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

Leadership Conference in Dallas

We just heard about this conference for leaders in Dallas, Texas this weekend and wanted to tell you about it. The speaker line-up is so great that we've requested all the CDs. Check it out.

http://www.heartoftex.org/conference/conference.html

If you hear of any leadership conferences in your area, please let us know and we'll help get the word out.

Later!
Denise & Kristen
www.homeschoolgroupleader.com

Subway Listened to Homeschoolers!

Here's a great opportunity! Subway has revamped and reintroduced their "Every Sandwich Tells a Story" contest to include homeschoolers. It is now the "Summer Special" that is running until August 31st.

Jim Bob Howard of "Homeschooling Today" magazine wrote, "For all those who clamored about Subway excluding homeschoolers, now's the time to show them that we will indeed participate when they include us. The registration form I saw asks for the Child's School Name, so homeschoolers should make sure they enter something like *Smith Family Homeschool*, rather than *Smith Academy*."

See the details here: SUBWAY STORY CONTEST

Let your families know about this great educational opportunity and the chance to win really great prizes. Grab your pens, write with imagination and share some laughs!

Have a great day,

Denise & Kristen

www.homeschoolgroupleader.com