March 26, 2012

My Revamped Household Binder System {Welcome Home Link Up}

household notebooks

Back in 2010, I decided the Household Binder system I had been using was too huge and overwhelming to really be helpful. I separated everything out into smaller binders and found them to be much more manageable.

However, they were lacking 2 things:

Beauty
Cohesiveness

I’m a visual person who craves efficiency, so these two faults made for a system that didn’t meet my needs, and when a system or method doesn’t meet your needs, you end up not using it as you had intended.

A couple of weeks ago, I sat down with my binders and a pen and paper and brainstormed how I could transform these much-needed binders into something that would work better for me.

Here is what I ended up with…

1 binder for Home Blessing and Maintenance
1 binder for Food and Special Events
1 binder for School
1 binder for Bible Study
1 binder for Blogging

Let me break these down a bit for you, so you can see my reasoning and perhaps find direction for your own household binder system.

Home Blessing and Maintenance Binder

This binder is pink and contains all our cleaning schedules (including our One Day Home Blessing). It also includes any warranties and maintenance related items. I do not get this binder down very often because our most used cleaning schedules are on the refrigerator door.

Food and Special Events

This binder is green and contains the heart and soul of our kitchen. My master grocery and meal lists are, my coupons, my recipes I want to try, my eCookbooks that have been printed out all reside here. This binder also contains any plans I need to make for special events in our household because as we all know, special events often involve food! This binder gets a lot of love and a lot grime and splatters!

School

This binder is white and contains our weekly lesson plans, any interesting articles I’ve gathered, and a lot of scratch paper for me to pour my thoughts onto.

Bible Study

This notebook is black and contains a lot of scratch paper, my schedule for reading through the Bible in a year, and any eDevotionals I’ve printed out.

Blogging

This notebook is purple and contains anything internet and blog related. I have 2 separate folders within this notebook for each of my blogs: Raising Arrows and Homeschool Blogging. It contains numerous lists for projects, posts I plan to write, income/expense sheets, ads/giveaways, and other notes of interest (like the fact that this is the last week you can take advantage of the 10% off coupon code – ramarch – for DrinkBands). When I attend conferences where I will also be working as a promotional blogger, I take this binder along for notes as well, because honestly homeschool conventions inspire much of what I write.

In addition to having different colored binders for each notebook, I also added spine labels and front covers that were pretty. That was one big gripe I had with my old binders. They were thrown together hastily and were downright ugly. These binders makes me happy.

It’s the simple things in life, really.

So, I want to know…

Do you have a binder system?
Do you have a homemaking post that might be of interest to Raising Arrows readers?

Time to link up!

March 6, 2012

The Big Announcement – HomeschoolBlogging.com is Here!

In today’s online market, homeschool companies need homeschool bloggers. You don’t typically find homeschool products in brick and mortar stores, so the online presence of a company is so very important.

However, as I have worked with various companies here on Raising Arrows, I realized there is often a disconnect between bloggers and the companies they love. Companies and bloggers didn’t seem to realize the benefits of working together, nor did they even know how to begin to work together in a meaningful way.

I also wanted to bring homeschool bloggers together in a way that would allow us to share ideas and posts and help to drive traffic to each other’s sites. So, I started a Twitter hashtag (#hsbloggers).

However, in the back of my mind, I had a bigger idea.

I wanted to put together a site specifically meant to encourage and connect homeschool companies and homeschool bloggers. Today, it has finally come to fruition!

Homeschool Blogging is just that…a site that brings it home for business and blog.

There is a database for bloggers to find businesses and a database for businesses interested in working with bloggers. There is a Resource page with links to pertinent information for bloggers and businesses. There is an announcements box at the top of the page that acts as a sort of classifieds for bloggers and businesses. And there is an opportunity to submit guest posts on how bloggers have worked with companies or how companies have worked with bloggers. And best of all, there are articles relevant to both bloggers and businesses on how we can work together to promote such great homeschool products!

I am super excited to bring you the Homeschool Blogging Launch Day Extravaganza!

There is a HUGE giveaway on site and tonight is a HUGE Twitter Party full of awesome prizes for both business and blog! You won’t want to miss this!

So, head over the site, nose around a bit, and spread the word!

March 2, 2012

A Christian Mom’s Guide to Blogging: When to Quit, When to Take a Break

Posts in this Series:
Giving Your Blog to God
Promoting the Gospel
Making Money from your Blog Isn’t Wrong, Greed Is
When to Quit, When to Take a Break
The Big Announcement!
***********************************

After 6 years of blogging, you can believe there have been times when I have been burned out. There have been times when I’ve wanted to quit. There have even been times when I wished the internet would just go away!

