Homeschool Coffee Break

You want your kids to see real faith, not a fake smile, when life gets hard. It’s tough to know what to say when the bills pile up or the news feels scary.
This episode shows you how to trust God in difficult times in a way your kids can see and copy. You’ll walk away with simple habits you can start today.
✅Why Scripture says to give thanks in everything
✅2-minute journal trick that turns a hard day into a praise list
✅How one family looked for what was free when money got tight
✅3 ways to hear from God without waiting for a booming voice
✅What to say (and what to skip) when little ones worry about scary news
Click the link below to grab the free Thankful in Hard Seasons Family Faithfulness Journal with conversation cards and scripture copywork.
30 Days of Gratitude Challenge
Grand Prize Giveaway
Free 30 Day One True Thing Tracker with conversation cards and scripture copywork -
Thankful Heart in the Hard Seasons: Even in Homeschooling
A Few Minutes with God (podcast and book) -
Vintage Homeschool Moms podcast
One More Child (book)
Truth Seekers Mystery series
Contact: felice@mediaangels.com
Felice Gerwitz is a veteran homeschool mom, author, and speaker, and the founder of the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network, home to free podcasts for every stage of the homeschool journey.
Show Notes:
Trusting God in Difficult Times: A Conversation With Felice Gerwitz
Being Available to God
Felice: First, let me say that when people say, “God told me this, God told me that,” that’s a bit much. Not that the Lord can’t do that, but God calls us to love and to be humble, not to act like I have a hotline with God. That’s what I wanted my children to understand. I didn’t have a hotline with God. I was available. And how are we available? We’re quiet, and we listen.
I have a really hard time being quiet. I remember a friend sharing that she would sit with her Bible and a journal, wait for the Lord to speak, and then write down a prophetic word. I thought, “Well, how does that work?” So on my birthday, I sat there with my Bible and my journal and said, “Okay, Lord, today is my birthday. I would like a prophetic word.” I can’t believe I did that.
I felt the Lord say, “Be still, and know that I am God.” In other words, “If you would just zip the lip for two seconds, I might be able to get through.” Because what do we do, Kerry, when we’re before the Lord? We petition Him. And as Catholics, we’re really good with our rote prayers, let me tell you.
It can be a thought. It can be something somebody says to you. It can be a Scripture verse that you find when you open your Bible, maybe not exactly as it was intended, but for you. And God does speak to you.
The Nail Salon Story
Felice: I wasn’t planning on telling you this story, but I will. I was praying in church and said, “Okay, Lord, I’m available.” I felt like the Lord said, “You haven’t been giving me time. I have a lot of projects.” I said, “Lord, I’m here now. What do you want?” And I felt Him say, “I wish you would quit supporting those who worship pagans.”
I wondered, who do I know that worships pagans? Do you know what popped into my head? Have you ever been to a nail salon? A lot of them have a little Buddha statue when you walk in.
Kerry: Yes.
Felice: I had this amazing Vietnamese lady I was witnessing to. I would let her tell me about her beliefs. I ended up going to another place, and it was a train wreck. The first day, one nail broke. The next day, two nails broke. As I was leaving after getting one fixed, I looked up, and there were three massive Buddhas, hidden up on a shelf where I hadn’t seen them.
I told my husband I think I’m done getting my nails done for a while. It’s a funny story, but I felt convicted. Sometimes the Lord asks us to do amazing things, and that might not be it. I’m sharing it because God wants to be personal, if you’ll give Him the time and be available.
We wrote books, right? What makes us so special to be able to write? God gave us the idea, and we took it to prayer and said, “Lord, help me if you want this done. Give me the time, the energy, the words.” I don’t look at downloads. When people want a podcast on my network, I ask, “Why do you want a podcast?” If it’s to make money, this is not the place to be. If it’s to share your heart with other people, welcome.
When we’re sitting with the Lord, we’re not saying, “Lord, I want to win the lottery.” We’re asking, “What do you want, Lord? What can I do for you?” He doesn’t need us. We need Him. So giving Him time is the answer, and not necessarily expecting an audible voice. Just expecting a thought, like, “Why did I think about that all of a sudden?”
Kerry: I think you said it at the beginning: we petition, petition, petition. When I grew up, it was “pray and read your Bible,” but as I’ve grown in the Lord, I’ve learned there’s more to a relationship. That’s one-sided. We have to listen, and to listen you have to zip your lips and be quiet.
When I first got here last week, my son was struggling with what to say in his Zoom presentations. The next morning I was reading the verses where Jesus tells His disciples not to worry about what to say, because God will give them the words. I know that’s about evangelism, but it applies in business too. He said, “Oh, thanks, Mom.” We’ve talked about different verses for him to use beforehand.
