimal food. I didn't go off plan, but I grabbed what was quick and easy. Usually sandwich meats, cheese, nuts, etc. Doing that too often without lots of veggies...it's just no good.

Then I saw that someone had posted a video from Lindsey Murphy about how No One is Going to Do This For You. That's when I realized, I had just completely fallen off of all food prepping! I needed to get back to that. If I had healthier, more optimal foods available to just grab when I needed to eat, even if I wasn't hungry, I would eat it!

So, I made a list and dedicated my weekend to food prep. It was work and it took time. But you know what? I'm not stressing about not wanting to eat anymore and what that's doing to my blood sugar. My appetite's not fully back yet, but I had breakfast this morning! I grabbed a couple of THM muffins out of the fridge to have with my coffee. Didn't even heat them up. Easy peasy! With the food in my fridge and freezer now, I have ZERO EXCUSE to not eat something healthy when I need to eat.

What I Made

Veggies:
-Salad greens: I buy the tubs of Spring Mix from either Aldi or Costco. In order to make them last longer, I divide them into gallon-size zippy bags and stick a paper towel in each one to absorb the moisture.
-Carrots: I peeled the carrots in my fridge and cut them into sticks. These can be eaten as a snack with a THM-friendly ranch dressing.
-Celery: I trimmed them up and cut them into sticks. These can be eaten as a snack with all-natural peanut or almond butter, or cream cheese. I also can cut them down further to be used in Waldorf Cottage Cheese Salad (THM Cookbook page 190).
English cucumbers: I had a couple of these in my fridge that I sliced into half-moons. These can be used in salad, or eaten as a snack with a THM-friendly ranch dressing.
-Broccoli: I found some broccoli in the freezer and steamed it up, adding butter, salt, and pepper. Now I have some in the fridge when I need a cooked veggie to go with lunch.

Protein:
-Boiled eggs: I made 14 boiled eggs in my Instant Pot, peeled them and put them in a container in the fridge. These can be breakfast on a busy morning, a snack, or cut up into a lunch salad.
-Chicken breasts: Next, I threw some frozen chicken breasts into my Instant Pot with a little seasoning and chicken broth. When they were done, I shredded them and put them in the fridge. This can be used in lunch salads or any recipe that needs pre-cooked chicken. I'm planning on using some of this for Lazy Chicken Lasagna tonight (THT Cookbook page 124). This can also be used as a quick protein for a snack.
-Meatballs: I made up a big batch of Marvelous Make-Ahead Meatballs from the THT Cookbook page 208. This made 3 dinners worth of meatballs, plus a few extras for quick protein snacks in the fridge.

Breakfast:
-Glosted Raspberry Muffins from the THM Cookbook page 285. I have a batch of these in my fridge that I can alternate with eggs for breakfasts for the week.

Snacks & Desserts:
-Skinny Chocolate from the THM Cookbook page 377.
-Gluccie Pudding from the Original THM Book. This is pudding made with glucomannan. I made 2 chocolate and 2 lemon. This is really good for me to eat as a snack at night to help with my morning blood sugar numbers.
-Double Peanut Fudge Swirl Brownies from the THM Cookbook page 315. This will ensure I have a chocolatey treat for a few nights after dinner.

All Ready!

That's it! It was a lot of time and a lot of work. But, it saves stress for the rest of the week. I plan on making food prep a regular thing in this house again. I know once I get into the swing of it, I will be able to streamline it more. Four days in a row now, I ate 3 meals + 1 snack per day, keeping up with good timing. I am feeling better already!

I hope this post was helpful and has encouraged you to take a look into food prep for whatever eating plan you follow! Let me know in the comments if you already have a regular food prep schedule and how you work it. Have a great week, everyone!

Books We've Read in January 2019

 

Hi, Friends! Today, I am participating in a collaboration to share the books we've read in the month of January. This collab is hosted by Ingrid over at Mommy & Mia Homeschool Chronicles, April at The Simple Rugged Path, and Lee at Creative 2X Mom. I encourage you to check out these YouTube channels! Especially if you love to read, or need homeschool or Mom encouragement. Also, at the end of this post, I will share the playlist that includes everyone participating in this collab. It's a great way to find books to add to your TBR list!

Family Devotional

First up is Daily Light on the Daily Path, compiled by the Samuel Bagster Family. I recently wrote a review on a different version, but my husband prefers the NKJ version of the Bible over the KJ, so we got this one. The Scriptures are all the same each day, and we still use the other book for the family ideas at the beginning of each month.

