Wondering what Mommy Homework is??? Each week you will have an “assignment” here to share in our comments here on this site. You will love this-both sharing AND enjoying answers by others. Some of them, I compile into an ebook (contributors can resell as a product of their own–be sure to submit your email and full name when you register so I can credit you appropriately!).
The result is AWESOME!
We get to know each other…we are encouraged in our journey…and we glean super ideas from other great moms!
Ready for this week’s MH? This is going to be a really good one!
This week, I pray that you will be joining me for a fun workshop/coaching session that I will be hosting Monday. Our topic will be Gearing Up to Reach For Your Dreams in 2011. Over the next few weeks, our Mommy Homework will be based on topics from this retreat. You will love it! It will help you gear up for the New Year! Well, join me each week and you will see!
For this week, let’s talk about your dreams.
Sweet friend, what are you dreaming? ARE you dreaming? Why aren’t you dreaming? Will you dare to dream? Today, I ask you to dare to dream again!
Up until now, God has blessed me so much in making so many of my dreams a reality. I am so very blessed. I have been married to the man of my dreams for 25 years this coming May. Daily, I live my dream of a godly home and godly family. We lived our dream of homeschooling our children and both have now gone on to graduate and live successful lives.I have written that dream book–actually over 100 of them. I have stood on the stage I dreamed of as a little girl and even set up a virtual stage bringing us all together from all around the world. I live in my dream cedar home. I even ran that 5K I dreamed of running. And, I have even lived to see my children’s children–and boy, is he GRAND! Oh! I have dared to dream and I have lived those dreams in my reality. But, that is not where it ends.
A few years ago, God told me years ago to dare to dream BIGGER. I remember thinking, “But, God, you have already given me my biggest dreams. What should I dare to dream?” I seriously could not think of anything more that I would want for my life. I love my life. BUT! Asking that question has unleashed God to really work in me this year. Not only is He asking me to dare to dream for bigger things, He is also asking me to dream for a bigger list of dreams and put them on my calendar TODAY.THIS YEAR.
Want to join me? Well, jump into this week’s Mommy Homework. Here is what we will discuss this week:
1. What are you dreaming? Take out a piece of paper and just begin brainstorming and brain-dumping all of those big and little dreams that you want to see before your life is over. Some of those will be things that you can reach immediately. Some of those things are going to take some work. Some of those things are going to take a lot of work and perhaps, a lot of time. Write them all down. Take a few days to write them down. Then, share them here. (I hope that your list is as long as mine AND that it continues to grow)
Share your ideas this week. And, don’t miss checking back to read the posts from your mommy pals here. Have fun! 
DIG IN!
That is not all! I would love to invite you to join me this Monday for our afternoon Talk-a-Latte ReTreat. I am going to come alongside of you as you pull out those dusty dreams and get moving toward them AND as you dare to dream bigger dreams and as you dare to dream a bigger list of dreams. You are going to get started putting them down on paper AND on your calendar THIS YEAR! You will love this! Learn more about our ReTreat at this link: CLICK HERE
Love ya!
Cindy
PS! Please remember to use your real name if you want credit for your Mommy Homework Credit. 
PPS! You CAN just share and not participate in Mommy Homework, BUT I would LOVE for you to get some goodies along the way!
PPSS! Want to check your credit? Here is the newest update: http://www.talk-a-latte.com/ebooks/MommyHomeworkCredits.pdf
PPPSS! If you are new, all you do to share your MH is first register (see the link on the bottom of the page–scroll all the way to the very bottom), then log in with your name and password that you select. Share away!
PPPSSS! Want to redeem your credit? Read our instructions here: http://www.cindysdesktop.com/?cat=81
Deadline–Friday at midnight CST.
My goals:
–Write a book (have a specific one in mind).
–Teach my dd in such a way that her learning problems don’t hinder her immense potential–so that the disability isn’t readily evident when she is grown–totally possible given her unique situation.
–Train my children to be women of character (I have no sons!)
–Make my house a pleasant place to be (read: clean)
–Feed my family whole foods
–Exercise 3 times a week until I can do the 45 min. workout
–Love my husband
–Be a discipler of younger women
–Look nice when I go places
–Become a career counselor and speaker
–Build a healthy home (literally designing a house) and pay it off completely before my kids are grown
–Have my house organized so that we can live efficiently–not scrambling to find what we need when we need it.
–Minimize stuff (but not excellent books!)
–Have others in my home regularly.