We do have to pay attention to those thoughts and to the verses we read. Obviously, if it goes against God’s Word, it is not from God. But I love that we listen and pay attention, and that’s not something most of us are very good at.
Felice: Isn’t it? It is.
Gratitude That’s Doable
Kerry: I know you have a 30-day “One True Thing” tracker, with conversation cards and Scripture copy work. How could people weave that into their daily life or homeschool?
Felice: I’ll say this: do not let a tool be your master. If it’s helpful to your family, great. If it’s a burden, don’t do it. I once bought an organizational curriculum at a homeschool conference, and I came home with shell shock. There were cards, and blue was this day, and green was that day. That was just not me. For us, it was routines. We did have a schedule, but it was more on paper.
Here’s an easy takeaway. Each evening, our family would pray briefly, and then we’d go around the room and thank God for something in our lives. When my adult kids come back, we still do it. If my adult son brings his girlfriend, we let her know ahead of time so she’s prepared. It’s just giving God His due. That’s gratitude that’s doable, and the entire family can enjoy it.
You can get the tracker through the link on your website. My assistant put it together. She said, “Don’t you dare give me credit,” because she took it all off my podcast, but she did a great job. I sometimes think I don’t have anything else to say, and then I go looking and find there’s always another angle on being thankful. So far the Lord still has me here, until He says, “Okay, Felice, enough.”
Kerry: We’ll put a link in the show notes or the YouTube description so you can grab this free resource. How can people connect with you?
Connecting With Felice
Felice: We have a Facebook group called the Homeschool Podcast Family, at facebook.com/groups. That’s where all the podcasters on our Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network congregate, so if you have questions for any of us, ask there. For something personal, my email is felice@mediaangels.com. I’m also on Instagram, though not as often, so I try to get over there more.
It’s amazing to me how, in prayer, I’ll say, “Lord, I have so many things going,” and then Gina wants me to start up one of my creation science podcasts again. We’re praying about that. When I first started my podcast, I had eight downloads and said, “Yay! Eight downloads!” Then a lady from church said she’d listened four times, and I said, “Yay! Three and a half downloads!” Then I stopped looking at the numbers.
Later I heard my kids talking about it. On a road trip, they took a picture of their car radio with my podcast up as proof: “Look, Mom, we’re listening! Brownie points!” My son-in-law, when he was dating my daughter, asked her some questions about faith, and she said, “Oh, my mom did a podcast on forgiveness, let me pull that up.”
Kerry: That’s too funny.
Felice: I also got two emails within two weeks of each other. One was from a young ballerina who had overcome an eating disorder, and the other was from a mom who had lost a child. Both found solace in that podcast. They messaged me on Instagram, which I didn’t see right away, so now I check more often.
That’s how the Lord speaks: indirectly. He used you for your son. He led you to that Scripture so you could be His messenger. It’s not always cut and dry or an audible sound, although I did hear the Lord once, and that’s a story for another time. I wrote a book called One More Child, the story of how I came from point A to point B, my testimony. I didn’t want to write it, and it took me five years, because it’s difficult to say, “Here, world, this is what I did wrong.” I use it for ministry.
Kerry: Very good.
Don’t Let the Enemy Lie to You
Felice: One thing I wanted to say to parents: don’t let the enemy lie to you. Sometimes we stay in “Why me? Why does all this happen to me and not to other people?” We don’t know what others are going through. We’ve had tragedies in our home. My father died. Dear friends have died. You continue on, and we don’t always understand or have the words.
My co-author on the Creation Science series died in 2007, and I’m revising her books right now. It’s heartache, and I miss her so much. She was an evangelical Christian and I’m a hardcore Catholic, and we had so many great conversations. “Why does the Catholic Church teach that?” “We don’t teach that.” “Oh, you don’t?” We embraced each other and loved each other.
The enemy will keep you down if you focus on the hard things. That’s why community is so important, and podcasts like yours, Kerry, where people can come and be filled up. That’s what we need.
Kerry: I love that. I forgot to say, this is coming out during our 30 Days of Thanks Gratitude Challenge, and Felice is one of our contributors. We’ll have a link to the blog post she wrote for it. Thank you so much for being here and taking time out of your day.
Felice: I appreciate it. I’ll have you on my show in the new year.
Kerry: That sounds good.
Felice: Thank you, Kerry. Take care, God bless.
Grab Felice’s free 30-day “One True Thing” tracker, linked in the show notes or YouTube description. You can connect with her in the Homeschool Podcast Family Facebook group, on Instagram, or at felice@mediaangels.com. And join our free 30 Days of Thanks Gratitude Challenge.

Your kids know there was a big feast and some Pilgrims, but do they know the true stories that show God’s faithfulness in hard times? Thanksgiving doesn’t have to be one day of thanks around the table.
