Spiritual Encouragement

Let’s Talk Hard Things

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

Hi friends! Let’s talk hard things.

I just celebrated my 49th birthday, and looking back, I realize I did so many things right—and now I’m enjoying the rewards of a life lived beautifully, though at times sacrificial and hard—because this is motherhood! I’ve grown my own passions, talents, and hobbies alongside my children and never lost myself—and I never lost sight of my calling, and I never strayed long from the way.

I knew my North Star, I had my eye on a mountain top, I knew I had to choose the right direction, and just keep climbing. I couldn’t always see a trail under my feet, but with compass in hand, and a vision of my destination – the chaos, the darkness and the obstacles could be overcome – by faith and perseverance.

There were hard choices to be made along the way, and my husband and I decided, over and over again, not to be driven by our fears and worries.

Now, as I enter my 50th year, I want to consider how I can help, teach, and light the way for younger women who don’t want to lose the light of life along the journey. Maybe you feel like you have lost sight of that North Star, and havent figured out how to read a compass, and even if you could – you have not decided where you are going because your vision and calling is a blur.

The path looks different for each of us, but there’s one very important thing—its the path.

Where do you want to be at 30? 40? 50? 60? 90?

You need to be on the path that takes you there—and I know you are a pioneer.

I know you are brave. I know you are fighting for your child, your home, your family, your sisters, your marriage, and your calling as a woman. I know you are a visionary because you are here. Only the brave explore the world of Fun-Schooling!!!

So I have a question for you: What do you want to learn from me?

I’ve arrived at 49, and my life is everything—and more—than I could have hoped and dreamed because I stayed on the path, even when I had to blaze it.

But I blazed it, so maybe you don’t have to. Many women and families, mothers and marriages, have gone before us—blazing trails, clearing the way by faith in the face of fear.

I once heard a very wise African man share a bit of wisdom in my living room:

“If you thought you were moving in the right direction—you heard the call, you are moving toward your vision—but the journey is much harder than you ever imagined and there are endless obstacles in your way… it’s not because you’re on the wrong path. It’s because you’re the pioneer, blazing that trail.”

You are a pioneer woman. Not because you have chickens, bake sourdough, or have a garden. You are pioneering a future for yourself and your family through the chaos and disconnection of modern society.

You are overcoming obstacle after obstacle—facing challenges humanity has never experienced before 2025. You are battling a Terminator, taming AI, training the next generation, obliterating GMOs in your home, questioning traditional medicine and conventional education, maybe challenging the values of modern feminism, healing trauma, finding faith, experimenting with scary alternatives, and pulling monstrous weeds from the garden of your child’s heart and mind.

You are armed with wisdom and a questioning mind. You take every thought captive. And at times, you feel like a living sacrifice—poured out for love, hope, and a future you can’t even see.

You are making moves. You are navigating good and evil. You are trying to hold a marriage and family together. And you are looking around and seeing your sisters, your friends, struggling and feeling so alone. And you wonder—Am I enough? Am I doing enough? Why am I so tired?

Do you realize how powerful, wise, wonderful, and full of grace you are?
I didn’t think so.
But you are all that—and more.
You are an overcomer.
And it’s so hard.

Friend, sister—
I’ve walked through fire, floods, loss, pain, death, and chaos. And I’ve built my house, my life, my future on the Rock. I have loved.

And I’ve arrived at 49—empowered, wiser, freer, and touched by grace. I still have a ways to go.
Every step of faith has brought me to this beautiful place, I’m seeing everything from a hilltop.

So how can I help you blaze your trail?
How can I help you find your way?
How can I say, You are not alone?
How can I stand on this Rock, on the hilltop, and call out to all the sisters and say:

“If this is the Rock you want to stand on, the path has already been paved.”

Yes, the path is still hard—but sister, I have rolled many boulders off this trail. Now you need to push through the weeds and mud that relentlessly try to take over the terrain—until enough of us walk this way, packing down the path with our footsteps, working together to raise up the low spots and clear out the brambles.

I’m here to help you.
I’ve created so many tools and resources to support you along the way, and I’ve suffered many struggles pioneering this path.