Ooooh – I LOVE this one! I’m always dreaming, but writing things out was a great way to do some focused dreaming!
– Thriving with what we have and what we are given. (Contentment!)
– Be a real HELPmeet to my husband, and to support him without grumbling or complaining.
– Bless my husband and children with a life devoted to God first and them second.
– Be ready when baby arrives (due 3/11/11) with rooms repainted, established, and waiting. (We have to do some rearranging, so its a big project!)
– Finish writing our first book with my dear friend Shelly.
– Take a family vacation.
– Homeschool my 5 and 3 year old.
– Begin podcasting weekly at my personal blog.
– Partner in ministry with another Christian woman online.
– Resume weight loss and walking after baby arrives. My goal is to lose and keep off 60 lbs.
– Live simply and gratefully.
– Attend Christian blogger conference, Relevant 2011.
Organization is always one of my big dreams – and I’m slowly getting there by getting rid of a lot of clutter – and NOT filling up our space with a lot of things we don’t need! That will help a lot of these other things come to pass. =)
My name is Jennifer C. Valerie – Jennifer JV. Some of my dreams are so huge that I know that only God can do this if it has to be done. Others are simple ones that are achievable with the ability that God has already blessed me with. Be forewarned! It is a very long list! LOL! Here they are:
– My website to be a go-to resource for people on my island(and elsewhere) for information on health and healing using foods and herbs.
– My website would be a go-to resource for people on my island for nutrient information on local foods.
– Publish at least 10 books including e-books on healthy living, recipes and more.(I’ve already written 1 e-book and have 3 more set to be released mid Dec.)
– Establish an online bookstore for my books (partially done)
– Have monthly raw food education workshops here on the island bringing in at least $500 monthly.
– Become a certified raw food chef and instructor.
– Become a certified Health Minister with Hallelujah Acres.
– Become a trainer virtually and in person of Health Ministers and raw food chefs and educators with my own school offering the certification and earning at least $10,000 monthly with the training and related products.
– Have an administrative assistant to handle comments and other administrative duties surrounding my website activities excellently and professionally.
– 5 yrs living expenses in the bank
– Remain debt free
– Earn at least $30,000 monthly outside of investments
– Have sales of my published books of at least $7500 monthly
– Exercise 6 days a week for at least 15 minutes.
– Drink at least 1/2 my body weight in ounces of water daily
– Eat high raw consistently(at least 75%)
– Purchase a dehydrator
– Purchase a high quality blender
– Purchase a high quality food processor
– Travel off island every quarter for ministry and fun afterward as a family
– Have a 3 row SUV to accommodate family, friends and ministry transportation.
– Have a second car available for visiting ministry people to use.
– Travel as a couple with my hubby for rest and relaxation as least once a year.
– An uncluttered home
– To have enough to rent toys like a boat etc when we want to.
– To own a home estate with fruit trees of all kinds, place to accomodate raw food workshops and health ministry events, a separate kitchen well equipped for the workshops and more(more detailed in my dream list in a book)
– To be able to afford to pay someone well to assist in the upkeep, cleaning, cultivation etc. of the estate.
– To have a retreat center where persons can come to get rejuvenated spiritually and physically. (I guess that kind of ties in to the home estate dream above). that retreat center would accommodate people who need healing and would also have a raw food store/restaurant, accommodations for short and long term stays up to 1yr, solar drying plant to produce raw food snacks, chiropractor, herbalist, nurse, raw food educator & chef, doctor, recipe books with local foods available for sale(mine of course and other christian brethren if available), lush landscaped gardens with trails for walking, extra virgin non heated coconut oil production plant and more.
– Read through the Bible yearly
– To minister effectively in the area of deliverance with my husband
– To continue to be used by God to speak prophetically into the lives of people giving them the word He has for them
– To study(really study) the bible at least once a week outside of church held bible study
– To increase my intercession time
– To get to know the voice of God even better by getting closer and closer to Him each day.
– To have my recipe e-books in print.
I told you it was a lot and I didn’t include all like being more organized, spending one on one time with each of my two boys, becoming a better help meet to my hubby both in the pastorate and at home etc. LOL! I am thankful to God that He has brought me to the place where I can dream again. And I am so thankful for the seminar you had today Cindy. It helped me to remain on track. God bless you.
Jennifer C. Valerie
Ok, I am a very optimistic, (His) Light-seeker kind of person, but lemme tell ya, God really showed me the truth in this one: I haven’t really been dreaming at all.
