Dealing with Discouragement in Homeschool High School

There’s no such thing as a Pinterest-perfect life. There’s no such thing as a Pinterest-perfect mom. Not even a homeschool mom, as much as we would like to try!

Everyone of us (even your 7Sisters- who are just like you, only older) have had periods of discouragement. It’s just part of real life! Join Kym and Vicki as they get real about when life gets real and they get real discouraged. AND what they do about it.

Having a teenager and being a mom means there are two humans working together on homeschooling high school (or even more humans working on homeschooling high school). Real humans sometimes have times of discouragement. We shouldn’t ignore the feelings, we should acknowledge it and then decide what to do about it.

Kym reminds us the first thing to do when feeling discouragement is: PRAY! When we tell God what our lives are like, we are being real and honest (like the Psalms). Then it is wise to sit and listen, allowing God’s creativity to work in our souls so we find the creativity to handle the discouragement in a positive, helpful way.

Do you feel discouraged even in your prayer? God cares. Talk to him about that. He wants our relationship, our honest relationship. Lean into the discouragement in God’s presence, even if it feels *not good enough*…be real with God!

Go for a walk. This can be one of the best ways to pray! It can also be a great way to allow your creativity to happen or simply allow your brain to rest and notice the beautiful things God has made. Here are some other mindful things you can do.

Do some deep breathing. Allow yourself to breathe in, asking God for help. Then exhale, thanking him for help. The oxygen will lower your stress hormones and help you physically feel calmer. Download Vicki’s freebie guide to deep breathing: Progressive Relaxation.

Tell someone you trust and ask for a *processing session*. Tell them they don’t need to fix it, just listen…and maybe agree: *That’s really hard!*

Practice self-awareness. Vicki talks about examining the 3W’s of life:

• What am I feeling?
• Why am I feeling that way?
• What am I going to do about it?
• Here’s a post explaining how 3Ws work.

Listen to what is going on for your teen. Don’t practice a full frontal attack at what he/she is doing or thinking wrong. Instead, take a walk or drive together and just listen. Then ask them to talk out the process, and ask wha they believe the outcomes will be. Sometimes the teens will recalibrate themselves. However, sometimes, we must allow them to make their own mistakes. (Just like God sometimes does with us.) Then TRUST God to be the healer and redeemer our teen needs and TRUST God’s infinite love for our kids.

Remember: It is better to get out of God’s way and stay where we belong: on our needs in prayer. And get some prayer support from friends you can trust.

Join Vicki and Kym for an encouraging discussion about dealing with discouragement.