There is so much good online, but there is also…

So Much!

A blog can easily overwhelm you to the point you wonder,

Should I quit?

Should I step away for a while?

Again, all of this is truly between you and the Lord; however, I want to offer you some thoughts to ponder:

1. How is your relationship with the Lord? Is blogging helping or hindering that relationship?

2. How is your relationship with your family? Is blogging helping or hindering those relationships?

3. Do you feel bogged down by your blog? Are you out of ideas or feeling like you are never caught up?

4. Is your blog taking an excessive amount of time? Do you need to streamline or drop some projects?

The decision between quitting a blog and taking a break is so very personal, there is no way I could tell you exactly how to make that decision. However, I will tell you, I bathe everything in prayer and bring my concerns and issues to my husband at all times.

Sometimes all it takes is a break to gain perspective and refreshment. Sometimes a blogging break needs to be permanent.

Note: Some of you may have noticed that the next post in this series (coming Tuesday) is The Big Announcement. No, this is not an announcement that I am quitting Raising Arrows. It’s not even an announcement that I’m taking a break from Raising Arrows. It’s an announcement about a very exciting website coming soon! And you will not want to miss the Launch Party! The lineup of prizes is amazing! So, if you are homeschool blogger or a homeschool friendly company, join me on Tuesday for all the details!

March 1, 2012

A Christian Mom’s Guide to Blogging: Making Money from Your Blog Isn’t Wrong, Greed Is

For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
1 Timothy 6:10

Making money from a blog is a hotly debated topic in Christian blogging circles. Some people suggest you lose your integrity when you make money from blogging and the other side says it’s perfectly alright to make money as long as you maintain your integrity.

Rather than shy away from this topic, I’m going to meet it head on and hopefully lay some of the debate to rest.

Making money from blogging isn’t a bad thing and it doesn’t show a lack of integrity in and of itself. In fact, it is very difficult for an outsider to truly judge the motives and character of a blogger based solely on the fact that they make money through their blog. The truth of the matter stands between God and the blogger.

So, stop judging the topic of making money from blogging based on random perceptions and look at it from a biblical standpoint that only includes two individuals…you and God.

-What are your motives for wanting to make money from blogging? Do they exhibit a lack of trust in God’s provision? Do they exhibit a tendency toward greed? Or are you pursuing an income from blogging as a way to be a wise steward of your resources and time?

-If you have an aversion to making money from blogging, why is that? Is it the Holy Spirit giving you discernment of how you might react if you were to start making money from blogging? Is it because you have perceived greed in others who make money from their blogs? Are you setting a double standard in which you believe making money from something like writing freelance articles or a book is somehow more acceptable than making money from writing a blog? Is blogging equal to being an entrepreneur?

-Do you have the time or the need for a part time job? We are to be keepers at home and not running from house to house (or blog to blog). Is there a financial need in your family that could be filled by blogging without taking away from the family? Do you have your husband’s blessing?

-Do the things you make money from support the mission of your blog and the Word of God? It would be wrong to promote products you know nothing about simply to make a quick buck. You can never let your guard down and expect greed to stay away. Make a mission statement for your blog and then only promote products that match that mission statement. This is precisely the reason you do not see Google Ads on my site. I tried it once and realized it was showing many things I do not approve of and other things that go against the mission of Raising Arrows. Yes, I could have made a lot of money from it, but it would not have been money made with integrity. (This is not to say that Google ads cannot be placed on a Christian site and be just fine…they just couldn’t be placed on my site and be just fine.)

I hope this has given you some food for thought about the motives and intentions behind making money from blogging. It really must be something you bring before God, humbly and in submission to His will.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10

For those of you interested in the actual process of making money and working with companies, there is a new site to be launched March 6th designed specifically to teach homeschool bloggers and companies how to work together. You can see a sneak peek here: HomeschoolBlogging.com More information coming soon!

February 29, 2012

A Christian Mom’s Gude to Blogging: Promoting the Gospel

Lord,
You own this blog. May people see Your light shining in me. May they hear Your words speaking through me. Take me and my meager offerings here and multiply them for Your glory.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen

I pray this often. I don’t want people to see a blog full of Amy. I want them to see a blog full of Christ. Even though much of what I write is written to the homeschool mom, I am here as a representative of the Gospel. May I never malign His Word.

When you begin a blog, there are so many exciting things to consider and work through. There is design and social media and networking and just coming up with solid, biblical posts. Your head can be reeling with it all!

