Hurricane Ike Didn't Blow Us Away. . .

But he sure did take us off the grid for a while! It's been two weeks today since Ike came to visit. Now we are trying to catch up after the crisis and cleanup.


Here's a picture of my backyard 24 hours after Ike washed ashore. As you can see, we were extremely blessed. We only had damage to our fence on all sides, and the shed lost shingles. Our home was fortunately untouched.

Kristen evacuated with her 5 children and had a difficult drive with sickness and changes in trip plans as her husband held down their fort. They sustained little damage to their property but lost several large trees. She got home yesterday, rested and glad to be home. We are both very thankful to the Lord for his goodness to us.

I was so thankful for the boarded up windows while listening to Ike's winds. When the eye passed overhead, we went outside with flashlights. The eerieness seemed to crawl on your skin. Then the second half of the storm hit with even more force. Afterwards we learned to be resourceful and content without electricity for over 8 days.

The community really came together during the aftermath and helped one another. Everybody, including newly-met neighbors, was so giving in time and hard work and supplies. We received from others and jumped in to help others. Passing out food, water, ice, charcoal, and other supplies to those hit harder than us was gratifying.

All of our Hurricane Ike experiences gave us a new perspective. I was thankful for all the opportunities to learn, build and teach real character like generosity, contentment and hard work mentioned above and as well: faith, security, benevolence, patience, alertness, creativity and gratefulness. Homeschooling never stops, does it?! :)

Our homeschool group has been like a community, too. Everyone has been calling and checking on one another, offering to help, giving support, prayer and encouragement. As the electricity has flowed back into homes we've seen more updates from families on our email network. It is comforting to connect again and hear all the news and needs.

A homeschool group needs that sense of community! It is important in the good times and critical in the difficult ones. I'll leave you with three quick ways to help build those connections:

1. Give time to build relationships and friendships in group activities
2. Have a website or yahoo group for email networking
3. Pass out a printed phone directory of and for the members

Survivor by grace,

Denise

http://www.homeschoolgroupleader.com/

Fresh Tips From a New Leader

Small fellowship groups at state or regional conferences give homeschoolers time to connect with others like themselves. I was privileged to meet several group leaders at a planned fellowship for support group leaders during the Texas State Conference. They were such a wealth of information with their years of experience.

The heart of leaders to help and encourage others was evident as they talked together. Some gave tips and answered questions while others put forth new ideas. As I listened and learned, I became doubly aware of the need to pass along experienced leaders' wisdom and make it available for others all across the web.

One leader in attendence was Bambi Dossey. She started a group 1 1/2 years ago in a small town she had moved into. Already they have 35 families who have joined. Bambi said that it is was very different coming from a large established group to starting a new one.

Since the experience is so fresh for her, I asked her what one piece of advice would she give someone who was starting a group. She answered, "Make sure it is God's plan!"

"If I build it, I'll just spin my wheels and be exhausted. Pray before you ask someone to lead, and pray while they decide. Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading."

She then added, "Don't try to reinvent the wheel. Visit websites, talk to groups." Bambi said that the bylaws, code of decorum, and statement of faith can be borrowed from other groups. Then they can be tweaked to fit your group's mission statement and passed by the board.

Lastly I asked her what she wished she would have known when she began the group. Instantly she replied, "Don't take it personal!"

In explanation, she continued that people sometimes hold back to see if it {the group or leadership} is going to work before they commit or help. She had to learn to keep her focus on what God was doing, not others.

Hope you enjoyed that slice out of leadership life,
Denise
http://www.homeschoolgroupleader.com/

An Update & Tides

Have things been as crazy at your house as it has been at each of ours? These last couple of weeks have flown by and have been crammed with life happenings.

Kristen and I have hardly seen each other, much less worked on our writings. Yesterday, we got to steal an hour together on the phone. That was good. As we talked, we reconfirmed that family always comes first. We don't want to be obsessive with our work here at Homeschool Group Leader--as good as it is and as much as we enjoy it. It's all about balance and keeping priorities in the right order.

Maybe you're wondering what's been going on. . . . Thanks for asking! We've had lots of company and family visiting, each have taken vacations, started our home schooling, had times of sickness or migraines, had church activities, kept up with Hurricane Gustav (was ready to evacuate at a radar's notice) and even watched the RNC. Even now I have Gustav evacuees here staying with me from Baton Rouge. You don't hear it on the news because it's not New Orleans, but they've been without electricity all week. 400 homes have trees on them. Our friends were actually sleeping in their car to have a little air conditioning in the overbearing humidity and heat.

I've noticed over the years that life seems to happen in waves. The tide comes in where everything happens at once. Then the natural ebb and flow brings times of refreshing and calm. During the stressful or busy times as high waves keep crashing around and on us, we can easily feel overwhelmed. It is important to keep your head up (priorities) above the waves to avoid drowning. Don't panic, stay calm, tread water, hold your breath, breathe. All the while remember the best advice a lifeguard can give--look up!

"Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me." Micah 7:7

Resting in His wonderful mercy,

Denise

http://www.homeschoolgroupleader.com/

All I Can Say Is, "Wow!"

This has been an AMAZING weekend. The Texas Home School Coalition put together a wonderful conference, and so many great things happened. I just returned home from The Woodlands and wanted to quickly write before I fell apart and rested, just so that you could know all about it.

First, the conference couldn't have been better. I always think this year is the best (I've been able to go the last 4 years) when I hear the speakers or get to shop or see my daughters sing in the children's presentation. The Children's Ministries of Texas (CMT) always out-do themselves each year. It is a testimony of good & godly training to see over 700 kids with their teenage teachers and helpers standing tightly together to sing & recite scripture for all the parents without a problem. Kudos to the CMT and all the wonderful volunteers. I'm one of the many grateful parents!

