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.
Things Old and New
Ray and I took to the road yesterday morning, heading north to our first homeschool convention of 2014 and, more importantly, to our beloved John, Audra, and Henry. The house sitters got lined up; the laundry got done; the clothes…
Skirts and Hems and a Mother’s Touch
On Sunday a friend and I reminisced about fashion hemlines when we were girls. Attendees at homeschool conventions are great evidence as to how times have changed since then. I imagine you could find modest hemlines varying as much as…
Buds That Blossom
Perhaps the most popular of Aesop’s fables is the tortoise and the hare, from which we learn the adage, “Slow and steady wins the race.” As the tortoise walked slowly, purposefully, and steadily toward the finish line, he moved closer…
Teaching Children to Cooperate
In the early years of our homeschooling, I read For the Children’s Sake by Susan Schaeffer Macauley, daughter of Christian theologian and philosopher Dr. Francis Schaeffer. I also began to read books by her mother (and his wife), Edith Schaeffer. After reading The Hidden Art…
Charlotte Burks–Sharecropper’s Daughter, Farmer’s Wife, State Senator
In 1993 our family moved to the Upper Cumberland area of Tennessee. We began hearing good things about Tommy Burks, who served as state senator from our district. Senator Burk’s wife was Charlotte. At our congregation, we got to know…
Elevators, Bubbles, and Daffodils
While I wrote yesterday’s elevator stories, I thought of a description I have heard about people who are just a little different from “normal” — whatever in the world that is! You have probably heard it, too: “His (or her)…