teaching

What is #CHAT?

| resumeofamother

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram…you might have seen my posts about #CHAT.  This past weekend was the launch date for this big event in my life!  I am soooooo excited!

Let me fill you in a little about what this is all about.  For a long while I have been working in women’s ministry in my church and in general.  But I now find myself for the past 2 years with not having a place in leadership in this area at my church.  I am also allowing “Resume of a Mother” to evolve into what God would have it to be in terms of ministry.

I had been watching and praying for some of the young girls that come to our kids program and I see them getting bored as they get older with the kids programs and regular church.  Now on a side note…I also work full time at an addiction recovery mission and see what a life full of no guidance etc…can produce.  Woman will come to us with their stories of how and why they began taking drugs.  Many times…they never felt they had someone to reach out to, or that fact that no one reached out to them.  This is not to say that this is the only reason they are on drugs etc…but you can get the idea.  After seeing the young girls in our church losing interest in things of the Lord, I felt a strong tug to reach out to them.

One night a few months ago I went to an impromptu meeting where I heard someone speaking on reaching “one”.  She went on to say that we need to go to where they are and not expect them to come to us.  That night I went home and drew up the plans for #CHAT.  I designed the “win” and what it would be all about.

Here it is in a nutshell…

Reach the “one” by just chatting! So I guess you now understand the title “#CHAT”.  Girls between the ages of 12-16 can come and chat, have a light meal, and learn a skill.  They can sit quiet or chat all night…with no strings attached.  This will give me and my team and chance to get to know them and the same in the reverse.  We want to create a safe haven for them to feel like they have a place to share their heart and there will be no judgement.  There might be an opportunity for guidance, a life verse shared, a hug and a tear or two shared.

Some of the life skills already in place are several craft sessions, makeup 101, quilting, quilling, baking and cooking from the simple to also some international cuisine and more.  I have had many women come and tell me that they would love to come and share their skills with the girls.

At this point I have 28 classes lined up on paper with teachers in mind for most of them.  The club as of right now will run once a month.  We will run it for now for three months and then reevaluate it and see what we think were the positives and negatives of the entire night.

Pray with me that this new style girls club will be effective in reaching one girls heart and for us to make a difference that can mold, guide and potentially save a life from going in the wrong direction.

Lynn A. Wilson – Resume of a Mother

Are you writing your Eulogy?

| resumeofamother

I know this is a very odd question to ask, “are you writing your own eulogy”? This is not something that we usually ask each other.  Let me explain.  Recently a friend of mine lost her dad.  As we were talking she said that the service was graciously done but that they were really struggling with what to say.  You see he had lived a very hard life.  The life that he lived was not a very good one; the choices that he made in life were not the best.img_9069

Just prior to chatting with him….I was discussing with another friend about what people think of us in general. We were discussing about when someone walks in the door and what you immediately think of them.  If I were to walk in the door ….do my friends get excited to see me? Or am I one of those people who when you see me, you say “great….she here now”.  You know what I mean…there are those people who we love to see and those we don’t.  Why would you want a personality that no one wanted to be around?

I heard someone say a long time ago….while you are living you are writing your eulogy.  What a thought…but so true.  What you do now, how you treat people, how you are around others will ultimately be in the end, what you are known for.

What do people say about you now?  What will they say about you then?  Something to thing over today! See if you need to make some changes in your life!

Lynn A. Wilson – Resume of a Mother

Grandma’s brownie Recipe …the best recipe comes from a box!

| resumeofamother

Grandma had the best outlook on life.  More than anyone that I ever met in my lifetime!  She loved life and her family and always wanted us to feel at home in her home.  She did not come from money nor did she ever have a lot even in her later life. That never stopped her from always giving to us with the few pennies that she had.

She was known for her pot roast and potatoes ….I have never had anyone make it soooo good and delicious as she did.  I can remember one Sunday afternoon we headed over to her apartment for Sunday lunch, and of course for the pot roast.  After lunch she asked me to get the table set for dessert.  Normally Grandma was not a baker of any type.  Her best effort was a crumb cake from Entenmann’s bakery.  But this day was different…she told me she had some brownies instead. ‘YES”…I was so excited since I love brownies.

I helped her get the table all set with coffee cups, the sugar and creamer, cake plates etc….As everyone gathered back to the table for dessert she handed me “the box”…yes a brownie box. Then she told me to put in on her special fancy flowered plate. My eyebrow raised….and I looked at her with a silly look.  “Grandma did you bake these already”…she replied, “no they come all made in the box already”.  Oh dear….as she called back again to me she said…”look at the picture on the box”.

