Time and Money Saver - Resource List

Hi! Hope you have had a wonderful Monday and that it has not been too "manic" on your end! I came across a wonderful free resource to share with you today. Karin Katherine wrote this article and gave me permission to share this with you. She has created a wonderful list of links to help you sort through the many Homeschool options. She has listed according to methods and subjects, as well as discount suppliers and other distinctions. Click on this posts title to link directly to her article. You can explore other articles of hers off that page that you may find of help. Don't miss this!!!
Remember - Click on the title to link to this amazing resource list!
Thanks again to Karin Katherine for sharing this with us!
http://www.examiner.com/x-11642-West-Palm-Beach-Homeschooling-Examiner

The Dog, the Blog and my Manic Monday

Wow, it is another Manic Monday! Where did last week go? I am so excited to have so many wonderful resources to share with you this week! First though, I wander if anyone can answer this question: Why does my dog always decide he wants to play, just as I begin to work on my blog!? Seriously! LOL - well, I wanted another child!

As you know Monday's are usually hard for me. Today was exceptional though! It started with wonderful quiet precious moments with my husband. Later in the morning I then looked out the window and caught a Monarch Butterfly pass by. Living in the far south, in a tropical area, we are blessed with butterflies. Years ago I rad a blog about a woman in crisis who chose a symbol in nature to remind herself that God was always with her. She suggested choosing something you do not normally see so that God can place it in your life at the moment you need encouragement. I felt challenged. I thought this all sounded pretty cool. I am pretty big on hanging on to faith, hope and love to get me through.

I love butterflies. Sense we were living in the North at the time, I chose Butterflies, and decided to go with the Monarch to represent God is King! I thought that not only would I remember the Holy Spirit's presence but also the fact that God is supreme over ALL things! Sure enough, many a time, a Monarch would appear when I needed the most encouragement! Now, imagine my delight when I realized the gardens around our new home are butterfly friendly!! On my worst of days I could be laying down and looking out at a beautiful garden and Monarch butterflies dancing at my window! What a beautiful gift for my Creator to give me!

The butterflies disappeared when landscapers pruned our garden and landscaped a few months ago. Last week, I cried out as I felt so dry spiritually, and at a low time physically and emotionally. I thought "even my Butterflies are gone", " Lord, have you forsaken me?" Last night I had beautiful prayer time and went to bed encouraged.
As I made lunch, a monarch butterfly arose out of the purple flowers out the kitchen window! "My butterfly! There is hope! Lord, you ARE with me! In fact, you never left!"

Joy in Hope

I have been in the trenches the past few days. I know many others have been fighting their own personal battle as well. I don't think my prayer list as ever been so long.
I am going to have start a new system soon for covering them all. I have been researching prayer notebook ideas. I'll have to pick a few favorite ideas and share them with you on Monday (remember Monday's are Manic Monday's when I will share organization and housekeeping tips). I also have some great articles to share and a new Brownie recipe for Tantalizing Tuesday! So you will definitely want to check back in! In the mean time, enjoy the Fourth Holiday weekend! Celebrate your friends and family, celebrate life, celebrate the freedoms you have (yes, we still are blessed) and capture the moments so that you may enjoy them on the journey ahead!

Let me close today with this shared by a friend who was doing her Bible Study: She said to read Romans 12:12 "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." God laid it on her heart to share it with me! WOW - that was some meat for today! Dive in!

No-Cost Resource Article

A few days ago I received a link to an article by Terri Johnson, of Knowledge Quest.
The article is titled, " 5 Must-Have No Cost Resources for Homeschooling". The article is timely as many Homeschool families are wandering how they will afford curriculum this year. There are families who are wrestling with if they should continue their child in a private school. I pray that families will first pray and then check out this article and its links before making any decisions! It is a good start for searching out free resources. There are many more to be shared as well, and it is my hope to do so as often as possible for you, my readers. Be sure and pass these on; tell others about my blog and the many others that freely share wonderful cost-saving tips for both Home and Homeschool! Together, we can do it! Terri freely gave me permission to share her article with you. Click on the above link ( the title ) to go straight to the article. There you will find links she shares and read her message to each of us! As she, I pray this "sparks the fuel that starts your creative engine and keeps it going"! Carry on my friends!