Dressed for Encouragement

I can hardly wait to come to the Homeschool Iowa Conference in June.

There’s just something so, so encouraging about being surrounded by homeschoolers who are on the same homeschool journey.

There are also decisions and plans to be made before you show up.

Are you going to take the kids or make it a husband-wife getaway or a girls' weekend? Who will watch the kids if you leave them behind? Where are you going to stay? What are you going to eat? And, of course, what are you going to wear?

I hate the idea of packing and picking outfits to match my shoes. Thankfully, I’m a man and only have a few pairs of shoes to choose from. My girls usually plan days ahead and even match their underwear to their outfits (NOT a guy thing).

I won’t pretend to give you any expert fashion advice (although I do put the “cool” in “dad-cool”). I will suggest that you come “dressed for encouragement" in a way that lifts the spirits of other homeschool moms. Why? Because many homeschool moms come to homeschool conferences feeling a bit discouraged.

It’s almost the end of the year, and moms can feel tired, behind, defeated, and woefully inadequate for the task at hand. It kind of comes with the territory of homeschooling.

To add insult to injury, sometimes a discouraged mom leaves a homeschool convention feeling even MORE discouraged. It’s never intentional, but, after hearing homeschool experts tell her how to homeschool better and more efficiently and listening to curriculum providers tell her how she needs their products to assure her children‘s success, she can leave feeling even more overwhelmed and weighted down.

That’s why I’m giving you some fashion advice.

Wouldn’t it be an awesome thing to think you could wear something that would encourage another mom?

Now, I’m not talking about a shirt that makes you look skinnier, shoes that make you appear taller, or your smile that makes you look happier.

I’m talking about wearing BADGES.
Badges of TRUTH.

Truth encourages, but unfortunately, we often dress to conceal. We wear clothes to cover up blemishes and bulges, and we wear fake smiles to cover up bad attitudes. But not this year! This year we’re going to wear truth badges.

So how do we wear these BADGES? They're kind of like name tags, but, instead of your name, you write a truth about homeschooling.

Even as you read those examples, you smiled, didn’t you? That’s what the truth does. It encourages and brings smiles, but it isn't easy, and it doesn't come naturally.

In fact, we often lie to one another by pretending that truths, like the things on the list above, don't happen or don't happen to us.

We pass one another, smile, and feel miserable thinking we’re the only ones who have had hard days, hard kids, or skipped lessons and subjects.

So plan to join me at the Homeschool Iowa Conference, and make sure you’re dressed for encouragement.

Wear your TRUTH on a name tag or a placard around your neck, or just use your words to tell another homeschooler a little bit of homeschool truth.

We’re all going to smile!