Maridel Willer

Did you know that many of the top health problems are caused by the extremely fast pace and unhealthy habits of today’s society?

As a society, we spend too much time working, sitting at a desk or in the car, rushing from place to meet all of our commitments and being passively entertained by various media.  There is often not enough time to eat properly, get enough sleep, exercise and nurture healthy relationships.

The result:  overtaxed bodies that are emotionally and physically unable to sustain us over the long haul.

What can you do to avoid the traps of the modern lifestyle? (more…)

As I worked on my Raising Leaders books last year, I discovered a pretty cool activity you can use with your children to encourage critical thinking.  As I read Ezekiel in my quiet times this week, I was struck by the use of metaphor.

Metaphor is foreign to most of us.  If we think of metaphors, we usually associate them with similes.  Similes compare two things with the word “like” or ‘as’. Metaphors compare two things without the word “like” or “as”.  Metaphor is a much larger idea.  When we read classics, great authors use metaphors throughout their books.

One of the reasons we don’t think in metaphor is it takes hard work.  Making comparisons between two things that appear different requires “thinking”.  Thus, my activity centers around metaphor. (more…)

An article by Kerry Beck

How can teachers use their curriculum to train leaders for the future? How can parents encourage their children to lead when they grow up? The first place to start in raising your students into leadership is to change your own education paradigm.  

 “What in the world do I mean by education paradigm?”   

Most of us grew up in a public or private school, which can be likened to a factory. All the students come to the factory or the school. They start in kindergarten and move on to first grade, down the conveyor belt. At each stage of the conveyor belt (or grade level), the student learns the exact same information as everyone else. The students are told what to think. Even though the school may be using tools like classics, the school’s approach to education only teaches students  “what to think”. (more…)

Have you ever felt that your “to do” list was so long that the thought of adding just one more thing to the list was extremely stressful?   

My last few newsletters have been filled with lists of things “to do” for  experiencing a more peaceful, productive and purposeful life.   

I realize that many times in my life, adding one more “to do” was not very appealing!  Whenever I cry out to God asking for direction on what to “do”, His answer to me is often not what to “do”, but who He wants me to “be” in the situation that I am in.   A key to enjoying life at home is choosing who “to be” and developing  the right attitude toward loving and serving others.  Here is a lisf of some of my favorite  “to be’s”  from God’s Word.

1.  Love your husband and children. 

2.  Be self controlled and pure.  (more…)

Are your children bored this summer?  Are they tempted to waste time with TV and video games?  Here are some ideas to foster the character traits of creativity and productiveness in your children.

We avoid summertime boredom by keeping our same homeschooling routine all year - chores and and a little bit of writing and math in the morning with productive free time all afternoon. 

If  TV and computer games are simply not one of the choices for things for them to do, it is amazing how creative children can be!

It is so hot in the summer in Florida that we actually spend less time outdoors than the rest of the year.  To help my children keep busy during the hottest months (August and September), I have come up with the following creativity “igniters”:

Stocking up on new art and craft supplies such as blank sketchbooks, drawing pencils, paints, glitter glue

Checking out art, craft, science project and other “how to” books from the library for the children to browse through and choose activities. (more…)