Ladies,

The Lord has called us on a wonderfully challenging journey.  We need to keep our eyes on Him in order to raise and to school these children in a way that brings glory to Him.  We wanted to encourage in your role as a Home Schooling Mom each week so we have started Monday Moments.  You can pop in here to glean a little nugget of encouragement.

This week I am sharing from another site that I found.  If you have something that has blessed you in your home school or if the Lord has put some encouraging words on your heart, please email them to us and we will use them.

Enjoy and have a WONDERFUL Monday!

Blessings,

Julie

Credit Beyond the Grave
By Maribeth Spangenberg

But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them.

II Timothy 3:14

"God bless my mother; all that I am or ever hope to be I owe to her."

A loving tribute that would bless any mother's heart! Amazingly, these words were spoken by a man who only had opportunity to know his mother's love for the first 9 1/2 years of his life. Yet, her influence was so profound, that even in a few short years, she was able to leave a legacy to her child.

The woman's name was Nancy, and it is reported that she was, indeed, a good and loving mother. In spite of her own lack of education, she was very ambitious for her children, and hoped that they would have opportunities in life that she and her husband, Thomas, had missed.

Nancy was skilled in needlework. Being an excellent seamstress she was often hired to sew for wealthy people. Her work ethic, neatness, and cheerfulness made her well known. Her cousin, John, described Nancy as being "loved and revered by all who knew her." She was a deeply religious woman, and after her marriage and move to her new home, she and her husband joined the Little Mount Separate Baptist Church, so named because of its split with another church due to slavery opposition.

This beloved mother, in spite of her lack of education, read to her children from the family Bible, and was heard by her children, reciting Bible verses as she worked.

Nancy's example of faith, her belief in the equality of all men, and her ambition for learning was passed on to her son. She believed that what she taught him was worthwhile, and that whatever he became, he would be good, kind, and honest. Her legacy to her children mattered so much, that her cousin, Dennis, recalled that before she died, she called her two children to her bedside and asked them to be good and kind to their father, to each other, and to the world (The Abraham Lincoln Research Site by R.J. Norton).

When Nancy died, her youngest child was just a small boy, living on the frontier, the son of a farmer and a carpenter. Even at his young age he helped his father struggle to make a living. Wielding an ax at age eight to help clear the woods, and pushing a plow to dig troughs, he was likely to follow in his father's footsteps. But to his mother, all that mattered was that her son was the best he could be.

Little did Nancy know that her nine-year involvement in her little boy's life laid a foundation of learning and character that would prod him on to greatness. He was Abraham Lincoln, and, became perhaps the greatest president that America has ever known.

And he gave all the credit for his success to his mother!

As mothers, we may never know the impact of our influence on our children's lives. Our love, encouragement, and faith have the power to make or break our children. When used for the good of our offspring, our influence can also be a powerful tool that God uses to perform a mighty work in their lives.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I thank you for the blessing of being a mother, and for the opportunity to impact young lives. Help me to leave a legacy for truth. Please strengthen my faith that I may pass it on to my children and leave a spiritual legacy of love for You.

Home School Enrichment