Q. What sound do porcupines make when they kiss?
​A. "Ouch!"

I love this movement. In NJ where we have lived, the poor are among us, but not visible. Perhaps NJ does a good job of serving our struggling people here or perhaps they stay in the shadows. I can't say, but recently we have been home hunting. Our son led the charge and observed that in our soon to be home state there are homeless people on the street. That is foreign to him. As we were talking about ways to serve this population I remembered "Blessing Bags" posted on FB. There are many ways to serve the struggling in our communities. You can run a feed the children food drive, collect food at the market for a local pantry, serve at a soup kitchen or volunteer with family promise that temporarily houses displaced families. There are so many great ways to help, but this is a great step you can likely take right now. Grab a big ziploc and stuff it with shelf stable things. You might have some great stuff right in your cabinet. Start with a water bottle, toothbrush, snack bar, etc... Write a short note of encouragement. If you have one, throw in a gospel tract like Daily Bread or Baptist Bread and the next time you encounter someone you can be a blessing as you demonstrate God's love to them. Guys throw it in your back pack and girls, hopefully you have a generous handbag. You don't want your treats to spoil. Large socks, wet wipes and other sundries are helpful too. There is so much joy in helping others. As parents, demonstrating and encouraging a heart to serve has always been a priority. God throughout His word encourages us to care for the needy. This is one easy way to do that. We will be doing this as well. Anyone had experience with this or have a suggestion of other great ways to serve the needy in our communities? Please share below.  :)

Psalm 41
Blessed is he who considers the poor; the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.

​Proverbs 19:17 
He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, And He will pay back what is given.

Why did the cowboy buy a dachshund?
Everybody kept telling him to get along little doggy! 

It feels like I took this picture yesterday, but it was almost 2 years ago. The girls are sitting on one of their new mattresses while Dad and I painted, scrubbed, etc... Our family had walked down a challenging road together for a few years. That ended with the abrupt notification that we had to move away from the house we bought new almost 10 years ago. It was inarguable. So the prayerful search began. We looked around diligently and found several perfect to our eyes properties, but there was always a hitch. No cats. If you read my bio you know how I feel about that. :) Another one was someone got the offer in first. Some were for rent to attract buyers. One of our favorite properties was exactly this. We were told the owner was waiting to see if they got an offer before conceding to rent. I assume to increase the foot traffic? We were not looking to buy again just yet. It could get discouraging, but in Christ we had the comfort of knowing, based on Acts 17:26, that God had already planned exactly when and where we should live. We just needed to trust and patiently wait for His leading. We got to a place that we were a little weary from all the looking. Having a realtor that had a daughter who tagged along helped. House shopping practically became play dates, but after a good amount of time, we all decided it was best to wait for the market to refresh. We went home and took one last peek through Craigslist. When we looked there was a town home listed in a neighborhood we had driven through. Sighed through... It was so sweet. Close to everything, but in it's own little hamlet. Underground wires, beautiful community, tennis court, community pool area, club house, play ground and tons of beautiful different types of trees. We couldn't find a property though. When we drove though there was a particular street that had families congregated with kids playing. It felt like the 70's. I remember kickball games in the street, but I didn't think people still did that. They do. In fact playing in the street was common on this street known as the kids street. The town home for rent was right on that street! It was perfect. It had a huge porch overlooking a pond with a fountain that would be awesome for homeschooling. A partially finished basement for days that were inclement. The gentleman leasing it, who happened to be a Pastor, said the family who had been renting it left unexpectedly and he had just put it up on Craigslist. Keys please! I am so glad those other properties did not work out. God in His infinite wisdom had better in mind and definitely gave us the desires of our hearts. Psalm 37:4. Our Margaret was 2 at the time and while we were weeding the garden around the deck she quietly said, "this is my home, in Jesus name amen." Yes it was and we were glad for it. This home and the family leasing it have been a 24/7 blessing. As we are pulling up stakes again to switch homes and states, I am grateful for the peace God's word brings. 

Proverbs 3:5-6
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

We set up this page to be an encouragement to others and hopefully shine a little light. I spent a good amount of time responding to posts on FB in regards to homeschooling. Very often I was repeating things I had shared before. It seemed the simplest solution was a blog. Question about XYZ curriculum? Check my Blog. So much easier! I have a strong desire to help and serve and this makes that a lot easier. On that note, I have been at this a while (24 years), and though I do not have all the answers I am glad to share what I have learned over the years. More parents are turning away from public school now for various reasons. Many are moving on from traditional schooling to home schooling. It can take so many different forms ranging from the unschooling movement that in some families it is believed that life itself is a teacher. Children learn about measuring and fractions from cooking, etc... This is not a method I embrace or suggest based on observation and my educational philosophies, but that is me. It escalates all the way up to programs like ABEKA that with the academy option is a combination of dvd or streaming and an impressive amount of workbooks. In this case the parent is facilitator, proctor and tutor. The student has teachers streamed in. This method is good for many people who struggle with being the primary educator. I will share what I know about as many programs as possible that I have had experience with. I truly hope it helps. Please feel free to ask any questions and whether you are new to homeschooling or a veteran, welcome fellow sojourner. As my children range from 3 to 24, I will speak from experience and say enjoy the ride. Mom was right, it goes fast.  :) ~ Dagney