This episode hands you real stories for kids, plus simple ways to share them so gratitude becomes an everyday habit in your home:
✅Why a homesick girl’s story is perfect for teaching kids what “wait” really means
✅How a boy who lost his father learned to trust God and later led a nation
✅5-word prayer men prayed in a deadly storm at sea
✅3 ways to match gratitude to how your child learns best
✅Why sharing your own testimony helps your kids stand strong when life gets hard
Click the link below to visit Pilgrim Institute and grab the Thanksgiving resources and the poem mentioned in this episode.
Resources for You
30 Days of Gratitude Challenge
Grand Prize Giveaway
Thanksgiving Resources
The Pilgrim leader’s poem
The Christian History of the Constitution (includes a selection from the Pilgrims’ own history)
Jeanette Whittaker is a homeschool mom who knows what it’s like to wonder, “Can I really do this?” She and her husband homeschooled their children from K through high school. Since 2002 she has encouraged other parents on their own homeschool journeys, teaching classes and serving in co-op leadership.
Jeanette grew up with a heart for learning. Her own mom was her teacher. She now helps students explore, think, search Scripture, write, and remember; seeing every subject as an extension of our amazing God. Students come to appreciate American character and liberty, as she helps make history come alive.
She is a contributing author to The Mighty Works of God Providential history series for children and will gladly encourage you to love His Story. Follow her on YouTube and join her Facebook Community.
Show Notes:
Gratitude From a Biblical Perspective: A Conversation With Janette Whitaker of Pilgrim Institute
Meet Janette
Kerry: Well, hello everyone. This is Kerry Beck with Homeschool Coffee Break, where we help you stop the overwhelm so you can take a coffee break. I just made myself a cup of coffee because I’m not the one doing all the talking today.
I get to interview my friend Janette Whitaker of Pilgrim Institute. Y’all are in for a treat. Welcome, Janette. Thanks so much for being here.
Janette: Thank you, Kerry. I am delighted to be here.
Kerry: We’re going to be talking about gratitude. We’re in the midst of our 30-day gratitude challenge, and Pilgrim Institute is one of our sponsors. She’s the one making this challenge free, along with some of our other sponsors. Before we dive in, Janette, can you tell people a little bit about yourself?
Janette: I’m just excited to be here. As a homeschool mom, know that I am cheering you on. My love for homeschooling got started way before I was married. As a young adult, I got to go to events where homeschool families were coming to buy curriculum. I would watch these beautiful families, and it warmed my heart.
When God gave me a husband and two beautiful children, we were excited to homeschool. Then I discovered that it’s really not as pretty all the time as it looked at those conventions, when families walked through all dressed in matching outfits.
Through Pilgrim Institute, I had the wonderful opportunity to teach homeschool students who would come on occasion to learn history and literature. Over time, God has written opportunities, and I’m just blessed to be part of your homeschool experience.
Making Gratitude an Everyday Habit
Kerry: I feel like Janette is so biblically founded, and you’ll see that when you look at her resources. Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and sometimes we go around the table and say thank you. How can we help moms and dads move from a one-day celebration to an everyday biblical perspective of God’s provision?
Janette: I think you’re encouraging us beautifully, Kerry. If I want to practice gratitude with my family for a whole month, not just a day, it has to be a perspective. And it has to start in my heart first, before it ever gets to my family. So think about what encourages you.
I love words of encouragement and affirmation. Do you make playlists of music or scripture to have playing in your home, maybe while you’re washing dishes? These days you could even tell AI to find scripture passages about being thankful, put them in a spreadsheet, and read one every morning.
Then think about what encourages your children. I love listening and reading, but what about your child who loves to be engaged and active? Sing songs. Make it a competition. Hand out cards so they can draw pictures of something they’re thankful for. Maybe at lunchtime you say, “Go. One word you’re grateful for.”
Growing up, I had godly teachers who poured God’s Word into me. They poured in their love for American history, liberty, and literature. I still recall a song about the pilgrims that I learned in kindergarten. You might not realize what kind of nugget you’re planting in the heart of your child. Those nuggets stay for the rest of their lives, and that’s how God brings fruit from the work you’re investing every day.
Kerry: That is awesome. When you said to make it a competition, I immediately thought of boys. If it was a competition, my son was going to win. You can still work on their heart, though, so it’s not just surface level. I like that. Make it a game.
Trusting God When the Answer Is No
Kerry: Janette also has a blog post in our series, which I think comes out later this week. In it, you talk about King David and how he stays humble and worships even when he gets the answer no. That’s hard for our kids, and for moms too.
David wanted to build the temple, and God said, “No, your son’s going to do that. You’re a man of war.” How can we teach our kids to trust God even when the answer is no?
Janette: It’s hard sometimes. I’m watching a dear, lifelong friend walk through a really hard season, trusting God in a situation no one would love. She is grounding herself in Scripture. God will bring things to your mind and heart right when you need them.
