Why I Offer You Daily Encouragement

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Ray and I visited our local state park on Saturday. We weren’t exactly dressed for a visit to the park. We hadn’t even thought about going there when we got dressed to go to a funeral that morning but when lunch time came, we decided on a whim that it would be fun to combine our daily walk with a picnic on our way home. As we sat on a log beside a trail enjoying our picnic lunch, a fit, trim, and young woman walked by and said, “Y’all are so cute.”

We both said thank you and then pondered and discussed the brief encounter. It reminded me of a similar one a couple of weeks ago. I arrived a few minutes before Ray at my niece’s hair salon and stood waiting at the counter while she chatted with her previous client. My niece asked me where Ray was, and I told her that he was coming. When he came into view on the stairs, the client gushed, “He’s so sweet.”

As I wrote this, another similar experience came to mind. Ray and I took a walk in the Smoky Mountains last year. When we reached our destination of Cataract Falls, we sat down on a bench and watched the water flow, while children climbed on the rocks and parents took photos of their families.

I noticed a mother taking pictures of her and her husband’s only child, a cute little boy about four years old. I offered to take their photo all together. She beamed and was very grateful. When I handed her my phone, she smiled sweetly and asked, “Can I show you a picture?” She showed me this.

Then she said, “I thought you looked so sweet.”

As I think about my morning messages to you, I wonder sometimes if young mothers can relate to someone who has been married for 50 years and has ten grandchildren—someone who has lived so long that when young people see us doing the same kinds of things they do, they call us cute and sweet.

Don’t get me wrong. We appreciate the kind people who say those cute and sweet things to us. We hope they will be inspired to stick with each other and continue enjoying life together when their natural hair color is the color of ours.

My blog site has a page telling why I do what I do. First, I’ll quote the blog site and then I’ll expand a little.

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Why I Do What I Do

Hi, I’m Charlene Notgrass. I was born a long time before you, way back in 1953. One time a good friend wanted to know the identity of the wedding picture he saw at our house. I think he was a bit embarrassed when I told him it was Ray and me. I guess we have changed since 1974!

I loved homeschooling — once I learned how to make homeschooling who I was instead of something I carried around like a big, heavy burden every day.

God is my precious Father. He gives me grace through Jesus every day. I need it because I am not like Mary Poppins (“practically perfect in every way”), but much more like Jo in Little Women (“hopelessly flawed”). I’m thankful for my life. I love to work with my family and with our good friends and team members in Notgrass History. It’s like a dream come true. I am happy when I am researching and writing homeschool curriculum. My husband, Ray, and I like visiting historic sites and just being together, but our very favorite thing is spending time with our children, their spouses, and our grandchildren. Sometime when you have a couple of days, let me tell you about our ten grandchildren!

My life has had abundant blessings and abundant trials I never could have borne alone, especially the loss in 2012 of our first grandchild, Avery, when he was just sixteen months old, and our daughter Bethany in the summer of 2024. God has loved me too much to give me a life without heartaches. He has proved Himself to be the God of all comfort. He has used my heartaches to teach me humility and compassion. From the lessons God has taught me and is teaching me, I offer you daily encouragement.

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Here’s that photo our friend saw at our house. He’s right. We have changed since 1974.

I recently told a member of the Notgrass History team another reason that I feel passionate about giving you daily encouragement. I was once a weepy, insecure, what-have-I-gotten-myself-into homeschooling mama. It took me four years to make the switch from homeschooling feeling like a heavy burden to homeschooling being a joy. During the first two of those four years, we homeschooled. During the next two, we didn’t because I gave up. I deeply regret those second two years. While I wish very much that I could have gotten them back, I am convinced that those two years of unconfident homeschooling, the two years of wilderness, and the joyful return to homeschooling in year 5 taught me lessons that I can now share with others. I didn’t have anyone to walk alongside me and help me to keep going when I was struggling. I don’t want any of you ever to be in that situation. My goals for Daily Encouragement are:

• To remind you how precious your children are
• To remind you how much God loves you and believes in you
• To hold your hand when you are struggling
• To remind you to focus on God’s goals for education rather than the world’s goals
• To help you, too, to find the joy of the precious opportunity to homeschool your children

When I look back at the grace and experiences that God has given to me, I rejoice in this older woman job that He has given me. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be in your world.

Older women likewise are to be
reverent in their behavior,
not malicious gossips
nor enslaved to much wine,
teaching what is good,
so that they may encourage the young women
to love their husbands, to love their children,
to be sensible, pure, workers at home,
kind, being subject to their own husbands,
so that the word of God will not be dishonored.
Titus 2:3-5

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