Well lesson learned that day!  Grandma learned that brownie mix is a mix only and yes it needed to be baked.  The whole family had a good laugh about it over a cup of coffee.  That day I taught her how to make the brownies and we enjoyed them all yummy and warm with some more coffee.

These precious memories are still with me even after almost 28 years after her passing.  She was a remarkable woman and taught me so much about life and living and how to handle myself in tough situations.  And I was glad to be able to teach her one thing….even if it was just brownies.

Do you have any funny stories to share about recipes with your grandma? Leave a comment below and share with all of us!

Lynn A. Wilson – Resume of a Mother

Why do Church? Why do Faith?…

| resumeofamother

Here it is another Sunday and some of us have spent the morning in some type of church service.  What did you do this Sunday Morning?  Do you spend it in church….if so did you ever ask yourself why?  Why do I do this…is it tradition, or something that you are just supposed to do?

I was brought up going to church most Sunday’s when I was young. Then later I watched my parents, as I was approaching my teen years make a bigger commitment to church.  Something gripped their hearts and I could see a life change in them.

We would go as a family to every event. My parents would make sure that each of us girls had a job to do and made us feel part of what they did.  We never felt like we were going with them to the event or service but that we were actually part of it!

When I was very young, I accepted Jesus into my heart and I knew that it was real. As I grew older and began to serve with my parents….my desire grew for the things of the Lord too.

Why do Church? Why do Faith? …I am not sure why you do what you do but for me it is truth and real.  I know that Jesus is my Lord and Savior and I know what I do will matter for eternity.  I am far from perfect and there are days I could hang my head in shame for the way I have acted.  But I know that a heart to heart talk with Jesus and a confession of the soul will make all things good again.

I now am privileged to serve alongside of my husband, married son and daughter –in-law and younger son too.  We all serve in different ways…some youth, some to teens, men’s groups, women’s group, in the kitchen, community work and more.  We support each other in the work being done whether we are involved that day or not.

We raised our kids the same way our parents raised us. By showing by example and teaching them our faith. In the end it was still their choice to make. They all needed to make it a personal decision and not based on what we did or think.

I hope that you too know the Lord….if not why not pray to Him today.  Read John 3:16!

Have a wonderful day today and know that Jesus Loves you!

Lynn A. Wilson – Resume of a Mother

Minimalism…Simple….Simplify-where does life have you?

| resumeofamother

What does this mean to you?  Minimalism comes to my mind. So many of the younger generation are going this way.  Many of them have watched their grandparents and parents collect things over the years so they now have taken up with the new trend of “less” is better.

I do find that the old saying…“less is more”, can be true!  But what is less?  I have watched some “extreme” shows, where they will have a beautiful “large” house and only have a mattress on the floor, 1 dish, 1 cup, 1 fork…you get the picture and they seem truly seem happy. This is not the life that I want.

I have a friend who LOVES to collect things…did I say loves it.  She collects any and everything that you could imagine.  She has now gone through her collection and resized it.  To most people…you would still say that she has a lot of “stuff” but to her …she has simplified her life in her own way with her collections and she is a happy girl.

wilson gang

In my life…which is full of special needs and most days cioas….I need “my” type of simple.  Let me explain. My husband has Epilepsy and my youngest son as Autism…..for me this changes my life on a daily basis.  I have always enjoyed a full schedule of events, lots of involvement in family, work, church and life in general.  I like lots of hobbies, things, stuff, and decor in my home etc…I like to enjoy life as I see it….but then life doesn’t alway fit what I like!!!

Recently in my home….I have had to simplify things. Less stuff, less things and to be more practical and less nostalgic. This has been very hard for me but as I get into it …it does becoming easier. I need to create a very practical world for my two men. I need to label where things go in the refrigerator and label whose jacket goes where etc… And yet find a way to make my home still seem special and pretty to me and our guests we invite over.

Recently with my schedule….I have had to simplify that too. How do you take a girl who LOVES a full schedule and adapt it to “SIMPLE” one…so that I meet the needs of my family as well as myself.  I have and am still learning how to balance life ….I really don’t know how to explain that in words with exactly I am doing. I probably need to do a VLOG on a day in the life of me.

This might not be “minimalism” to some, but for me I need to carry a planner, snacks, change of cloths, meds, water, essential oils, band aids etc… in many different bags.  I have a travel bag, pocketbook, workbag, church bag etc…each one is filled with what I would need for that event and the extras for that “just in case I need it” moment.  This works for me….my car is full of bags stuffed with stuff.  But all this stuff to me equals an organized, simplified and simple way of living.  To me my life is now not full of stressful moments and I don’t have to think as much when life takes over and craziness begins. If you have anyone in your family with special needs you would understand. We never quite know what’s going to happen at a given moment and having these extras with us at all times and organized in designated bags for that particular event definitely helps.