Personal Reading

For my personal reading, I am reading Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good from Jan Karon's Mitford series. This is book #12 in that series, and yes, I've read all of the previous books. Now, I know these books are somewhat predictable, but I have been just loving this series! They are wonderful when you need a feel-good, cozy read. The writing is good, and the characters are very well developed in my opinion.

The first book introduces you to a 60-year-old Episcopalian priest to a parish in small-town Mitford. The focus of the series is following Father Tim through his life in this town. His work, his home, his interactions with the people of the town. There are 2 more in this series after this.

Watership Down, by Richard Adams. This is a book my 13-year-old is currently reading. However, I did read it ahead of him, and I have to say, it's one of the best fiction books I've read in quite awhile! A group of rabbits rebelliously leave their warren because they believe danger is coming. They initially tried to get the whole warren to go, but the warren's leadership was having none of it. In fact, they tried to stop the group and chased them down until they lost them. This story tells the adventures of this group of rabbits on their journey to get away from the danger and find their own home. It is a really sweet book, although mildly violent at times during confrontations with hostile rabbits. I can say, I will never look at rabbits the same!

My 13-year-old son is really enjoying it and constantly extends his extra reading time to read "just a little more."

School and Read-Alouds

First up for the kids, is Henry and the Paper Route, by Beverly Cleary. My 10-year-old is currently reading through the Henry Huggins series for his extra reading during school. These books are about 11-year-old Henry, his dog, his friends, and all their adventures. My son is really enjoying these books! I think with the similar age, there's a lot to relate to.

Next, is Augustus Caesar's World, by Genevieve Foster. This is our History read-aloud for the first part of our homeschool year. We are all really enjoying this book. The first time I read this, it was with my oldest, and I remember not liking it very much. Now, both of my youngers seem to be very into this book and this period of history. So, I've really been enjoying reading this to them.

This book goes through the life of Augustus Caesar, starting when his Uncle Julius was assassinated, all the way through to his death. This is done in story form, and is a great way to learn and retain history. Genevieve Foster has several other books out about various historical people, as well. I really enjoy her writing style.

Next, The Bronze Bow, by Elizabeth George Speare, is our current school read-aloud. This is historical fiction about a Jewish boy zealot during the time of Jesus' ministry. He has joined a band of zealots whose goal is to overthrow the yoke of Rome over Israel. We are about half-way through this book and loving it so far.

Ancient Rome: An Interactive History Adventure, by Rachael Hanel. This book, I bought by a group's recommendation for our homeschool book basket. This is very similar to the Choose Your Own Adventure books, but incorporates historical fiction. My boys have really been enjoying this, and have been reading it over and over while it's been in our book basket.

Next, is The Book of Virtues, by William J. Bennett. I have been having both of my homeschooled boys alternate this with their extra reading books. It is a wonderful collection of short stories and poems meant to teach different character traits. The character traits listed in the table of contents are: Self-Discipline, Compassion, Responsibility, Friendship, Work, Courage, Perseverance, Honesty, Loyalty, and Faith.

And lastly, we are working through The Blue Fairy Book, by Andrew Lang from Dover Publishing. We will read a story from this book here and there, as we have extra time. I really like this book, as it doesn't water down the fairy tales like many modern books and movies do. Plus, we are reading quite a few that I've never even heard of before!

So, there you have it! We are not finished with many of these books yet, but this is what we have been reading through the month of January. I will be doing separate reviews on some of these as we do finish them.

Thank you for stopping by and reading today! Don't forget to check out the playlist for this collab, as well as the YouTube channels I listed above! Have a great day, everyone!

Declutter With Me: Living Room

 

Good morning, Friends! It's Monday, and the snow is piling up as I type. How did you all do in the master bedroom last week? As has been usual this month, I did not get nearly as much done as I wanted! This month has just been so full! I'm hoping next month, I can focus a little better and finally just settle into my routines.

It's the last week of the month, which means we are heading into the living room for our decluttering adventures. According to Flylady, we get almost the whole week in our living rooms. When the calendar turns over to February, we get one day in our entrance area.

Half of our living room is pretty much the way I want it, as far as decluttering goes. The other half serves as our office area, and that's where I will be putting my focus this week. We have our computer desk area, as well as an old-fashioned roll-top desk across from that on the other wall. Both of these areas can use some TLC and plain old decluttering. I also have a bunch of pictures in the roll-top desk that still need to be digitized. But, those will have to wait until next month. This month, I plan on concentrating on decluttering and then deep cleaning.

I consider the living room one of the most important rooms in my home, because that's mostly where my family hangs out together. That said, I really want to make sure this space is a haven in my home. Will you join me as I dive into decluttering my living room this week? I would love if you would comment and share your progress with me, and we can all encourage each other! Have a great week, everyone!