I love stories, and they stick with me. In the full version of Heidi by Johanna Spyri, Heidi is an orphan living on the mountain with her grandfather, and she loves it. Her aunt sends her to Frankfurt, Germany, to be a companion for an invalid girl, and Heidi is dreadfully homesick the whole time.
God, in the story, sends Clara’s grandmother, who notices how sad Heidi is and asks, “Have you prayed about it?” What a good question. Heidi says, “I don’t know how to pray.” The grandmother teaches her, and Heidi is encouraged for a while.
Then the sadness comes back. The grandmother asks, “Are you still praying about it?” Heidi says, “No. I waited all this time and God didn’t answer my prayer, so I stopped.” The grandmother says, “Whenever that happens, God is saying, ‘Wait, I have something better planned.’”
That is exactly what unfolded. If Heidi had gone home when she wanted to, she would not have learned to read. She couldn’t have read her grandfather the account of the prodigal son returning home and saying, “I’ve sinned against you.”
She wouldn’t have known that her grandfather would come up the little steps that night and pray right there in the moonlight, “Father, I have sinned against you.” And he would take her to church for the very first time the following Sunday.
I know that story is fiction, but haven’t you seen God do a transformation in someone’s life? He might be taking you through a difficult season to show you, “I’m here. I’m with you. You can trust me.”
Even if it isn’t the outcome we want, His presence walking with us every minute is what we’re striving to experience ourselves and convey to our children. Thanksgiving is a wonderful way to be grateful for God working in our lives.
Kerry: So good. That story has Christian things in it, like prayer and going to church. But even in other stories you read with your kids, pay attention to what’s really going on and what character-building lessons you can offer.
You also made me think about sharing our testimony. When we share these stories, we defeat the enemy. Revelation says we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. So keep sharing stories. Even if you haven’t reached the end of a hard time, you can still find little things to thank God for.
George Washington and Thanksgiving in Hard Times
Kerry: Let’s go back to the founding of our country, because I know you’re all about history. I think of George Washington and the harsh winter, with soldiers who didn’t have boots and blood on the snow. Yet he observed a national day of thanksgiving even in the midst of that. Why do you think he did that, and how can giving thanks help our kids endure hard times?
Janette: A while ago a wise friend told me that a time will come when God tests her young adult daughter, and it will be hard. So what will she cling to in that season? Think about the times George Washington had to trust God from a young age.
He lost his father before he was through his teenage years. That was a hard time, and God put an older brother and a family friend in his life. Then he discovered his father’s surveying tools on the property. If you were a boy who had lost your father, wouldn’t you be attached to those?
So he taught himself surveying. He borrowed a book from the family friend, one that is still in the library at Mount Vernon today. That experience took him into the wilderness, surveying the very area he would be called to defend in the French and Indian War.
God had led him, and he experienced God’s protection over that time. So he could say to men enduring terrible conditions, “Let’s meet for prayer, because God is our only hope.”
Kerry: So true. God prepared him for that. I didn’t know he surveyed those areas. What a better general, to know the land and where the enemy could fall or come around from behind.
You also said something about clinging, and it made me think of David. When I’ve walked through hard times, the Psalms have brought me so much peace. When I couldn’t read anything else, couldn’t pray, and could barely get out of bed, the Psalms soothed my soul. I would think Washington knew them. David wrote them while walking through difficult times and still trusting God.
God’s Hand in History and William Bradford
Kerry: I personally believe our country was founded on God’s Word, to be a light on the hill. With Pilgrim Institute, you’re working to restore the Christian version of history. How can seeing God’s hand in history lead our kids to a deeper heart of thanksgiving?
Janette: It is such a testimony. When we look back and read what leaders said in their times of crisis, turning to God and saying, “Only God can sustain us,” it changes everything. I call that a providential perspective. Ephesians 1 says He is accomplishing His purpose according to His timing. Psalm 78 says we set our hope in God by recounting His mighty works.
Our nation was founded out of hardship. Some settlers, bless their hearts, came for the adventure. I would never have crossed an ocean and lived in a wilderness for adventure, but they did. Others, like the pilgrims, William Penn, the Quakers, and the Puritans, were seeking sanctuary, a place to live according to their conscience.
Bradford gives us a firsthand account of the separatists coming to Plymouth. It is amazing that the governor of the colony, living in a wilderness, took the time to write the colony’s account by hand with a quill pen for decades. As you read it, you see they were imprisoned and persecuted for religious nonconformity.
Think about this, too. The very king who ordered the King James Bible, one of the highest standards of literary expression in our language, was persecuting these people. He said, “I will force them to conform, or I will harry them out of the land.”
In one instance, the families gathered at a secret meeting place on the shore. The men boarded the ship first, and then soldiers showed up, so the captain set sail. Just imagine being the women on shore and the men on the ship.