Wow! Apparently, Eeyore and I have been hanging out and I didn’t even know it!
So as I’m praying through, I’m sure my list will grow; for now, here’s my list:
— to allow God to work through my weaknesses in homekeeping and homeschooling in such a way that my children see His power made perfect in my weakness & can always look at that and know that if He could deliver & change Mommy, He can certainly do the same for them!
— to have a welcoming, functional, fluid home; systems that work, schedule that works, only the things we love, always the people we love, ready to show hospitality to newcomers and QUICK to show grace & mercy to those who live here
— to be a real, authentic, transparent mentor to the young women I work with
— to have a ministry to other homeschool moms; to be a part of an encouragement ministry
— to be a *real* “she does him good not harm ALL the days of his life” kind of helpmeet to my husband
— to share a ministry with my husband
— to have more children
— of truly “laughing at the days to come” because I’ve let go of worry and raised eyebrows (see? Eeyore I tell ya…)
— of developing each of our children’s educations around their gifts and interests; allowing them room to grow and material to be challenged
— of feeling comfortably competent to accomplish what I’m truly called & entrusted to do (and wisdom to know what those “what”s are)
— of leaving a daily legacy of laughter and love with our children; giving them tangible and intangible traditions & memories that point them to the Cross of Christ.
— of going on a cheap cruise and SLEEPING IN UNTIL NOOOOOOOOON EVERYDAY! 🙂
— of being truly free in the way I eat and way I exercise to have the energy I want and the submission to Him I long for.
— planting & maintaining a productive garden!
So there were more things floating around my heart than I thought! 🙂 That’s a pleasant and joyful surprise! I am *SO* looking forward to hearing the audios from today’s ReTreat, Cindy! Thanks for hosting it! I’m already enjoying my bonus goodies, and tomorrow it looks like I’ll have some time to sit down and really dig in!
I always pray over my children at bedtime the Bible promise that says old men will see visions and young men will dream dreams and ask the Lord to give them God-dreams. I think I’ll be praying that over myself tonight 🙂
Thanks for the encouragement!
Hmmm… I haven’t thought of these in years. Too caught up in the day to day stuff to even fathom some of them happening. Here it is in fairly close order:
1. to not complain about what I don’t have and to be continually thankful for what I do have.
2. to have more patience, discernment, and wisdom with my kids and myself.
3. to become what it says in Proverbs 31:10-31, to have Galations 5:22-23, to do Titus 2 and to spend time in His Word with my ears attuned to His Voice.
4. That my sons and my daughters husbands will be strong Godly men who walk daily with the Lord, who know and do the plans He has for them.
5. That my daughters and my sons’ wives will want #3 more than I do.
6. Life insurance so that that my husband or I would be able to raise up and homeschool our children if either of us were suddenly widowed.
7. to have a milk cow and beef calves
8. to have a curriculum fund to buy what we need (not necessarily all I want!) when we need it.
9. to be completely debt free and have 6 months expenses in savings
10. For my husband to have a job he LOVES that isn’t so hard on him physically.
11. to have a decent backyard for my kids to play in before they’re grown.
12. to build our own house off the grid.
13. to live at least 85% self-sufficiently.
14. to take my kids on a history tour of the US in an RV for 6 months before the oldest graduates (8 years from now).
15. to take our kids to Israel and walk where Yeshua walked and to see where the events of the Hebrew Scriptures took place when my youngest is about 12 (10 years from now).
Gee Cindy, in looking at this list, if #3 were to happen then #1 and #2 would probably fall in to place and #4 and #5 would be more likely to happen. Likewise, if #9 were to happen, then #6, #7, #8, #10, #11, #12, #13, #14, and #15 would probably fall into place. They would certainly be more within reach. So I guess you could say that my dream list would look something like this:
1. to become what it says in Proverbs 31:10-31, to have Galations 5:22-23, to do Titus 2 and to spend time in His Word with my ears attuned to His Voice.
2. to be completely debt free and have 6 months expenses in savings.
Still doesn’t seem attainable on this side of the fence but i’m sure there are baby steps in there somewhere!
Have a blessed Thanksgiving and a wonderful time with your family!
I have to add 2 more things to my Dream List. I hadn’t yet listened to the Gearing Up for Your Dreams seminar, and after starting to listen to the audios, I knew my list here wasn’t complete. I have big dreams, but after having some crushing blows this year, didn’t want to stick my neck out and risk sharing them… But now I’m going to – they’re on my written list, so I should add them here too!