So where are you on the path?
Where are you going?
Who is guiding you?
What’s your map?
What is your North Star?

How can I empower you, encourage you, and equip you—to take one more step?

How to Transform Your Homeschool: Perfectionism to Joy

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

Homeschool moms! Let’s throw our stress overboard! Let’s release the things that cause stress! Let’s set ourselves (and our kids) free from unreasonable and irrational expectations. Somehow, we imagined that these unrealistic goals were the right way.
Untangle yourself and your kids from the things that choke out the joy in learning!
Here’s how:
One of the greatest gifts we can give our children is the ability to take their thoughts captive and release burdens that were never meant to be theirs to carry. As homeschooling parents, we often focus on academic achievement, but if we aren’t careful, we can unintentionally plant seeds of anxiety, perfectionism, and self-doubt in our children’s hearts.
God never intended for us to live weighed down by fear or the need to perform for approval. Matthew 11:28-30 reminds us to come to Jesus for rest, and 2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us to take every thought captive in obedience to Christ. These truths are not just for us as parents—they are essential for our children as they grow into the people God created them to be.
So how do we weave these lessons into our homeschool days?


The Hidden Burden of Traditional Schooling
In many educational settings, children are trained to work for grades, external approval, and the fear of making mistakes. Every assignment is graded, every test has red marks, and progress is often measured by how few errors they make rather than how much they have learned.

When children are constantly evaluated this way, they internalize a dangerous belief: “I am only as good as my ability to get things right.”

This burden is heavy, and I’ve seen how it plays out in adulthood. It creates individuals who are afraid to take risks, explore new ideas, or step into their God-given creativity. Instead of growing into confident problem-solvers, they become people-pleasers, perfectionists, or those who avoid challenges altogether because they fear failure.
When I was young, I struggled with traditional academics. I saw myself as someone who wasn’t smart enough, always focusing on my weaknesses rather than my gifts. I even failed third grade!!!
But when I embraced learning on my own terms (at age 13) following my curiosity, using creativity, and celebrating progress instead of perfection—I discovered a love for learning that has lasted a lifetime. This is the heart of Fun-Schooling.

How Fun-Schooling Releases Burdens
Fun-Schooling is not about performance—it’s about passion, mastery, and lifelong learning. Instead of burdening our children with the fear of failure, we give them the tools to learn with confidence and joy.
In our home and in thousands of Fun-Schooling families, kids don’t study to earn grades or please a teacher. They study to pursue knowledge, build skills, and prepare for the future God has for them.

Traditional school teaches kids to focus on their mistakes.
Fun-Schooling teaches kids to focus on their gifts.

When kids are given the freedom to research, explore, and follow their interests, they become fearless learners. They know that making mistakes isn’t failure—it’s part of the process. Instead of becoming burdened by anxiety, they develop the mental strength, confidence, and peace that are uncommon in traditionally schooled children.

Teaching Kids to Take Thoughts Captive
So how do we practically help our children apply 2 Corinthians 10:5—taking every thought captive—and Matthew 11:28-30—laying down heavy burdens?
Here are a few ways to include character teaching in your homeschool day…

Click here to keep reading!

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Be a More Joyful Mom by Following Sarah’s Life Tips!

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

These tips are from a post back in 2016. Some truths are timeless. Scripture truth will always “age well”. These simple truths will help to keep you peaceful, joyful, and grounded as a homeschool mom.

1. Don’t make decisions based on your fears.

2. Don’t gossip. “A whisperer separates the best of friends.” People who gossip to you, will gossip about you.

3. Take advice from the people you want to be like. There will be people who try to control you, but do you want to end up like them?

4. Don’t take advice from people who are driven by their fears. Take advice from those who live by faith and trust in God’s word.

5. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. When they happen learn from them.

