Welcome to Daily Encouragement!
Hi, I’m Charlene Notgrass. I was born a long time before you, way back in 1953. I loved homeschooling — once I learned how to make homeschooling who our family was instead of something I carried around like a big, heavy burden every day. From the lessons God has taught me, I offer you daily encouragement.
Stepping Down or Stepping Up?
A few years ago our daughter Mary Evelyn led homeschooling students as they presented the play, “The Cross Behind the Curtain.” Based on real events from the 1960s, the play told the story of Christians who suffered for their faith…
Sweet and Pure, Red and Juicy Strawberries
On Saturday, as Ray and I traveled to visit Bethany and her family for Easter, we finished reading aloud a memoir. The author spoke often about her close relationship with her son. We were impressed again and again as we…
Mamas Are Alike and Different, Too
Peter Spier has long been one of my favorite children’s illustrators. His Noah’s Ark has been at our house since John was born in 1979, the year after it won the Caldecott Medal. People has had a home here since Christmas of…
In His Hands
I love to sing “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.” The song is a great comfort. Its message is true. He really has got the “little bitty babies,” “the mamas and the papas,” and “you and me, sister” in…
Spam, Spam, and More Spam
As we drove south through Minnesota on Monday, Audra noticed a funny billboard for the Spam Museum in Austin: “Spam Museum–Where Hawaiians Go on Vacation.” Though we don’t actually eat Spam, Audra and I thought it would be a fun…
Skills and Stirred Hearts
When Ray and I go to the homeschool convention in Duluth, we like to spend time in Canal Park, a shopping area bordered on one side by Lake Superior and on the other by a canal. An aerial lift bridge…