At sea they hit a dreadful storm, so intense the sailors thought they were going down. Bradford says the separatist men were praying aloud while water ran into their mouths: “Yet Lord, thou canst save over and over again.” God calmed that storm and eventually brought them together. Bradford wrote, “The Lord filled their afflicted minds with such comforts as everyone cannot understand.”
God will fill our minds with His Word, His faithfulness, His character, and His promises. Bradford’s account reflects their complete trust in God over and over.
At the end of his life, Bradford wrote a poem that we share on our website. It begins, “From my years young in days of youth, God did make known to me His truth.” That’s amazing, because he was an orphan and the only one in his family to convert to the separatist faith.
He goes on, “In wilderness He did me guide, and in strange lands for me provide.” Then he’s kind of saying goodbye, because he knows the end is near: “Farewell dear children whom I love, your better father is above. Fear Him in truth, walk in His ways, and He will bless you all your days.” What a rich, beautiful testimony of trusting God over a lifetime through difficult circumstances.
Kerry: I love it. Is that poem on your website?
Janette: Yes.
Kerry: We’ll put a link in the show notes. Do you have resources about Bradford, or his journal, where people can read the stories?
Janette: There’s a selection of Bradford’s history in the big, beautiful book called The Christian History of the Constitution. On pilgriminstitute.org, there’s a Resources section at the top. Under Learning Resources, we list some Thanksgiving resources and link to it.
Kerry: I’ll get the direct link, so look in the show notes or the YouTube description. The testimony of the pilgrims getting through those first terrible winters surely encouraged Washington to keep going, too.
Janette’s Closing Encouragement
Kerry: If people want to reach you, where can they go?
Janette: Pilgrim Institute is a great place, and my email is jw@pilgriminstitute.org. I would love to hear from you. Share your questions. What would encourage you? What would help you? I’d love to continue the conversation.
Kerry: History is so fascinating. I hope you’ll share some of these stories with your kids over the next few weeks. Do your kids know more than “pilgrims and Indians and a feast of peace”? Do they know William Bradford was a strong man of God? Share the stories you just heard.
Before we leave, is there anything you’d like to share to encourage our viewers?
Janette: What you do today matters. You’re running a load of laundry, getting a meal on the table, and in between teaching your child to read or teaching chemistry. You are sharing the truth and pointing your family toward God. He created these subjects, and they show His character.
Scripture is God’s gift to prepare us. It is profitable for instruction in righteousness, so that we are equipped for the good work God has called us to. Paul wrote that to Timothy, who was influenced by a mother and grandmother who poured God’s truth into his life. God will accomplish the purpose He has called you to, and He will accomplish it for your children as well.
Kerry: That’s awesome. Thank you, and He is faithful, that’s for sure. Janette, thanks so much for carving time out of your schedule to encourage our listeners.
Janette: Thank you, Kerry.
Visit Janette at pilgriminstitute.org, where you’ll find the Thanksgiving resources under Resources and Learning Resources, including Bradford’s poem. You can also email her at jw@pilgriminstitute.org.
All the resources mentioned are linked in the show notes or the YouTube description. And don’t forget to join our free 30-day gratitude challenge.

You used to feel it as a kid — that breathless, magical wonder of Christmas. Now you're the one managing all the logistics, and the wonder has gone missing. These family advent ideas will help you get it back, without adding more to your plate.
In this episode, you'll get 5 simple, heart-centered family advent ideas that tie right into your homeschool — no late-night Pinterest scrolling required. It's time to trade the chaos for awe.
✅5-minute candlelight read-aloud that can transform your home atmosphere tonight
✅How to study the Star of Bethlehem and spark real curiosity in your kids
✅Christmas Around the World unit study you can do right at your kitchen table
✅How a classic Christmas book covers copywork, writing, and character — all at once
✅A surprisingly fun math activity your kids will actually ask to do again
Grab the done-for-you Christmas Celebrations Bundle — everything you need is already planned. Click the link below to get it.
Resources for You
Christmas Celebrations Bundle
Show Notes:
Bringing Back the Awe and Wonder of Christmas
I want you to think back to when you were four, five, or six years old. It’s a cold December evening. You’re sitting by the glowing light of the Christmas tree, mesmerized by all the twinkly lights and the ornaments. That deep, breathless sense of magic. Sometimes just looking at a Christmas tree with the lights off can make it so magical, and we anticipate the day of Christmas. We’re not overwhelmed, because we’re a kid.
Fast forward to today. You’re a homeschooling mom. When was the last time you had a genuine spark of childlike wonder during the Christmas season, rather than just being the manager of all the holiday logistics and craziness? What if your entire family could step off that stress treadmill and return to awe, wonder, peace, and joy? What would your family’s life be like?