6. Overlook most of the stuff other people throw your way.

7. When in doubt, be gracious. Wisdom is knowing what to overlook.

8. Take a minute to encourage a child, no matter how busy you are.

9. Before you complain, remember the cross.

10. Enjoy today and love the people on your path. They are there for a reason.

11. If you have a dream, give it feet. What is the worst that could happen? God gave you that dream, don’t waste it.

12. Greed is ugly. Pride is ugly. Selfishness is ugly. Grace is amazing!

How to Teach Kids to Have Quiet Time/Bible Time

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

I believe it is so important to understand how to nurture a child’s growing mind. I have a passion to teach them to be curious, to love learning, to research wisely and to grow in wisdom, understanding and knowledge. It’s been my lifework to understand why some children struggle to learn, read, and focus, and I dig deep into these matters sorting through vast amounts of research on the human mind to understand how to unlock the potential of each child. I work hard to find the answers and tap into the child’s gifts, no matter what their natural strengths and weaknesses may be. And I test these ideas and solutions and share them with the world, and many thousands of children have been able to overcome struggles related to ADHD, Autism and Dyslexia.

I also believe that it’s vastly important to nurture the child’s growing body, to give the child the best foods, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and the right balance of proteins, fats and carbs. I research and learn what is good and what is poison and ensure the child has sunshine and exercise. Because what good is a strong mind inside a weak and sick body? You can not care for one and neglect the other. Mothers and fathers everywhere make it a priority to care for the mind and body of the child, hoping that the child will grow, thrive and be strong and wise.

But this is not enough. We must also nourish the soul and spirit and character of the child as well–and even more so. How often is the care of the spirit the last thing we even consider at the end of the day? To nourish the spirit of the child is of greater value than all other efforts we could ever make to feed the mind and the body. How many of us have children who are starving spiritually?

Parent, you reap what you sow. If you plant in your child the seeds of the Spirit your child will grow in the Spirit. If you build him up in character, he will become a man of honor. If your daughter is nurtured in the things of the Spirit she will grow in grace, glory and faith. But if a parent neglects the nourishment of the spirit, the soul and the character of the child, the impact in the life of the child will be more devastating than if you failed to nourish the body and the mind. So I ask you, loving mother, faithful father? How will you tend to the garden of your child’s soul today?

A Simple Plan

Here is something simple to begin with. Make each child a cup of tea and make one for yourself and then you all go to your quiet spots with a Bible and Journal. Tell them that when they are done with “Bible Time” it will be “serving time” where each person helps someone else in the family with their chores. Turn on some peaceful music during Quiet Time.

In short, you begin by demonstrating what this looks like.

For younger children, you can have them listen to a Bible audio book. Get a children’s Bible and use Bible coloring pages. We have a number of journals that will help!

Find many more journals for Fun-Schooling moms and kids of all ages here!

Living Stress Free in a Stressful World

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

I want the share inspiration and encouragement that is helping me.

Here’s a talk from Nancy Campbell at Above Rubies, that explains the hormone Oxytocin, the “peace hormone” and how to tap into its power to reduce stress and anxiety, and give you a feeling of peace!

Click here for a post on “Tips for Reducing Stress, Media, and Clutter”!

Try one of my Art & Logic Therapy journals to help calm your mind:

Ripple Effect: How to Inspire Your Kids

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

A messy dining room, a dozen unfinished projects, soggy boots, muddy footprints, a broken telescope, a lost library book, a forgotten passion, a new hobby, and wonder in the eyes of a child.

This is the homeschool life.

Simple moments, like pebbles in quiet pond, the work you do today will ripple through generations.

Yes, what you do today will make a difference for years to come!

Homeschooling isn’t glamorous, and the day to day activities may seem a lot like pushing a rock up a mountain. But through it all I’ve seen how embracing the role of both mom and teacher has unseen power and influence that you wouldn’t believe though it’s right in front of you. And the work you do and example you set will influence your future generations.

Rewind–what’s your story? Who you are today has a lot to do with the path of past generations.

Here’s a glimpse into my story and the beautiful tapestry of learning, passion, and love that has woven itself through my family’s history.

My grandmother was a mother of four and a civil engineer—a woman ahead of her time. She somehow balanced her professional life with the demands of motherhood, and through her, I learned the value of determination and perseverance. She showed me how to think outside the box. When the world said, “You can’t do it all!” my grandma said, “Oh yes you can!” And when I’m facing a struggle I often hear her voice in my ear whispering, “Where there’s a will there’s a way!”