Jeff Myers was my newest favorite speaker. Have you checked out any of his "Passing the Baton" materials? He is actually a leadership training specialist. Wisdom and honor are his recurring themes as he reaches your heart with truths and well-told humorous stories. Speaking of humor, Diana Waring was also entertaining & informative as she dramatized many of the different learning styles. It is important to know and recognize them in ourselves and our children for effective teaching.

As for shopping this year, I showed the restraint of an experienced, on-a-budget, beginning-to-have-grey-hair, homeschooling mom. :) That's a major change! I'll have to blame it on learning to plan ahead and high gas prices. I believe the Lord honored my commitment to keep to our cash budget by stretching the money even further. We even ran into some old friends who generously & unexpectedly shared their delicious homemade lunches. So we ate well, saved money and didn't lose our parking place. It was all good.

But what truly made this conference so great was the people. I got to meet the ladies behind the emails, phone calls and bios. What a privilege to talk with long-time homeschool leaders --they have such a heart for other support group leaders. I immediately saw in their eyes their desire for your success. Their encouraging and open reception of me and our vision at HomeschoolGroupLeader.com was heartwarming. There is great potential for serving these servant-leaders and helping to get their tried & true wisdom out to you.



So you might be wondering, "Who did you meet?" Well, if you haven't noticed, this blog is getting a little long and not leaving room for much more. But if you're really curious -- the highlights were meeting Sheila Campbell, leader liason for THSC, Lyndsay Lambert, and Mary James of Smoothing the Way. That's all I'll say for now. There will be more info coming in the next few months. . . .

My only regret from this weekend is not getting to share personal time with Lyndsay Lambert. It just didn't work out. Each time I saw her she was very busy running the conference or speaking or helping others. Her time is valuable, and I didn't want to steal it. It was good though to briefly connect with her during support group fellowship. There will be time to catch up at the Leadership Retreat coming in October. I'm really looking forward to it! Oh, you don't know about it yet? Keep watching for updates right here on our blog or check out THSC.org.

Thanking God for good leaders,
Denise
www.homeschoolgroupleader.com

Great Online Resource for Support Group Leaders!

Have you checked out the great collection of articles compiled and written by Ann Zeise of A to Z Home's Cool Homeschooling just for Homeschool Support Group Leaders?

Several articles are grouped by subject matter and cover many important topics such as: Starting a Support Group, Field Trips, Organizing Activities, Lists of Support Groups by state, Leader Challenges and Outreaches. She has even posted one of our articles under Organizing Activities. Yea!

We particularly like the collection of articles by Pete Storz on forming a homeschool group. He has a comfortable, no-nonsense way of giving clear answers to those starting a homeschool group.

Whether you choose to list your group with A to Z or simply browse the info-packed articles, we believe the Support Group pages by Ann Zeise will be of great value to you. Enjoy!

The link to A to Z Home's Cool Organizing Activities & our article: "Corralling the Young'uns"

The link to A to Z Home's Cool Support Group Page: "Great Online Resource"

To your success,

Denise & Kristen

www.homeschoolgroupleader.com

Going to The Source!

ATTENTION ALL LEADERS: YOU CANNOT KEEP POURING OUT FOR OTHERS IF YOU ARE EMPTY AND DRY.

How many times do we allow our service to others to overtake our schedule and cause us to push aside our quiet time? It is all too common for leaders to be so busy pouring out for others that they neglect themselves and their times with the Lord.

You cannot give out of what you do not have. He has prepared times of refreshing for you. He is the Source of what you have to give! He is the source of all our joy, strength, peace and wisdom.

"The human heart does not replenish itself with sleep. The body does, but not the heart....We replenish our hearts not with sleep, but with the Word of God and prayer." John Piper

It is good to get up early each day and have intentional, consistent quality time with the Lord. It prepares us for the day ahead. Now, it doesn't mean that everything will be perfect afterwards, but it does mean that you will have more peace and readiness for whatever happens. You will have confidence knowing that you have already been under the spout. Once you have received your filling for service, you will be overflowing.

Seeking the Source,
Denise & Kristen

Your Questions are So Good

On our site Homeschool Group Leader, we have been amazed at the great questions you've been asking us. Each question is important to us. You are important to us.

We have prayed for you this morning. We prayed that you would have wisdom and that the Lord would strengthen you and encourage your heart to do this great task He's given you.

One of the most common Biggest Questions has been how to get your families more involved in your group. It can be so frustrating to have no one volunteer to help or even show up for an event that you've poured your heart and time into. We've been there.

Once, Denise scheduled a field trip to an alligator farm in our area. She thought it was the perfect summertime field trip and had even gotten feedback that people wanted to go. The day came for the trip and only two families out of 50 showed up! Denise was a little discouraged.

But she learned from it.

• She listened to why people didn't show: the heat, the mosquitoes, and summertime vacations. So from then on, she only scheduled early summer field trips that were indoors.
  
  
• She determined that summer field trips just didn't work as well for our group--attendance was low for all our summer activities down here in the Texas heat.
  
  
• She chose not to take it personally and began to design the field trips to fit the flow of the group. During the rest of the summer, she would simply pass out info on field trips that the families could do on their own. We completely took August off, with field trips as a group picking back up in September.

This worked really well for our group to encourage involvement. Your group may have a totally different dynamic and climate than ours, but people are the same everywhere. People need to be heard, understood and appreciated. One way you can easily do this and increase participation is to listen well and act on what you hear your families saying. It's a way of serving them, of meeting their needs and appreciating them.

We hope that in sharing our experience, you will be able to better understand and serve your own group. We will be sharing even more experiences in our coming ebook that will guide you as you lead your group to success.

Praying for you,
Kristen and Denise
www.homeschoolgroupleader.com