– Host and Bed & Breakfast / Coffee Shop with small pastry bakery.
– Have an alpaca farm.
This year was a roller coaster of a ride. (BTW, I get sick on roller coasters and don’t like to ride them.) But this I had no choice! However, God has been very gracious and has been there thru it all with me. It was good to attend the Retreat, Cindy, so I can start cleaning out the cobwebs from this year and get started on a new season TODAY! I could so relate to getting rid of broken, shattered dreams. For 10 years I’ve been standing for the healing and reconciliation of my marriage, but Jesus saw fit to take my DH home to be with Him first. Praise God that my DH finally bowed his knees before he took his last breath. My dream of a restored marriage wasn’t as important as getting my DH into Heaven. We will always treasure those last minutes with DH as he told us he loved us and apologized to us, but also told us of his decision to be a follower of Christ. I’ve always known that when God closes a door, He opens a window, so I’m looking forward to what He has in store for us on this new journey. He promises to be a Father to the fatherless and judge for the widow, so we are leaning on Him!
Some of the things I am wanting to put up on my Dream Board are:
Have an emergency fund of at least a year of expenses
Be debt free
Have a profitable on-line business or three (or more)
Be able to be more giving with money
Have an organized home
Become a size 12
Deepen my walk with the Lord
Tour the US in an RV with the kids for a year to get up close and personal with our great nation
Take the kids to a foreign country for 3 to 6 months for immersion language learning
Earn a marksmanship badge with Project Appleseed
Find a piece of property at least 40 acres to have a more self-sufficent lifestyle
For the kids and I to build a home on that property ourselves
-Become more disciplined in having quiet time and exercise time each day
-Learn to use my waterless cookware and pressure cooker
-Bake bread once a week
-set up meal plans for a monthly rotation
-Gain certification as a Children/Teen fitness coach
-write a program to be implemented in schools to address fitness
-build an internet-based fitness coaching program for teens
-Declutter and simplify: my house, my closet, my commitments
-Organize- learn to really use a dayplanner and organize paperwork
-Have School at Home more structured
-Learn to sell on Ebay (part of the decluttering process)
I love the class. My husband got the day off so I listened to it later. My list is still a work in progress. Dreaming is a scary thing to me.
Train my girls to be equipped to keepers at home and to find a Godly husband.
Lose 20 lbs.
Encourage other mothers and wives in their roles.
Have 6 months living expenses saved.
Take Rona and girls to Montana and show them where Dad grew up and the places I love.
Do something with my organizational skills.
Successful marriage and parenthood.
Use herbs and homeopathics more.
Finish painting the house.
Recipes into computer program.
Blog more regularly.
Remain debt free.
Own a pick-up truck again.
Pay cash for our next vehicle.
Try out canning.
Buy a stand mixer.
Learn to make bread from scratch.
Live in the country.
Be a missionary.
Do an in-depth bible study of each book of the bible.
Go to the only 2 states I have never been to Alaska and Hawaii.
Go to Israel and tour the Holy lands.
Take my family to all the historical places and national parks I have been in the US.
Get a picture of myself in a field of Heather.
Foster a child and adopt some girls.
Many practical things and I am sure I have some other great ideas in my head that I am afraid to even dream. Heather Wilson
Wow! I read these awesome dreams that so many of you have. I sit back and ask myself, what are MY dreams? I don’t know? We have had 9 children (5 still in the nest and one of those getting married in a few months), and been homeschooling for 18 years this year. My whole world has been surrounded by my husband (who we have been married for for 22 years, but together for 24 years), and I do have one dream fullfilled by a friend who helped me start a small hobby dog breeding business, which I am blessed by now of 3 years, but I have lost site of what I, Kelly, can even begin to “dream” about. I have wanted to write something that would be a blessing to others, but I don’t know what? I have written some articles and stories on Squidoo and Ezine.com, but nothing that I feel really makes an impact on anyone specifically. I don’t have dreams anymore because I don’t know what I personally have to offer anyone else, or really what I even do or don’t like anymore. Does that make sense? I have lost myself, my excitement in life, or what it is to dream a big dream, let alone smaller dreams. I also was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, which is a day by day thing as to how my body reacts pretty basically, but many people take it that I am just choosing to be “be lazy.” I am not though. I am just in a lot of severe pain on some days, even with the medicines I take. So what IS my passion for in life? I don’t know? I really don’t know?
Dream? How big
I have so many dreams/passions/pursuits that sometimes I wish I could/would just focus more instead of being so scattered!