Today we’re talking about bringing back the awe and the wonder to Christmas.
Why We Lose the Wonder
As adults, sometimes we’ve lost it. When you’re around a kindergartener or an elementary-age child, everything is exciting to them. My little five-year-old grandson is a perfect example. And yet we feel the pressure of life. We feel the pressure of the schedule that we made up.
The biggest way to keep Christ in Christmas is changing our focus. We need to move away from complex prep work and toward heart-centered, done-for-you family rhythms. That’s what we did with our kids growing up. We got off the treadmill.
You don’t need to spend late nights scrolling Pinterest and gathering dozens of craft supplies to build spiritual memories. One thing we did was have an Advent wreath. We would light a different candle each week and talk about what it means. Those are simple things that don’t take much time or effort. I still have the same Advent wreath I’ve had since the kids were little.
A Christmas Story From 1914
When I heard this story the first time, I was amazed. It was 1914 along the Western Front of World War I. Thousands of British and German soldiers were trapped in muddy trenches. It was terrifying, overwhelming, and dark, dark, dark.
And yet the German soldiers began placing small lit Christmas trees along the edges of their trenches and started singing Silent Night. You know how the British responded? They started singing carols back. In the no man’s land between the two trenches on that Christmas Eve, they exchanged small gifts. They shared stories with one another. They celebrated the birth of Christ together in complete peace.
I can’t even imagine that happening today. What a powerful real-life story from modern history of the truth of Jesus and how it can transform us. They were in the midst of war, but they found peace for that evening. We can go from chaos to total peace and awestruck wonder at Jesus’ birth.
A Five-Minute Candlelight Habit
Here’s a very simple thing you can do. Turn off all the overhead lights in the living room and light one candle, or just have the Christmas tree lights on. Get the kids on the floor for just five minutes and pick out a passage of the Bible to read. Maybe it’s a prophecy about Jesus. Maybe it’s the birth of Jesus in Luke 2, or the wise men in Matthew 2.
Read it out loud. Don’t add a lecture. Don’t add a complicated craft project. Just let the quiet atmosphere sink in on everyone and let there be awe about what you’re reading.
This five-minute habit can completely transform the atmosphere of your home during the Christmas season. You can go from chaotic to reverent.
Simplify by Tying Advent Into Your School Subjects
In our homeschool, we took a break from our traditional schedule from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day. That simplified my life, because I could tie Advent into the school subjects we would normally do. Here are some things we did.
We looked at the astronomy of the Star of Bethlehem. We looked at the Scripture, the biblical history and context, and even did some scientific studies. What was that actual object in the sky? That can spark curiosity in your kids, and intellectual curiosity in your older kids as well.
We did a Christmas around the world study. When I was teaching fifth grade, we studied a different country every day for a week. You can do that at the kitchen table. We could learn how to say a few words in those languages, sing some of their songs, and see what their traditions were. I strongly recommend a Christian worldview, but it’s good to see other worldviews around the world too.
We anchored our daily rhythms in Advent. Copy work could be a Christmas carol. For a read aloud, you could read Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, not A Tale of Two Cities. Read it over two or three weeks and you can build character: perseverance, good and bad attitudes, humility. You can use it for copy work and have them write about it. When a child is complaining about not getting a toy or a gift they want, you keep that routine standard and work on character.
Back when I taught fifth grade, before the internet, we used catalogs like the Sears catalog. The kids picked out a gift for each person in their family, kept a checkbook, and stayed within a budget. It was all math, and we worked on it for about a week. You could do the same thing today. Teach them how to use a debit card and how to balance a bank statement to make sure they haven’t overspent. You can even have them look at store apps to find just the right gift.
We also had our kids help write the Christmas letter, and they wrote thank-you notes as well. We were doing Christmas and Advent activities and still doing school, and it simplified everything.
To help you with this, I created my Christmas Celebrations bundle. It starts with the Star of Bethlehem Bible study. There are ideas for your homeschool for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany, the 12 days after Christmas leading to the Feast of Epiphany on January 6. You’ll find a whole Christmas around the world unit study, family traditions, copy work, hymns, and more.
You can see what it’s all about at howtohomeschoolmychild.com/christ-main. It’s all done for you, so you can spend more time building relationships with your kids and less time stressing out and feeling overwhelmed.

You’ve told your kids to be thankful a hundred times. It doesn’t work. Lecturing never changed a heart. Building daily gratitude as a habit actually can change hearts. Plus, it doesn’t require a journal or an extra hour in your day.
