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Wednesday over at The Homeschool Village the 8 week group discussion about the book, The Power of a Positive Mom by Karol Ladd is in it’s third week! Below you can find the reading schedule from Jenn over at Daze of Adventure who is leading the discussion.

** Reading Schedule ** 8 Weeks
Each post will be a “recap” of the chapters — so it would help to read ahead – however we all know life happens. Our heart is that you keep reading the book!

April 6th (Week 1) Jenn will share her thoughts on the introduction and Portrait of a Positive Mom (chapters 1 & 2)
April 13th (Week 2) Jenn will share her thoughts on Principle #1 chapters 3, 4, & 5
April 20th (Week 3) Jenn will share her thoughts on Principle #2 chapters 6, 7, & 8
April 27th (Week 4) Jenn will share her thoughts on Principle #3 chapters 9, 10, & 11
May 4th (Week 5) Jenn will share her thoughts on Principle #4 chapters 12, 13, & 14
May 11th (Week 6) Jenn will share her thoughts on Principle #5 Chapters 15 & 16
May 18th (Week 7) Jenn will share her thoughts on Principle #6 Chapters 17 & 18
May 25th (Week 8) Jenn will share her thoughts on Principle #7 Chapter 19 & 20 & Conclusion

After reading Chapters 6,7 & 8 and checking out both Jenn’s thoughts at Daze of Adventure and the discussion questions from Homeschool Village on Blog Frog, here are my thoughts:

Worry much? Is my first name Heidi? Of course I worry! Since having children I worry that much more!  Suddenly every bump in the night is a sick or scared child.  Every utterance of the word “Mom” in a public place is meant for me and is my child in need. Of course none of this is really true, but it always feels that way. My ears are always listening, and my brain doesn’t want to shut down. Worry and anxiety can take away from the joy and happiness of your life. “Don’t worry about tomorrow; today has enough cares of its own.” – Corrie Ten Boom

3 children and a bunch of years in, homeschooling appears and adds to my list of, “Things to worry about.” Are they learning enough?, More science?, Less math?, Are they missing out on the “public school experience”?, Curriculum, unit studies, unschooling?

This weeks chapters in The Power of a Positive Mom talked about worry and letting go, “casting your cares…” This sentiment in particular reminds me of a song I used to fall asleep to every night as a child. I was the child who needed music to fall asleep and my favorite music was from Psalty the Singing Songbook and his Kids Praise albums. This one comes from 1 Peter 5:7, “Cast all your cares upon him, because he cares for you.”

The point? We could save a lot of time and energy if we could put aside our worrying. As Dr. Charles Mayo states, “Worry affects circulation, the heart and the glands, the whole nervous system, and profoundly affects the heart. I have never known a man who died from overwork, but many who died from doubt.”

As moms we are bound to worry. Ultimately worrying about things that are totally out of our control. Will they fit in at ….? If I leave her, will she cry? Will they swim as well as the other children? What if someone is mean? Will they know how to respond? Will they remember their manners? In the end, we need to do the best job we can as their mother and then leave the worry behind.

How do we leave the worry behind? Besides praying and leaving it to God, Karol makes a suggestion of making a “God Box”. The idea is that anytime you (or anyone in your family) are worried about something, you are to write the care on a card and put it in the box as a reminder that you are casting your cares on God.

Growing up in a team sports atmosphere all my life we used to do not only physical training, but mental training as well. Often times we would come to practice with school stress, boy stress, friend stress, even worry about our performance in an up coming game, and sometimes fights with our teammates. Our coaches used to talk through whatever it was with us, then we would lay out on the ground and think about what it was that was on our minds, we would envision ourselves putting these concerns in a bubble, and then blow them away. It helps to address the worry, do what you can in your power to lessen the worry, and then you have to let it go.

However you choose to handle your worry, you have to do the best that you can do as a mother/wife/friend/sister, and then find a way to “cast all your cares”.