What I want most…an orderly, pretty home that works well for all of us.
Be a godly wife and mom
Get my photos in order
Scrapbook
Weave
Encourage moms
Figure out what God really wants me to do in the lives of my several SN children
write the articles/devotionals /unit studies I have drafts for
Trust the Lord and see His provisions more
See if the Lord wants to grant us more children
My biggest dream brings tears to my eyes when I think about it. I have a wonderful husband. My dream is to have him back at a capacity that he functions well. That he can toss a football around with our son and chase our daughter around th backyard. I dream going on family walks and bike rides. That he can have the ability and stamina to be in full time ministry – our dream. That he would not be so incapacitated by blinding pain that he could focus long enough to have a conversation way into the wee hours of the morning like we used to.
You see in 1996 my hubbie was hit by a uninsured driver with a suspended license. She only got a warning. My hubbie almost died twice, (This happened b4 we met, I like to say God was saving him for me). He has been in constant progressive pain ever since. He also lost his big toe and first metatarsal then and most of his foot 2 years ago (he still has the heel). That surgery was supposed to take care of the excruciating pain and that only made it worse. Hope deferred truly does make the heart sick.
After 18 years of increased pain and skeletal deterioration, that has made him almost completely incapacitated, after 2 other surgeries he must have first, this summer my hubbie will be having a below the knee amputation.
It is scary to think about, but my hope, prayer and dream is that this will radically change our lives, especially my husbands life for the better.
That is my dream! And I just realized this was posted in Nov! Is that right? There has not been mommy homework since then?
p.s.Kelly – blessedmamaof9 I also have fibro, I know you are not being lazy and I know people like to accuse you of it! I also know it is hard to find your own personal dream thru the pain. Hang in their sister, I am praying for you!
Let’s see…first Mommy Homework assignment for me. 🙂
1. Develop my God-given talents (painting, writing, singing)
2. Develop a skill-set that is proven to earn income. I’ve been a SAHM all my life, became a mom at age 20, after only having one job. I find lately that I’m feeling pressure and self-esteem issues that come from feeling like I haven’t developed that part of myself very well, that of being self-sufficient and being able to embody the ‘sweet promise’ that Fascinating Womanhood speaks of.
3. Become a prolific writer of inspiring material to help the modern woman find herself (of course, I have to find myself first, ha!)
4. Overcome fear of fill-in-the-blank (poverty, failure, success, etc)
5. Start successful online businesses supporting women
6. Create a fantastic working relationship with DH leading to a successful company that fulfills both of us
7. Fulfill my commitment to my children in regards to homeschooling
8. Become a Titus 2 woman
Now for the fun, off the wall stuff:
9. Travel the world in a yacht with DH
10. Learn to speak at least three different languages fluently
11. Learn sculpting
12. Volunteer my voice talents to read-aloud book recordings for the visually impaired
13. Explore the ancient wonders of the world
14. Open a restaurant serving authentic mexican food
15. Learn to belly dance
16. Become a T-Tapp certified trainer
17. Have my artwork on greeting cards
18. Learn to play the piano!
Ok, I’m sure there are more, but like Blessedmamaof9, I too have struggled with not even knowing what to dream anymore. This is a preliminary list, and while at first I was just throwing stuff out there, some of these items are beginning to speak to me! So I would encourage others to just put stuff down on paper, and let your mind wander. You’ll start seeing glimpses of the possibilities, and a path will open up for you.
One thing near the top of my list is to finish the novel I began writing during NaNoWriMo this past November. I stopped writing when I passed the 50,000 word mark, but it need to be wrapped up and then edited.
I’m also trying to work at improving my blogging efforts. I love how the blog has evolved and I’m beginning a new one with my older boys to chronicle their adventure in Boy Scouts.
I’d like to continue improving my health as this last baby has helped me LOSE weight that’s hung around since babe #2 came. Being able to pass a military fitness test is my goal, although hubby says I can’t enlist. I’m almost too old for that anyways…
Getting my house to be a comfortable haven instead of the mess it currently is…not an easy task with four boys in the house.
Finding time for me to enjoy things like playing the piano and writing…
Improving my culinary skills more so I can make things from scratch and stretch our food budget. Alaska is expensive for food that often has a short shelf life.
Finally, I want to make sure I am listening to God’s call and fulfilling the vocations of wife and mother that he has called me to live. Hearing and heeding are two different things and sometimes difficult to do when my own ideas conflict with HIS.