365 Days of Encouragement for the Homeschool Mom

When you’re a homeschooling mama, you need encouragement every.single.day. So I thought, wouldn’t it be fun to have a go-to for when I need a little pick-me-up? Why, yes- it would! And wouldn’t it be even more fun to share it with friends? Of course! Here goes- all the days, all the encouragement. No repeats. If you’re the crafty type, you could write these out and put them in a jar . Pull out a new one each day.

Your First Thirty Days

No, this isn’t a recovery meeting and there won’t be a token for participation at the end. 🙂 But, if you’re not used to all this love, you might need a little break-in period. Hence, your first thirty days. Ready? Here we go!

1. Today look in the face of each of your kiddos. Say a thank you prayer.
2. While making beds (if you do that), thank God that you have one to sleep in.
3. Whatever lunch is today, have everyone who surrounds you say a thank you.
4. Tired today? It’s okay. God’s got this.
5. Sing Jesus Loves Me to yourself. Believe it. He does.
6. If you log in to social media today, thank God for your friends list. Your people love you.
7. Struggling with pain today? God’s using it to sanctify you. Give thanks.
8. Read John 3:16.
9. Call a friend today. Just let her know you love her.
10. God has a plan for you.
11. The Lord has a plan for each of your children.
12. God works miracles. He has one for you.
13. Take refuge in the Lord today. He’s here for you.
14. Sin in your life? Give it to the Lord. Experience His grace.
15. God does not grow weary. Lean on Him!
16. All things work together for good, for those that love God.
17. God is love.
18. The Lord is for you.
19. Nothing can separate you from the love of God.
20. Jesus’ compassion never fails.
21. Stand firm in your faith.
22. Jesus calls you his little child. And you are!
23. Cereal is an acceptable dinner food. You’re welcome.
24. You matter.
25. Everything will be okay.
26. You can do this. I believe in you.
27. Lean harder on God.
28. Today is going to be a good day.
29. We’re all in this together.
30. You make a difference.

Days 31-60

That was fun, and pretty low-key, wasn’t it? The next 30 days we’ll set a new pattern for encouragement. You can keep this new pattern up, or return to those first thirty days anytime you want! No rules.

For our next thirty days, we’re going to meditate on a single Scripture verse for an entire week. Our focus: gratitude. This isn’t a big-hairy homework assignment. Just write out the verse. Next, start a list of ways the verse makes you grateful. Just add one thing to your list each day. Easy. I’ll go first.

Days 31-37, Verse: Psalm 46:1 

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 

• Lord, I’m thankful that you are my refuge.
• Jesus, thank you for being my strength.
• God, I’m grateful that you’re my ever-present help in trouble.
• I need you, Jesus. Thank you for being there.
• I have no strength of my own today, thank you for Yours.
• Ever-present- I love you, Lord for this.
• When I am in trouble, I can turn to God.

Your turn! You can use something as simple as a spiral bound notebook. If you’re inclined, a pretty journal works.

For days 38-44, Verse: Psalm 118: 14-16

Next, days 45-51, Verse: 2 Corinthians 1: 3-4

Days 52-60, Verse: Proverbs 3: 5-6

From Daily to Monthly

Our third way of working in daily encouragement is by focusing on the same thing every day for a month. This will take you into deeper meditation on God’s Word, which the Bible encourages us to do day and night! Why? So that we may delight in it! (Psalm 1:2). If you’re wondering what this has to do with encouragement, I hear you. Just know that delighting in the Word of the Lord, sitting at the feet of the Savior brings deep contentment, which is a source of continuing encouragement to yourself.

Opening our hearts to the Word

Opening our hearts takes a little more work from us. Don’t worry- you can do this!

Here’s how it works

I’ll provide you with 10 Bible passages to meditate on. From the passage, you’ll choose any word that you want and define it.

What does defining it look like?

Directions: Look up the word to be defined in the 1828 Dictionary.

Next, underline 4 keywords from the definition. A key word is a word that if removed would render the definition meaningless.

Take the 4 words you’ve now defined and look up their use in the Bible (this is where you can use Bible Hub). Make any notes you find important to understanding the Scripture or definition.

Lastly, write out a personal definition of the original word you set out to define, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide you through your study with what you’ve uncovered in His Word.

To help you along, we (Ultimate Homeschool Radio Network) have teamed up with Encouraging Moms at Home to bring you this free Word Study Format Journaling Page. Just fill out the form below to get your free word study page delivered to your inbox!

Ready to meditate?

Remember, you can go back to any of the other methods of encouragement at any time. This is meant to encourage you! I pray that God’s word will dwell richly within you and be a continual source of encouragement, like a spring welling up!

Verses to meditate on

These ten verses originated from the article 10 Powerful Bible Verses to Meditate On. You have the entire month to meditate upon them! Soak it up! If they don’t have enough keywords, don’t worry! You can use a different verse, or fewer keywords.

• Galatians 2: 19-21
• Psalm 119: 9-11
• Mark 9: 24
• 1 Peter 2: 16-17
• Mark 1:35
• Philippians 4:10-13
• Romans 12:2
• 1 John 1:9
• Philippians 4:8
• John 3:16

Thank you for joining me for an entire year!

That flew by, didn’t it? Okay- not yet, maybe. But, I do hope you are encouraged already. Does it help to have an encouragement plan in place? I pray so! I want to leave you with a quote to encourage you right now!

Remember who you are. Don’t compromise for anyone, for any reason. You are a child of the Almighty God. Live that truth.” –Lysa Terkeurst

About Gina Glenn

Gina Glenn is the happy mother to four wonderful children. She’s been involved with the homeschool community for twenty years, serving in social media ministry for our state organization, CHEK. She’s a mentoring mom in the Principle Approach method of homeschooling and has written a Primer for the Principle Approach called The Principle Approach Primer. She’s been a “behind-the-scenes” blogger for a while now- writing content for other bloggers and managing their social media and projects.  This gave birth to a side-business as a VA (virtual assistant) and her business name is Soft Answer VA. She is podcast hostess at the Ultimate Homeschool Radio Network as Mommy Jammies Night.