This episode gives you 3 practical ways to replace complaining with a genuine spirit of thankfulness in your home, starting with something you already do every single day:
✅Why lecturing kids about gratitude never works and what to do instead
✅15-second gratitude habit to tie to something you already do every day
✅“Flip the Complaint Game” that stops negative attitudes without a single lecture
✅How 30 days of intentional gratitude literally rewires the brain toward blessing
✅Why gratitude is a spiritual muscle — not a seasonal Thanksgiving tradition
Click the link below to grab the free 30 Days of Gratitude Challenge and start building this habit today.
Resources for You
Free 30 Days of Gratitude Challenge (printouts, calendars, and daily encouragement):
30 days of November blog posts on gratitude at howtohomeschoolmychild.com - Delivered to your inbox here.
Show Notes:
What If the Default in Your Home Was Thankfulness Instead of Complaining?
It’s a rainy Thursday afternoon in November. Your eight-year-old is slumped over their writing assignment, whining about how hard life is. Your preschooler is screaming because their toast was cut into triangles instead of squares. And your knee-jerk reaction is — stop complaining, be thankful for what you have.
Let’s be honest. When was the last time telling a frustrated child to be thankful ever actually changed their heart? Because that’s what we want — not just words. We want a genuinely thankful, grateful heart within our family.
What if instead of trying to force gratitude through scolding, we could build a daily gratitude habit where the default was to be thankful instead of complaining?
Gratitude Is More Than a Holiday Tradition
Daily gratitude is not just a polite social skill or a seasonal Thanksgiving trick we pull out in November. It’s in Scripture. God tells us to give thanks over and over. It’s a spiritual muscle. It’s a foundational habit that can change the entire atmosphere of your home — your kids’ thinking and your own.
Scientific studies show that people who are purposeful and intentional about being grateful actually change the way they think and what’s going on around them. When we teach our kids to practice daily gratitude, we point them back to God’s goodness. But we can’t expect that of our kids if all they see from us is stress, hurrying, and a to-do list.
What Squanto’s Life Teaches Us About Gratitude
Let’s go back to the first Thanksgiving in the United States in the 1600s. Squanto had unimaginable hardships. He was kidnapped, enslaved in Spain, separated from his family for years. He returned to New England in 1619 and discovered that his entire native tribe had been wiped out.
Instead of letting bitterness and hatred consume his remaining years, he chose generosity. When the pilgrims landed in 1620, he taught the starving settlers how to plant corn, use fish fertilizer, tap maple trees, and navigate the wilderness. And then they had their first Thanksgiving feast — two vastly different groups coming together to thank God.
His life proves that true gratitude is never dependent on having a smooth, tragedy-free path. It’s an intentional choice. It’s intentional thoughts.
A Practical Way to Build Daily Gratitude Into Your Routine
How do you make gratitude a daily habit when by the time you crash into bed, you can’t even think straight?
Here’s what I suggest — 15 seconds, tied to something you already do. Every time you turn on the kitchen faucet, start the washer, or wash your hands, just say thank you to God for one thing. Take a breath. Thank you, Lord, for the hot coffee. Thank you, Lord, that you’re faithful.
When you tie daily gratitude to something you’re already doing every day, it stops being an extra thing and becomes part of the rhythm of your life. When I started doing this, I began noticing more and more things to be grateful for — even without writing anything down. I started looking for the positive instead of the negative.
Matthew Henry’s Four Reasons to Be Grateful After Being Robbed
Matthew Henry was a famous Bible commentator in 17th century England. He was mugged by a highwayman who took his wallet and all his money. When he got home, instead of wallowing in self-pity, he wrote four things in his journal.
First, I am profoundly grateful because I was never robbed before. Second, because although they took my purse, they did not take my life. Third, because although they took my all, it was not much. Fourth, because it was I who was robbed and not I who robbed.
Even in a frustrating, negative situation, his heart was rooted in God. You can always find a creative, biblical way to praise Him. And we can help our kids learn to do the same thing.
The Flip the Complaint Game
When a child complains, instead of lecturing them, try something different. Say — we’re going to play the flip the complaint game. Acknowledge what they’re feeling, and then flip it.
Picking up toys is annoying — but I’m glad I have toys to play with. Math is frustrating right now — but I’m thankful my brain is growing stronger as I try.
Over time, this fun game stops the negative attitude in its tracks. It actually rewires the way your kids’ brains think. If you do it consistently for 30 days, you are literally retraining the brain to look for blessings from God instead of focusing on challenges. That is real transformation — and it starts at home, around your kitchen table.
If you want to replace complaining with peace and daily gratitude and build a lasting habit of thankfulness in your family, join us for our 30 Days of Thanks Gratitude Challenge. It’s free. You’ll get printouts for kids at different ages, calendars, and daily encouragements. We’ll also have 30 days of blog posts in November with ideas from moms and homeschoolers on how to celebrate and train your family in gratitude.
Visit here or find the link in the show notes.
If this helped you or you know a friend whose home is full of complaining and frustration, would you share this with them? I’d love to meet them on the other side.

