The Durenda Wilson Podcast

Throughout the holiday season, I thought it would be fun to revisit some Christmas-related topics that I’ve recorded in the past.  We have had over 50K downloads in the last 30 days, so I  know there are many new listeners out there, and even if you aren't a new listener and you actually remember these episodes chances are you will STILL be encouraged by hearing them again!  I have current episodes posted over these weeks as well, but I'm really trying to spend time with my family and keep things simple and unhurried through this season. I hope you are too! USE THIS LINK TO LISTEN Here is today’s episode description: Today’s episode is called, Cultivating Your Family’s Holiday Culture Be intentional! It's the battle cry of the many parents out there who want to do a good job raising their kids. We want important things to STAY important things. It's no different at Christmas, but it also happens to get more complicated at Christmas. So many possibilities, so many things we could do. Today we are talking about how to cultivate your family's holiday culture.  It's so important to consider where you are as a family: season of life, budget, uniquenesses of your children, etc. Heather Haupt and I are also discussing why it's important to cultivate a culture in your family, not just at Christmas but throughout the year and we will be walking you through a few guiding principles that will help you prayerfully personalize your family's holiday culture!    PLEASE CHECK OUT THE FOUR HOUR SCHOOL DAY ON AMAZON, YOUR FAVORITE BOOKSELLER OR DURENDAWILSON.COM

Throughout the holiday season, I thought it would be fun to revisit some Christmas-related topics that I’ve recorded in the past.  We have had over 50K downloads in the last 30 days, so I  know there are many new listeners out there, and even if you aren't a new listener and you actually remember these episodes chances are you will STILL be encouraged by hearing them again!  I have current episodes posted over these weeks as well, but I'm really trying to spend time with my family and keep things simple and unhurried through this season. I hope you are too! LISTEN USING THIS LINK:https://www.durendawilson.com/podcast/episode/b5c43a41/unhurried-christmas-grace-when-god-flips-your-plan-podcast-180 Here is today’s episode description. We all enjoy being able to make plans and see them unfold, but what about when God flips the plan? What then? How do we respond? I'm pretty sure that Mary's dream was not to live out a story that seemed impossible to believe and yet, when God revealed His plan to her, her response was one of humble obedience. All of us have experienced and will experience defining moments when God changes the trajectory of our lives. Let's look more closely at Mary's example in order to glean truths that can help us respond when God flips the plan. Mom’s Retreat Mentioned: homeschoolmomsretreat.com Code: DURENDA PLEASE CHECK OUT THE FOUR HOUR SCHOOL DAY ON AMAZON, YOUR FAVORITE BOOKSELLER OR DURENDAWILSON.COM

I wanted to speak directly to the fear that I know I’ve felt as I’ve seen so many directly affected by job loss, potential job loss, forced moves, and facing circumstances that they never expected.    The fear is real, it’s humanly understandable, but there is a remedy for it and it’s simpler (yet harder) than one might think. However, it is life-changing.    As modern people with SO many resources at our disposal, we often overindulge and end up overwhelming ourselves because we take in way more than we can actually meaningfully apply and obey.    Listen in and be encouraged! We really DON’T have to fear bad news.    Song: King of the World Resources shared: Attributes of God by A.W. Pink Proverbs 29:25 Proverbs 3:5-8 Isaiah 40:26-28 (If you haven't checked out my new book, The Four Hour School Day please do that!  As a 25+ year veteran homeschooling mom of 8, I share WHY you can give your kids a robust education in four hours a day or less! FIND IT AT DURENDAWILSON.COM, Amazon, or your favorite bookseller)

In a world that is moving and changing at warp speed, sometimes I feel like I can’t keep up.  How do I navigate something that doesn’t stay the same for what feels like any longer than a nanosecond? How am I supposed to keep a perspective of my place in this world and more importantly, my role as a believer?  I have been praying over this since early 2020. I have often bunny trailed into places I’ve never ventured before thinking that since everything is seeming like such a hot mess, maybe God wants me to do things I’ve never done before like become more of an activist. After all, most of my kids are grown and so I “could” do more of those things.  He has allowed me to go down some of those trails for short time and what I found is that they are more like black holes than trails. God, in His faithfulness, has continually led me back to the words “simple” and “unhurried” time and time again.  As a culture, we are overwhelmed with information, both bad and good. I can spend hours pouring over the latest political or pandemic happenings. I can even more easily spend hours utilizing the endless resources available to study scripture, listen to great teachings and read books on slowing down and simplifying.  But here’s the problem: I am human. I am finite. I am limited in my ability to apply and obey the total sum of all the available resources.  So if I am chasing my tail trying to implement every good idea or principle I read or hear or come across, even those based on scripture….(read the rest of the podcast by going to durendawilson.com) Comforts From the Cross by Elyse Fitzpatrick