Simple is defined by YOU and only you.  We should not jump on a trend just because!!! Yes, we should evaluate our lives and simplify them… but this does not mean throw everything out that you own, and live in a sleeping bag.

God has given and blessed our family many times over with things and not necessarily money…I need to use what I have, simplify what I buy and sometimes bless others with my overflow.

Remember to enjoy life and where life has you. I know that this is a unique way of looking a “simple life” but it is the way I do it.  How do you do it..leave a comment below.

Lynn A. Wilson – Resume of a Mother

“KISS” – starting over

| resumeofamother

I have heard this saying many times….”KISS”  and yet I need to be reminded of this simple quote on a daily basis. Have you heard of it?….”Keep it simple stupid”!

Well here I am starting over and getting my blog back up and running.  I think for a long while I thought it had to be this “perfect” something, and of course I am not perfect and neither is my life.  I envisioned it being… “WOW “…right from the start and WOW it is not….but WOW it can be down the road. I have a fear of failure and what will people think. What if it does not meet a certain standard ….what will your response be…and this list goes on.

For now…I need to “just start” and get it done, as my husband always tells me.  He always talks about how most people talk and talk and just never start. Life can go on for days, months and even years and we never in the end start what we wanted too.

So for today….”Resume of a Mother”… is back on track.  Blogs might be simple at times, fun and exciting at other times…but they have started again.

My goal is simply this….and it is also my personal mission statement, “to touch one life that will in turn touch another life”.  My blog was and is designed to encourage moms at every level… to bring joy, wisdom… and information that will make you a better mom.

“Resume of Mother”…was founded with me being a wife and a mother who is living a different life than most.  A Homeschool mom, special needs mom, adoptive mom, Autism, Epilepsy, full-time working mom, crafter, blogger, speaker, planner….and more….”I found my new normal and it is a moving target”. ..is my claim to fame.

Come join me again and follow me as I continue on this journey!

Lynn A. Wilson – Resume of a Mother

NO PLACE LIKE HOME…

| resumeofamother

 

img_05672 Corinthians 5:8b (NLT)

…for then we will be at home with the Lord.

There is no place like home….how many times have we heard this phrase or even shared this thought with someone. As children we watched a show where it was stated over and over again …”there’s no place like home, file_000-5there’s no place like home.” The older I get the more tender those words have become for me.

It was a rainy dark, cold nightfile_000…and we needed to head out right after a long day of work… many errands were scheduled for that night. The rain and the darkness
added to the mood of the night. I leaned over to my husband and said, “Tonight is a night that I really feel like just going home.” It was one of those intense nights when you just needed to be “home.”

What is “home” to you? It is a feeling, a place or a building or maybe something that is so indescribable but so wonderful to you? Home should be what makes you feel good, safe, secure and warm…as they say a place to hang your hat. Home is what most of us long for.

Home for me is my safe haven, a warm cozy place, a place where I feel like I belong, and a place like no other. It is a place where I can feel welcomed every time I walk in the front door. I can be greeted by a family who loves and accepts me for who I am. It is a place that feels familiar, and the sights, sounds and even smells are something that I enjoy and long to be around.

How many times have we been at the bedside of a sick friend or relative or at their funeral and heard it said that they are in a better place….that they are “home”file_000-2 now. Or even a person who is not well has referred to the fact that they just want to go “home”. Where is this “home” that they are referring to? That feeling or longing to go home to a safe, secure place, a place with a sense of freedom, a place so indescribable, but you know that you want to be there.

Take a minute and imagine with me a new home…will you be there with me? I am in the process of having a mansion built for me. I know it will be just the right size, shape and color. The builder knows my every need and He will have prepared a place for me that is so perfect that I could not want anything else. The minute I walk through the gate I will know that I am “Home”. I will be surrounded by my brothers and sisters. I will love the sights, sounds and smells to the point that I will want to stay there for eternity. Someday I will walk streets made of gold and cheavenly_sky_by_d168all it my home. Are you ready to go to this home if the Lord were to call you? Have you done your housework so to speak? Have you made things right with Him so that when it is time to go “Home”, you will be ready? As the verse above states…….for then we will be at home with the Lord.