It's December 23rd. The kitchen's a mess, your feet are aching, and instead of feeling the peace the season promises, you're sitting on the floor in tears. Holiday stress has a way of hijacking the very joy you're trying to create. It doesn't have to be this way.
This episode gives you 3 practical shifts to protect your family's time this Christmas, so you actually experience the peace and joy the season is meant to hold:
✅Why a packed holiday calendar steals your ability to be present & intentional
✅The stop-doing list that creates immediate breathing room without losing any joy
✅How to identify 3 non-essential traditions that are draining you right now
✅Why simplifying Christmas creates the memories that last a lifetime
✅How to shift from holiday stress to spiritual awe & family connection this season
Click the link below to sign up for the free class on keeping Christ in Christmas before it fills up.
Resources for You
FREE class: 3 Clues to Keep Christ in Christmas
Show Up Early Bonus: Christmas Acts of Kindness
Show Notes:
How Did a Season Celebrating the Prince of Peace Become the Most Stressful Month of the Year?
Picture this. It’s 11:30 at night on December 23rd. Your kitchen counters are covered with half-baked cookies. There’s sticky flour, unwashed mixing bowls, mountains of unrolled wrapping paper. Your feet are aching and your head is pounding. And instead of feeling the peace of the Christmas season, you’re sitting on the kitchen floor in tears.
I don’t know that I was ever literally on the kitchen floor, but I have been there. Felt that. And if you’re looking at your decorated tree with dread instead of joy, thinking about tomorrow’s endless to-do list on Christmas Eve — you are not alone.
You’re probably listening to this in October. I know that feels early. But if you haven’t made some decisions now about what December is going to look like, it will come upon you suddenly and you will be on that floor.
The Trap Every Christian Mom Falls Into
Every Christian mom — every homeschool mom — falls into this trap. Trying to do all the things to make Christmas perfect. When my kids were young, I wanted them to miss nothing. I would stack the schedule with endless to-dos on top of baking and shopping and wrapping and church pageants and family gatherings. I wanted to create the perfect memory. I remember reading Southern Living about having a Christmas decorating evening where everything looks lovely. We never got there. Not once.
The sheer volume of tasks takes away your ability to be present in the moment. When your schedule is crammed full, there is literally no physical or mental room for stillness, quiet reflection, or the actual joy of Christmas.
What Ma Wilder Did in December 1888
Let me take you back to December 1888. The American prairie — blizzards, isolation, deep financial strain, an agricultural depression. You can read about this in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books. She tells the story of how her mother Caroline — Ma — handled all those hardships.
Ma did not have access to big stores, extravagant decorations, or endless activities. She focused entirely on warmth, simple presents, and deep gratitude for small things. Maybe a single orange. A tin cup. Homemade candy made out of snow. Expectations stripped away all the commercial clutter. And Laura remembered those Christmases. She said it gave her a profound awe and joy for the rest of her life.
That’s what simple and intentional did for Laura. And it’s what it can do for your kids too.
What We Changed in Our Family
I still remember crying in the car on Christmas day feeling overwhelmed. It was at that point that Steve and I decided things needed to change. We agreed we would only do two outside activities as a family during the Christmas season. The rest of the time we would be at home — building a fire, reading a book, spending time with just our family in quiet reflection and awe of Jesus’ birth.
That shift changed everything.
Make a Stop-Doing List
Here’s what I want you to do right now. Grab an index card or a sticky note — something you can put somewhere you’ll see it before you start your holiday planning. Write down three non-essential holiday events or traditions that currently drain your energy or create friction in your home.
Maybe it’s elaborate neighbor gifts. Maybe it’s the daily elf on the shelf antics. Complicated craft projects. Being in the Christmas pageant when it means 15 practices that take time away from your family.
Write them down. And then cross them off your calendar and your to-do list with zero guilt.
When you remove those three things, you create immediate breathing room in your family, in your home, and in your schedule — without sacrificing a single drop of Christmas joy or peace.
What happens when you let the calendar run your family? You’re not centering your days on Jesus. And your kids are absorbing your stress instead of your peace. I know that happened to me. Why was I crying in the car on Christmas day driving to my parents’ house? Because I had done way too much.
We don’t need more activities to make Christmas meaningful. We need purpose and intentional shifts to protect your family’s time together. We need our kids to grow up experiencing the peace and joy of Christmas.
I’m offering a free class at the end of October called Three Clues to Keep Christ in Christmas. You can sign up here. I’m going to share the exact shifts we made to go from holiday stress to seasons of deep faith and rest. If you show up five or ten minutes early, there’s a special bonus waiting for you — our Christmas bingo printout to help you stay focused on intentional things.
If this helped you, share it with a friend who is already dreading December. And a five-star review or a comment wherever you’re listening would mean the world to me.