I encourage parents to be patient and not to put too much book pressure on their kids too early. We can often gauge what they are ready for by their response to said schoolwork. However, regardless of whether or not they are ready for it, their responses to us need to be respectful.  In fact, before we ever approach solving the schoolwork issue, we must address the respect issue because our homeschooling journey won’t go well if our kids are in a habit of being disrespectful. Listen in for tips on dealing with disrespect in our kids!   (If you haven't checked out my new book, The Four Hour School Day please do that!  As a 25+ year veteran homeschooling mom of 8, I share WHY you can give your kids a robust education in four hours a day or less! FIND IT AT DURENDAWILSON.COM, Amazon, or your favorite bookseller)

I’m super excited to tell you that Schoolhouse Rocked the documentary is now available to stream! You won’t want to miss this super encouraging film on homeschooling that will help solidify your decision to homeschool and might just be the little nudge that so many parents need to jump into their own homeschooling adventure. So many parents are struggling with school boards and their right to decide what’s best for their kids! Homeschooling frees parents from that battle and allows them to decide what’s best for their kids! Homeschooling is more doable than most families realize and can help grow kids that are creative, flexible, problem solvers…ones that are ready to face the future with hope and confidence! Join me as I visit with Yvette Hampton, Producer of Schoolhouse Rocked! To stream Schoolhouse Rocked to your home, go to: https://watch.schoolhouserocked.com To host a group showing: https://faithcontentnetwork.com/host-schoolhouse-rocked Website: https://schoolhouserocked.com (If you haven't checked out my new book, The Four Hour School Day please do that!  As a 25+ year veteran homeschooling mom of 8, I share WHY you can give your kids a robust education in four hours a day or less! FIND IT AT DURENDAWILSON.COM, Amazon, or your favorite bookseller)

After over 26 years of homeschooling our 8 kids (7 graduated), I can tell you that curriculum is important, but not as important as you might think. Today I’m sharing some myths/lies that we tend to believe about curriculum along with some truths that are important to keep in mind so that you can make wise choices for your family. Podcasts mentioned: 8 Great Smarts for Homeschoolers with Dr. Kathy Koch Why Chores are Essential Essentials in Early Education Here are a few curriculum choices our family has enjoyed over the years (not an exhaustive list!): Through 2nd grade-100 Easy Lessons to Teach Your Child to Read, Horizons math, workbooks from Costco/Walmart (I explain why in this video). 3-8th grade-Teaching Textbooks, Horizons, Notgrass American History(7th/8th gr), Math U See, Saxon (only for my math/logic minded kids), Key To Math series (if they are struggling with the basics) Learning Language Arts Through Literature (we handled science and history in an unconventional way that I describe in my books, The Unhurried Homeschooler and The Four Hour School Day) High School: Mystery of History, 101 Series (science), consumer math (If you haven't checked out my new book, The Four Hour School Day please do that!  As a 25+ year veteran homeschooling mom of 8, I share WHY you can give your kids a robust education in four hours a day or less! FIND IT AT DURENDAWILSON.COM, Amazon, or your favorite bookseller)

As promised, I am doing one short devotional a week. We can’t be godly wives and mothers unless we are godly women. That starts by making sure that our souls are being nurtured by God through His word and prayer. Typically these devotionals will be shorter than this one, but what can I say? There was so much to share from Psalm 46 that seemed too good to skip and given the increased spiritual battles that are going on all around us, we need it! Resources used and shared: New Living Translation Illustrated Study Bible Torah of Surrender  Unhurried Grace for a Mom’s Heart ( a devotional I wrote specifically for homeschooling moms!) (If you haven't checked out my new book, The Four Hour School Day please do that!  As a 25+ year veteran homeschooling mom of 8, I share WHY you can give your kids a robust education in four hours a day or less! FIND IT AT DURENDAWILSON.COM, Amazon, or your favorite bookseller)

Have you considered homeschooling your children but are overwhelmed thinking of how to teach them? Or maybe you’re a seasoned homeschooler, but just can’t figure out how to get through to one (or more) of your children. Does your child love to build things but cannot.sit.still? How can you teach based on noticeable unique strengths?  Today, Dr. Kathy Koch and I continue talking about ways to recognize and teach to your child’s unique strengths and help them in their areas of weakness! Ways to connect with Dr.  Kathy: CelebrateKids.com facebook.com/celebratekidsinc instagram.com/celebratekidsinc pinterest.com/celebratekidsinc shop.celebratekids.com/ celebratekids.com/newsletter/   (If you haven't checked out my new book, The Four Hour School Day please do that!  As a 25+ year veteran homeschooling mom of 8, I share WHY you can give your kids a robust education in four hours a day or less! FIND IT AT DURENDAWILSON.COM, Amazon, or your favorite bookseller)