Digging Into the Word: Proverbs 1:28-33

 

Last Sunday, I joined a collaboration with other bloggers and YouTubers to study scripture using the S.O.A.P.S. method and post about our study. The next installment to that collaboration has been held off until next Sunday. So stay tuned for that! In the meantime, I'm sharing my next journal entry in my Proverbs study. If you're just joining in this study, scroll to the end of this post and see the list of the past studies I have posted so far. Again, I encourage you do study the scripture I share and write your own thoughts as well.

"Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;

They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.

Because they hated knowledge

And did not choose the fear of the Lord,

They would have none of my counsel

And despised my every rebuke.

Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way,

And be filled to the full with their own fancies.

For the turning away of the simple will slay them,

And the complacency of fools will destroy them;

But whoever listens to me will dwell safely,

And will be secure, without fear of evil."

Proverbs 1:28-33

"Then they will call on me..." They are the simple, scorners, and fools of the last section. They refused, over and over, to listen to Wisdom and were finally being met with calamity, terror, destruction, distress, and anguish. Now they are calling on Wisdom. Now they are seeking Wisdom diligently, as they should have in the first place. But now, it's too late. They are only seeking because destruction is staring them in the face and that's what they fear.

They first chose not to fear the Lord, to hate knowledge, to reject Wisdom's every rebuke. Now, they need to eat the fruit of the way they repeatedly chose for themselves. 

Those who have rejected God will be punished. And, as in Romans 1:24-28, God's ultimate punishment for them is giving them up to the result and consequences of their own wickedness.

**********************************************

Thanks for joining me in another installment of my Proverbs study! Next week, I will be back to posting another S.O.A.P.S. study. Here are the links to my past Proverbs posts.
1-Proverbs 1:1-7
2-Proverbs 1:8-9
3-Proverbs 1:10-19
4-Proverbs 1:20-27

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Workout With Me: My Favorites

 

She girds herself with strength,

And strengthens her arms.

~Proverbs 31:17

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?  For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

~1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Happy Saturday, everyone! Today, I thought I would share with you and review my favorite workout videos to get into shape. The first two I currently use, alternating days. The third I've done a couple of times before, and hope to incorporate again soon.

Walk At Home

First, is Leslie Sansone's Walk At Home. I have been doing Leslie's videos for quite a few years now. I really like that I get a good aerobic and muscle workout, and that I've always been able to do at least a mile without a break. Once I start getting into shape, I can do more. 

All of the moves are fairly simple, but very effective. She uses music to set the speed. In this Walk At Home video, each mile averages out to a 12-minute mile. The first half of a mile is the slowest speed, most of the second half is a more brisk pace. Then, the last 2 minutes of each mile is what she calls a "boosted walk," where you "walk like a runner." This includes the option to kick it up to high-impact for those last 2 minutes, or you can keep it low-impact while keeping the pace. 

The workout I have is a five-mile walk (you can choose how many miles you do in a setting). You can purchase this on Amazon, but I don't believe she is currently actively selling this one anymore. However, you can go to her website to see her current DVD's for purchase.

Workins

Next up are the Trim Healthy Mama Workins. I purchased these shortly after they came out a year or two ago. You can buy the kit, which comes with 9 DVD's, a short information booklet, a poster, and the equipment you need to do the Workins. Or you can just purchase the DVD's separately (as well as each individual piece of equipment) if you already have the necessary equipment. In addition, you do need an exercise ball and a toy ball. 

Trim Healthy Mama calls these Workins instead of workouts, because it focuses on strengthening from the inside out. They really focus on the core, and these are also really good if you are healing from diastasis recti as well. There is also a focus on feminine fit, working out our feminine bodies which are different from men's bodies. This is all explained in the booklet and on the introduction DVD.

These Workins are short, fun, and very effective!

30 Day Core

Third, is Lindsay Brin's 30 Day Core. Again, this focuses on your core. Once I am feeling more in shape, I will bring this back into my routine. These videos are a little longer at about 30 minutes each, and they are definitely the most intense of my videos.

********************************************************************

Those are my favorite workouts, especially in the winter. In the warmer months, I will get outside more for my exercise, but will still use these occasionally. I have heard of T-Tapp and would like to look into that, as well. If anyone has used T-Tapp, I would love your input! Also, let me know in the comments if you have used the above three that I mentioned and what you think. Or, if you have a different favorite workout that you do, I would love some new ideas!

Thank you so much for reading today! If you like what you're reading here on my home on the web, go up to the right sidebar and subscribe. Enter your email, then click subscribe. Go into your email to confirm the subscription and you're all set! You will receive a notification in your email whenever a new post goes up. Have a great weekend, everyone!