Things I Wrote in 2014

Earlier in the month I shared with you my top posts from 2014. They were the ones that were the most visited on the site for the year. The ones that resonated the greatest with you, my readers. But there were a few posts that were my favorite things that I wrote in 2014. These are the ones that had the most meaning for me, as a writer, wife, mom and homeschooler.

A Little About Writing for Me

Writing is something that fills my heart with joy. It allows me to pour forth my heart and I find peace when I write. I do tend to write more in times of joy.  If I’m in a bad mood or if I’m feeling angst or sorrow, I may struggle to find words. Yet, when the words do come, peace finds it’s way back into my heart.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I have a pretty eclectic heart. So writing can also come in eclectic form. That’s why here at Great Peace Academy you find posts about homeschooling, homemaking, marriage, family and faith. Because each of these things holds a special place in this eclectic heart of mine.

Today, I want to share with you the posts from 2014 that were my personal favorites. Because, perhaps you missed them and without knowing it they may become your favorites too.

My 5 Favorite Things I Wrote in 2014 at Great Peace Academy

My Imperfectly Messy Homeschool Room

This is one of my favorites because I completely threw caution to the wind and kept it real. Most bloggers, myself included, strive to show the perfect image. We want you to see what homeschooling CAN look like, but we may fail to show what it actually might look like.

No one is perfect! In this post I share the reality of our homeschool room and why it’s OK that it’s not perfectly clean, every day. In fact, it’s imperfectly messy and I’m totally fine with that.

 

 

 

 

 

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 Homeschooling the Gifted Child

This post was the first in a 5 day hopscotch with iHN.  I was really pleased with the final result of the entire series because it was the culmination of several years of research on my part. Research that was intended to help me to better understand my child, his mind and how it works.

I chose to share what I have learned along with some friendly advice from my own perspective. I’m certainly no expert when it comes to gifted education. But, I’m no longer afraid to say my child is gifted. I embrace him for who he is, accept the unique-ness that comes with his abilities and love him for the person that God has created him to be.

In this series you will find these topics; Homeschooling the Gifted Child, The Gifted Need for More, Embracing Gifted Intensity, Gifted Social Instruction,  and Challenging the Gifted Mind.

 

 

 

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5 Advantages of Homeschooling an Only Child

Some people think that homeschooling an only child would be a bad idea. But the reality is there is no greater way to truly customize a child’s education that a 1 to 1 teacher, student ratio. He gets my full attention, and a scope of curriculum tailored specifically for his needs.

But there are other advantages to homeschooling an only child and in this post I share five of them with you.

I love this post. My reality is I never imagined I’d be a mom to just one child. But I’ve come to learn that God’s plans are far more perfect than my own and embracing my role as a homeschool mom to an only, has brought me much joy and I want to share that with you.

 

 

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Marriage Moment, This Kiss

In this Marriage Moment, I discuss the reality that over time a kiss in marriage can become, well, complacent. I’m sure you, like I, never imagined complacency in kisses when you first grew to love your man. But it happens. After realizing this, I made a conscience decision to change the way I kiss my husband and the result has led to a more connected relationship. So I shared 10 tips for making the marriage kiss more meaningful.

Because I love marriage and want to encourage others to develop strong relationships with their spouse, this post is one of my favorites. It gets to the heart of the matter and gently, lovingly reminds you to remember the love and passion you shared in those first years.

 

 

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Changing Roles of Men and Women, A Societal Change

This is one of my favorites because I spoke my heart. Regarding the roles of men and women in family I have firm beliefs, grounded in the teaching of scripture. I find the changes that are taking place in our society to be worrisome.

I don’t often share my thoughts on controversial issues. But when it came to seeing some commercials on television that seemed to be a mockery of men, I got upset.

I believe wives should honor their husbands, not mock them. I believe husbands should be the head of the family and wives should be submissive to him. I believe that God desires for men to be providers and wives to be caretakers and homemakers. In this post, I open my heart and share the reasons why.

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Other written projects that I’ve loved from 2014

Homeschool Mom Confession

I was thrilled to be asked to do a guest post at The Mommy Mess. I shared a confession. Really! I did. See what confession I made.

Once a month you will find me blogging at The Homeschool Post. Here are 3 of my favorites for 2014.

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And of course, how could I not mention, The Big Book of Homeschool Ideas! This was a collaborative book that started out as an eBook, (it’s still available as an eBook), and is now available in both print and Kindle editions.

The reason that I love this book is for several reasons. First because 55 dedicated homeschooling mamas collaborated to bring you an incredible resource of over 100 topics. Secondly, It covers every aspect of homeschooling because we understand that homeschooling is life schooling. It contains topics from homeschool how to, special needs, unique situation homeschooling, planning, STEM and more to maintaining home, marriage and financing in the homeschooling years.

Lastly, I contributed 3 chapters to this book. How to Find Resources for Gifted Child Homeschooling, Maintaining a Strong Marriage through the Homeschooling Years, and Homeschooling During Unemployment. I opened my heart, let the words fall upon the page and in doing so, I hope to encourage all of those who read it.

So I’ve shared my favorite blog posts from 2014, but what are yours? Tell me in comments your favorite blog post hereat the academy from 2014.