The clock read 4 a.m., and I had lost count of how many episodes of Community I had binge-watched.

Earlier that day I had blocked off an entire day for writing. I planned to spend several hours editing a piece I wanted to bring to a writer’s group the next day.

So instead of getting to work, naturally I decided to procrastinate. I read an entire book in one sitting. At the time, info about detoxing my body seemed WAY more important than working.

I wanted to give myself an excuse not to go the next day. Can you blame me? Letting other writers critique your work feels a bit like jumping into a lake of piranhas.

What I didn’t realize is how fear so often drives procrastination. I wanted to give myself an excuse not to go to that writer’s group, so I sabotaged myself.

Maybe you can relate. I started taking note of all the incessant self-distraction. Turns out I’m afraid to focus and really give something my all.

What if I fail?

Turns out I’ve devised a complex scheme of avoidance behavior. Below is a list of ways I’ve been tempted in the past few days:

• Care for friends with the flu. (I’m actually volunteering myself to do grocery shopping for sick friends just to get out away from my computer.)
• Text a long-lost friend.
• Obsess about the Turpin case in California, reading every scrap of news.
• Deep clean the house. (I mean seriously?)
• Schedule extra playdates for the kids.
• Deep dive into school subjects and teach way over my kids’ level.
• Diagnose myself with all kinds of maladies. (Turns out I’m only a hypochondriac when I’m avoiding writing.)
• Obsessively research natural health and natural remedies.

 

Did you notice something? Most of these activities are healthy and a pretty good use of time. That’s how I’ve been duped for so many years.

I’ve hidden behind good while neglecting what’s right. 

I’m finally learning that doing good things can’t hold a candle to doing the right thing!

As they say, “Good is often the enemy of the best.” But in my experience good is also the enemy of the right thing.

Are you hiding behind something good instead of stepping out into the right thing—God’s best for your life?

Women especially are good at hiding behind our role as wife and mom. We have a million legitimate excuses because the kids and our homes ALWAYS need something.

If God is calling you out of hiding, the laundry and dishes can wait. Nothing is sweeter than obeying Jesus and feeling His smile on your life.

Can we please stop sidestepping what God has called us to do? Let’s be brave. Let’s kick fear in the face.

So tell me. What good things do you substitute for the right thing? How have you learned to face fear?

I would love to hear the tips you’ve learned along the way.

 

 

The panic hit me like a hurricane.

My eighth-grader would enter high school soon, and I felt totally unprepared.

Transcripts. Chemistry. Physics.

How in the world will I manage it all?  Googling “private schools near here” and “classical online academies,” sent my head spinning.

I can’t remember if I prayed, but a few days later I learned that my friend, Lea Ann Garfias, wrote a book called Home School High School Made Easy.

This book has been a godsend! With lots of humor, Lea Ann covers each year of high school and each core subject in detail.

Her tips on getting middle schoolers ready for high school are valuable enough to warrant a read.

So can homeschooling high school be easy? Yes, it can when we have a strategy and understand why we’re homeschooling.

Homeschooling will still take time and focus, but when we choose to homeschool in faith, we cut out so much needless worry, which drains our energy.

Quieting the fear demons is half the battle of homeschooling, and this book steadily reminds the reader to homeschool in faith. I loved this excerpt:

“It takes faith to spend more time understanding than regurgitating. It takes faith to wrestle with the messy truths of history rather than memorizing pithy sayings. It takes faith to slow down math to learn the principles instead of the shortcut.”

I especially drew courage from Lea Ann’s decades of experience, and I enjoyed her perspective as a homeschooled student herself.

Homeschooling doesn’t need to feel like slavery. It can be fun and everything we imagined when we started. We can find impossible joy homeschooling when we find our sweet spot where our teaching style intersects with our student’s learning style.

If you have younger kids, you’ll enjoy Homeschool Made Easy, the first book in the series.

It focuses more on the early and middle school years and gives practical advice in teaching through all the stages of learning.

I’ve been the mom trying to do too much, pushing my children further and faster than they’re ready to go. This is where we make school hard, Mamas.

Both books will breathe fresh vision into your school days.

If the thought of teaching your child in high school intimidates you, grab a copy of Homeschool High School Made Easy. It’s like having a personal homeschooling mentor or counselor at your fingertips.

This book helped me calm down. Everything I need is in one book. I don’t need to spend hours researching and reading articles.

A bonus, I found the book full of extra parenting wisdom that I wasn’t expecting—teen driving, dating relationships, and the changing dynamics as teens grow.

Its 278 pages are filled with lessons learned and inspiration to love and parent our children well during these challenging years. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.