Lynn A. C. Wilson – Resume of a Mother & Fresh Brewed Devo’s Series

 

 

Homeschool with a Twist…UNO Math, Cereal Box Reading and Go Fish Spelling

| resumeofamother

school_supplies

You probably guessed it already that we tend to teach in an unconventional way. As I read on a homeschool blog called “The Encouraging Homeschool Mom” the other day by Jamerill Stewart and she called it “homeschool in a box”. Yes we had tried that route and it did not work for us with our youngest son. Now after years of homeschooling, research, chats with other moms and great blogs like the one I will link below…..we found some good tips and tricks that I hope will help you on your Homeschool journey.

I will let you know that we homeschooled our oldest (he is now 27 and excelling in his career, which we contribute a lot of his skills to things he learned in his homeschool days), with some of the more traditional lessons but always adding a bit of a homeschool twist. This worked for him…he needed more structure with how things would be done in a regular school setting. After a few years of this style of teaching….we did find that he needed some more creative outlets for learning his lessons. Now that we are schooling our youngest that has very distinct special needs, we see at least for him, that not only “one on one” teaching is needed… but very creative techniques and a constant change of styles is needed too.

Gavin is 14 and technically in 9th grade. He does fall a bit short on keeping up academically with the other kids and at his grade level. Putting all that aside….we as parents need to make sure he is taught the best he can be and with or without special needs. Each child is different whether they have trouble learning or not. We have been gifted with these children in our lives and they in turn have been gifted to have us as their teachers and mentors!!!! As a family we can minister to each other and we can share learning, teaching, gifts, skills, abilities, life lessons etc…..as we guide these young hearts to grow in the Lord and in their maturity. As parent we need to equip them in every way so when they leave the safe haven of home….they can be ready for what comes their way. Homeschooling does not just know what 1+1 is or how to spell…..yes that is a major part of learning but so is teaching them how to live life is too. Especially if you are a special needs parent then you would really get this point.

Here are just a few tips and tricks that I can share with you today that we have used and have worked well for us.

UNO Math

img_9631

We take UNO cards in a pile with only the numbers and wild cards. You then pick from the pile…the first 2 cards on top. Next you add these two cards (you can use addition, subtraction, division or even multiplication). If you draw a number and a wild card…your child can pick any number he/she wants to replace the wild card (which can make the math game even more fun). Now of course I said we do everything with a twist. Our son does not like using pen and paper. So we use a whiteboard, chalk board…..writing in sand in a box etc… Today, I had a bunch of leftover cd’s from a VBS project this year that we will not use again. So we took the cd’s and allowed him to write on them for each pair of numbers he picked. He could draw counting sticks, counting dots on the cd to help him do the math problem etc…to a help him add the UNO card 7 + 9 etc….IT WORKED GREAT!!!

Cereal Box Reading

img_9649

This is one of many ideas. Our son would not read a book. As a matter of fact when we pulled him from public school in 4th grade he would not read at all. I saw him trying to read a fortune cookie one day, at a Chinese restaurant and then it got me thinking….what else would he read? He loves Nerf guns and power rangers….ok then….what could we use to make reading fun and to incorporate the things he loves and likes. So, off we go with this idea now and when he buys a Nerf gun he reads the box, as he gets his favorite cereal he reads the box, you get the picture. He is now reading more and more (including books) and he is surprising us all the time with his reading skills. He also loves to use the “closed caption” on the TV and read the lines as they speak it out loud on the shows he watches. Who would have thought that watching TV can be a great reading lesson!!!

Go Fish Spelling

img_9648

Spelling is a something that was never fun!!! Ok what could be done…..well again schooling with a twist. I found an old set of playing cards, and put white labels on them with our spelling words. Then use them just like you would for a regular game of “Go Fish”. Do you have a “dog”….no go fish. Then when you get the matching pair….you lay those words down. Of course as the mom/teacher in me we needed to repeat the word, sound it out and spell it out loud before moving to the next word. We then found a set of cards with words and used it the same way.

These are only a few of my tips and tricks I use to teach our son. They are not new to some of you and to some of you just starting out and or needing a new idea… I trust this will increase your creative juices today to come up with some of your own fun ways of teaching some very basis things.

Write below in the comments and tell me what ideas you have. I would love to hear from you and what worked for you and also what did not. These tips….are great for special needs but all in all they are great for anyone who needs a little fun and creativity in their homeschooling.

Follow me on my blog for more fun tips and tricks, other ideas for special needs kids and just some all in all…..wonderful encouragement for moms.

Feel free to email me….I would love to hear from you all. Also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram for other tips, tricks, ideas and pictures @resumeofamother

Lynn A.C. Wilson – Resume of a Mother