However, first and foremost, you must keep the Gospel at the forefront of what you write. As I said…may I never malign His Word!

You see, I am a Christian wife and mother. Blogging is secondary. It is my real life that gives me plenty of posts to write about. My online life is simply one of many places I can take the Gospel of Christ and shine a light in the darkness. But, if my real life doesn’t line up with what I am saying on my blog, we have a problem! I am maligning His Word with my actions.

So, when I say use your blog to promote the Gospel, I want you to know you must begin with your offline life first.

You don’t need to be perfect to blog, but you do need to be honest with God, with yourself, and with your readers. If the house is a wreck and the kids aren’t getting fed or cared for, blogging ought not to be on your list of things to do. God will not be honored or glorified by your actions.

In turn, if you are living your life basking in God’s ways, the time you are afforded to blog will exude that Gospel-centered life you are living offline!

You either promote or malign the Gospel in everything you write…even if there isn’t a single bit of Scripture in the entire post. And yes, even if it is a giveaway post (like the one I am hosting this afternoon!). People who read your blog may not readily know that you are holed up in your bedroom frantically typing a post while your children are swinging from the light fixtures and jumping off piles of laundry. But God knows and He will not just let it go. You cannot pretend to be a Titus 2 woman online and not be taking care of your household in real life…you will be found out. So, if you want to use your blog for God’s glory, you must first get your household in some semblance of order.

Next, you need to pray over your blog…not just the content of the posts, but the tone of the posts as well. Is what you write Philipians 4:8 worthy?

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

And finally, don’t be ashamed of the Gospel!

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Never compromise the Word of God and it’s power to save by your own fear and shame. We must be bold and stand for Truth in a world that has been enticed and deceived!

Is it time for you to share Christ’s Light with the world?

February 28, 2012

A Christian Mom’s Guide to Blogging: Giving God Your Blog

In 2005 when I first started Raising Arrows, I didn’t think much about blogging beyond writing down a few of my thoughts on homeschooling here and there. It was a creative outlet to replace the church newsletter I had to leave behind when we moved.

When Emily passed away in 2008, my blog was where I grieved and where people came to read and understand and grieve along with me. It was at that dark time in my life I began to feel compelled to use my blog to reach out to others.

I had always been prayerful in my writing…even in my newsletter days, but in early 2010, my husband and I took some time to really bathe the blog in prayer as to what our next step would be.

That was when I gave my blog to God…fully.

I wanted Him to do with it what He wanted. I wanted what I wrote here to glorify Him, not me.

But, I also wanted to do my part. I wasn’t willing to write just anything and hope God could use it. I wanted to do my best with every post. There have been many times I have been stumbling over a post I’ve known I was supposed to write and start praying only to have God finish my post for me with words I know didn’t come from my mind. Those are the kinds of things that happen when God owns your blog!

However, I am human. There are times when I find myself taking ownership of my blog and I begin believing I have built this and this is mine. However, 2 years ago when I stepped out in faith with Raising Arrows, I asked God to keep me humble. He always has…especially when I start to get full of myself!

When I began writing this series, I knew this is where I had to start…

Give God your blog.

Take all you have to offer, use your gifts to honor and glorify Him, and then let Him use it in a mighty way!

What steps can you take to be certain blogging is what God has for you?

1. Pray, Pray, Pray! Blogging does take time. It may be time God does not want you to take at this season in your life. It doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing or even what you feel. God knows your schedule much better than you do. However, He might also be asking you to take a leap of faith and tell your story so that He may be glorified in the telling! Pray…He will answer!

2. Offer your gifts as a sacrifice. Don’t do things halfway in the name of “letting go and letting God.” I want to do my very best for Him. I want to write well, have a nice blog design and nice photographs. I want to do everything as unto the Lord.

3. Stay focused. It is easy to get off track in blogging. You begin to seek man’s approval or you become greedy or you simply stop trying to give God your best. Remember Who you do this for.

4. Listen to Him. We’ll talk more in a later post about when you know it is time to quit or cut back, but one of the most important things you can do as a Christian blogger is to never stop praying and asking for guidance and then be willing to take and implement the answers.

Blogging can be an amazing way to glorify God in our online world! As I begin work on a new site dedicated to encouraging homeschool bloggers and homeschool companies, I am reminded that none of this is mine and all of this is God’s and He will do with this new site, as well as Raising Arrows, whatever will bring the most glory to Him.

It’s not about me and it’s not about you.

Always remember that.