I don’t know about any other mom during this time of the year but I find myself struggling to stay positive and energized. With so many holiday activities and responsibilities abounding, it can be difficult to even put one foot in front of the other! I thought today’s post should be about encouragement. I hope some of these quotes and scriptures will brighten your day.
“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”~John Wesley
Proverbs 3:27 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
27 Don’t withhold good from someone entitled to it
when you have in hand the power to do it.Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Do something good today. Make a positive difference, even if it’s a small one. For the me of today, it was being more aware. I offered my help with some chores even though I was working on other things. I’m usually so oblivious to what goes on around me when I’m writing, reading or crafting that I miss some pretty obvious ways I could do something good. Even in the classroom, I sometimes get so caught up in one aspect of the lesson that I lose focus for a few minutes. “Rabbit trails” are fun, but they sometimes take too much away from the actual lesson. Thankfully, that doesn’t happen as often as when I’m working on hobbies.
“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the RingPhilippians 4:8 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
8 In conclusion, brothers, focus your thoughts on what is true, noble, righteous, pure, lovable or admirable, on some virtue or on something praiseworthy.
Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Have you decided how to spend the remainder of your life? What positive changes could you make today that would improve your life and enrich the world around you? I choose to participate in things like recycling crafts, art and NaNoWriMo. These are things we can do as a family or singly and things we can also incorporate into the schoolroom. Using crafting and writing, I can make my world a better place by recycling and by spreading good words and, I hope, good ideas.
“There are moments when troubles enter our lives and we can do nothing to avoid them.
But they are there for a reason. Only when we have overcome them will we understand why they were there.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Fifth MountainDeuteronomy 1:30 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
30 Adonai your God, who is going ahead of you, will fight on your behalf, just as he accomplished all those things for you in Egypt before your eyes,
Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Our family is currently going through one of the darkest times of our lives right now, at least financially. I know it will pass. I know there’s a reason for it. It’s the waiting that’s difficult. Our school lessons are one of the brighter aspects of my days. I truly enjoy that time shared in learning things. When tough financial times occur in a home school family, it’s a great opportunity to teach young ones how to be thrifty and responsible with their earnings. Responsibility is a skill often lacking in today’s society.
“How would your life be different if…You walked away from gossip and verbal defamation? Let today be the day…You speak only the good you know of other people and encourage others to do the same.”
― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being FreeProverbs 16:24 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
24 Pleasant words are like a honeycomb,
sweet to the taste and healing for the body.Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
This one’s a toughie. I don’t know if it’s more prevalent in our area of the south, or if it afflicts small towns or large towns as badly as us, but speaking ill of others is like a plague! It is rare to go through an entire day without hearing negative things spoken about someone. I’m as guilty as the next person. I recognize it and I’m doing what I can to improve my language, especially in the classroom and in our home life. I do not want to pass down a legacy of negativity to our children.
So with that, I’ll stop for today. There are a lot of things in these quotes and scriptures I feel I need to ponder on. I am a teacher of more than reading, writing and arithmetic. I am a teacher of life to my children. It’s an important job and some days, I just don’t take it seriously enough. These scriptures and quotes have encouraged me to keep trying and not give up. I hope others are encouraged by them, as well. Thanks for reading!
Rainbow – photo by Melody Kittles
Magniflorious Homeschool Life 
Truly inspiring. Tell me more about this Complete Jewish Bible.
Thank you! To reply to your request, the Complete Jewish Bible is a translation of both the Old and New Testament scriptures by David Stern who speaks the language and comes from Messianic Jewish perspective. Because of his experience with the religion, the translation is, in my opinion, easier to understand as far as meaning. My husband has a copy of it and I use it in conjunction with my New American Standard. What some may find difficult is the way the books are placed in the Old Testament, and the fact that the translator uses the actual Hebrew pronunciations for the names. If you can work around this, it’s a great resource to add to your Bible shelf. 🙂 You can check this link for a little more information, if you like. https://christianbook.com/complete-jewish-bible-hardcover/9789653590151/pd/3590154
Hi. Thank you for taking the time to send this information. Yes, I am interested, thank you fro seedling the link. I’ve read many books by Davis Stern
If you’d like to share your favorite, I’d love to know so I could check it out! 🙂 I’m glad the link was helpful. Have a great day!