Daily Encouragement

for Homeschooling Mothers with Charlene Notgrass

Footprints in the Snow

Years ago I saw a documentary about Yellowstone National Park in the winter. I became fascinated with the idea of seeing the park in the snow. Ironically, an early snow in Yellowstone made us decide we had better not try to see the park during this trip. We made our decision based on the ... View Post

Remembering John James Audubon

John James Audubon died in 1851. In the late 1800s, George Bird Grinnell and others founded the Audubon Society to protect birds and their habitats. Audubon's wife Lucy had tutored Grinnell. Grinnell chose Audubon's name to inspire the organization. In 1898 a group in Henderson, Kentucky, founded ... View Post

Contentment and Gratitude

When I was a young wife and mother, Ray was a campus minister at a church in Oxford, Mississippi. I was blessed to know many Jesus-loving, family-focused, and hard-working older women in that congregation. I soaked up their examples and wisdom. I could mention many sweet sisters who taught me how to ... View Post

Good Habit #2 — Look on the Bright Side

When I was a little girl, Mother used to ask me to move, saying "You're standing in my light." These requests came when Mother was doing a sewing project and needed to focus on some detail. Her request was a mystery to me. My eyes were still new, and I didn't need things particularly bright to ... View Post

A Woman’s Hands

When I was a girl, a popular television commercial advertised a gentle dishwashing liquid. In the commercial, a manicurist expounded the virtues of a particular dishwashing liquid to her patron and then told her, "You're soaking in it now!" At this point, the woman getting the manicure expressed her ... View Post