Titus 2

There is a website, Titus 2, that is listed in the sidebar to the right, that you really should check out. On this site, you will meet the Maxwell family. They are a homeschooling family with eight, yes you read that right, eight children. Anyway, their family creed, if you will, is centered around the second chapter of Titus in the Bible. They are firm in their beliefs, a few of which I don't agree with, but the majority of which I do.
What they are most know for is a book they have written called, Manager's of Their Homes. It has to do with scheduling and prioritizing things in your life. Everything is centered around Christ, prayer and allowing God to lead you to what your day needs to look like. It is fabulous!

Terri Maxwell says in the book that as a mother of 8 she had no choice but to learn how to prioritize and schedule, or nothing would be accomplished. However, it is just as applicable to the homeschooling mother of one that I am, as it is to the non-homeschooling family.

This book lays out in a step by step method exactly how to create a God driven schedule for your family. An absolute must for a "free spirited" mom who would much rather be on the go and who is trying to figure out how school fits in somewhere in the day. Through Terri's guidelines, (and a little help from my own mom!) not to mention much prayer, I've learned how to create a schedule that believe it or not, actually frees me and Brett to have more time for fun in the day! In the two weeks we have implemented our schedule, I've gotten more accomplished each day than I ever thought possible. Housework is done, Brett is learning to do chores and be diligent in his work, laundry is up to date, errands are completed and I'm not constantly trying to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing. (Here is where I have to insert an apology to my Mom, who is the queen of organization, that I finally see what you've been telling me for years! Sorry it took so long for this disorganized daughter to see the light!) Seriously though, organization can be your friend!!!

By now you are probably wondering if I'm getting some kind of kick back for my rave reviews...I assure you I am not :) I'm just a regular girl who has finally figured out how liberating a schedule can be. I highly recommend checking out this book if you can.

They offer other books as well, Managers of Their Chores and Managers of Their Schools. I bought (and have read) all of them. I didn't care for the school one as they stress the use of textbooks and that is not the route we are going. It's definitely written for the textbook using family. However, the chores book is great. Their beliefs on some things (more of a mostly work and little play thought process) are a bit over the top for me, but all in all its very helpful.
It covers learning how to set up chores for your children, teaching them to become diligent, having a servant's heart, learning to respect what God has blessed them with and discovering what age certain chores become appropriate. We are using their Chore Pack system and so far it has been great!

Sorry for the long post, but I just had to share these great books with you :)