Have you considered homeschooling your children but are overwhelmed thinking of how to teach them? Or maybe you’re a seasoned homeschooler, but just can’t figure out how to get through to one (or more) of your children. Does your child love to build things but cannot.sit.still? How can you teach based on noticeable unique strengths?  Today Dr. Kathy Koch joins me in talking about ways to recognize and teach to your child’s unique strengths and help them in their areas of weakness! Ways to connect with Dr.  Kathy: CelebrateKids.com facebook.com/celebratekidsinc instagram.com/celebratekidsinc pinterest.com/celebratekidsinc shop.celebratekids.com/ celebratekids.com/newsletter/     (If you haven't checked out my new book, The Four Hour School Day please do that!  As a 25+ year veteran homeschooling mom of 8, I share WHY you can give your kids a robust education in four hours a day or less! FIND IT AT DURENDAWILSON.COM, Amazon, or your favorite bookseller)

This podcast is a little different in that I’m sharing my recent experience with burnout and how God has revealed himself to me in the midst of it. My intention is that you would be filled with courage as you continue to be faithful to the good work that God has given you in the life of your family. God is sovereign over the events that are happening in the world. We aren’t responsible for “fixing” everything. Although as believers we speak and live God’s truth, one of the most powerful and long-lasting ways we impact the world is by speaking and living God’s truth in our church community and at home as we raise our children and love our husbands. Simple. Unhurried. This has been where God has brought me back to over and over again. In the midst of difficulty, struggles, trials, temptations, and burnout, He wants to lead us back to unforced rhythms of grace, not simply for our comfort, but also as a testimony to a hurting world that peace can only be found in Him. Your testimony at home matters. (If you haven't checked out my new book, The Four Hour School Day please do that!  As a 25+ year veteran homeschooling mom of 8, I share WHY you can give your kids a robust education in four hours a day or less! FIND IT AT DURENDAWILSON.COM, Amazon, or your favorite bookseller)  

Husbands: How to Support Your Homeschooling Wife We are changing things up in this episode (and the last)!  Jerrad Lopes from dadtired.com is joining us today to specifically encourage husbands!  There is lots of encouragement for wives as well, so why not make it a date to listen together! You won’t be disappointed! Ways to connect with Jerrad: Community: connect.dadtired.com Instagram: @dad.tired All resources: dadtired.com (If you haven't checked out my new book, The Four Hour School Day please do that!  As a 25+ year veteran homeschooling mom of 8, I share WHY you can give your kids a robust education in four hours a day or less! FIND IT AT DURENDAWILSON.COM, Amazon, or your favorite bookseller)

Husbands: Protecting Your Wife from Fear  We are changing things up in this episode (and the next)!  Jerrad Lopes from dadtired.com is joining us today to specifically encourage husbands!  There is lots of encouragement for wives as well, so why not make it a date to listen together! You won’t be disappointed! Ways to connect with Jerrad: Community: connect.dadtired.com Instagram: @dad.tired All resources: dadtired.com (If you haven't checked out my new book, The Four Hour School Day please do that!  As a 25+ year veteran homeschooling mom of 8, I share WHY you can give your kids a robust education in four hours a day or less! FIND IT AT DURENDAWILSON.COM, Amazon, or your favorite bookseller)

I recently received this question from a homeschool mom (Rebecca) and I thought it was so good that I would share it in a podcast!  “I have listened to so many of your podcasts, and I know you believe in a very relaxed approach for the younger years. You encourage a similar approach to high school, but you work with an even stronger emphasis on owning their lives and education.  My question is, do you think all of the traditional high school courses are necessary if they’re not going to college?  If your state doesn’t require specific courses to graduate, then do you think it’s all truly necessary?” Navigating the Post High School Years Homeschooling a Struggling Learner Through High School If you haven't checked out my new book, The Four Hour School Day please do that!  As a 25+ year veteran homeschooling mom of 8, I share WHY you can give your kids a robust education in four hours a day or less! FIND IT AT DURENDAWILSON.COM, Amazon, or your favorite bookseller)

Many parents homeschool their kids because they have one or more struggling learners, but often they feel ill-equipped and inadequate for the job. They know the traditional classroom setting isn’t working, but lack the confidence they would like to have when homeschooling their struggling high school learner. Entering the high school years as a homeschooling parent is the time when many who have average students begin to sweat bullets, but if you’ve got a struggling learner, the thought of meeting all the traditional standard criteria for high school can feel just plain hopeless. Fear not! Today my friend Peggy Ployhar joins me to talk about homeschooling with confidence when homeschooling a struggling learner through high school! Ways to connect with Peggy: Website: https://spedhomeschool.com/ Podcast: https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/spedhomeschool Blog: http://spedhomeschool.com/articles/ YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/spedhomeschool High School Master Class: https://www.empoweredhomeschool.org/high-school-master-class   If you haven't checked out my new book, The Four Hour School Day please do that!  As a 25+ year veteran homeschooling mom of 8, I share WHY you can give your kids a robust education in four hours a day or less! FIND IT AT DURENDAWILSON.COM, Amazon, or your favorite bookseller)