My mother, an artist, educational strategist, Bible scholar and homeschool mom, carried a quiet passion into our home. She made learning an adventure, and always helped us kids find the answers to even the most outlandish of questions. She had a way of filling our days with creativity and the belief that anything was possible, with Jesus. Her art wasn’t just on canvas—it was in the way she taught us to see beauty in the world, and faith in the One who is GOOD, WISE and ALL Powerful!

Because of her faith and example I will never forget that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!”

And now, as a homeschooling mom of my own children, I see how this legacy continues to unfold.

Homeschooling has given me the chance to watch my own children discover their unique passions and explore them in their own time.

Not just growing in skills and knowledge, but in faith and determination!

(Click here to continue reading)

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“Arrive”: It’s Only the Beginning

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

As You arrive in our life for the first time
For the first time
We see greatness lie in Your eyes
And this is what we will sing
‘Cause this is only the beginning.

Use today as your beginning. Study the life of Emmanuel, “God with us,” by reading through the New Testament this coming year, together as a family.

Untangling from Mediocrity

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

Was there a time when you understood what really mattered, and then you looked at your life?

Was there a moment when you understood the truth about all the things that were irrelevant to the precious, meaningless in light of the meaningful, and futile when side by side with the greatest?

When your eyes were open to the purpose of your life, did you find your calling there?

And when you found your calling, did you listen?

And when you listened, did you surrender?

Did you learn to obey the voice calling you to surrender everything, break the chains, and unload the burdens so that you could be free to run your race? Or are you still entangled with the everyday pressures and demands of mediocrity?

Here’s some inspiration for those of you who need to get to that place of throwing off the entanglements.

If you are not free to run your race, it really is time to stop everything and change direction.

Look ten years down the road. If you change nothing, you will be exactly where you are now, just older and with more debt. Every day like the last, striving, struggling, climbing a ladder to nowhere, or digging some hole ever deeper.

But don’t mistake faithfulness in the little things for a meaningless life. If you are being faithful where you are, doing the hard daily work of your calling, you must persevere! For example, your faithfulness as a mother with young children. Your days are long, your work gives you little rest, but the influence of your sacrifice for others is precious, meaningful and great.

Perhaps you heard the call to missions, and you work in the dirt and spend your days feeding dozens of hungry children, cleaning bathrooms in an orphanage, serving in gardens, villages, churches, and schools–but there is nothing romantic about your missionary life. It is hard work and you have dirt under your fingernails. But you are storing up treasures in heaven, and adding many smiles to earth. This hard work may seem thankless, and it’s lonely at times, but your love brings hope, and that’s enough.

Maybe you are a dad, looking for another income stream, putting a roof over dozens of other homes so you can keep a roof over the one home that matters most. It’s hot. It’s long days. It’s thankless work, and you come home to smiling kids and a weary wife. It’s a season where nothing seems romantic; but in a world where so many families are falling apart, your family is sticking together. You look around and what might not seem like much, is actually everything. When it comes to the value of family, you are rich, proud, and looking forward to the day when He says, “Well done my good and faithful servant!”

Click here to continue reading.

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I Think I Did Something Right…

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / Leave a comment

This is from a post dated May 9, 2018.

I’m on the train with 7 of my older children, going to a conference in Kiev. Joe, age 8, is sitting beside me reading “his really special Bible”. I took a look. It looked like the precious Bible of a 75 year old missionary. Joe told me that his sister, Anna, gave him her old Bible.

I flipped through the pages of the New Testament. Notes, prayers, poems, quotes, doodles, highlights, stickers, and underlines decorated every page.

Flash back to 9 years ago when Anna was almost 9 years old. She told me she would never be able to read and write. Her dyslexia was so serious, that every reading lesson ended in despair. She said she was going to be a mommy and artist and wouldn’t need to read to do that.

I decided to let her major in the arts and home economics, starting that day. But I prayed…

“God, You gave us the Bible, I know it must be your will for Anna to be able to read it. Show me how to use her strengths, and use art to teach her how to read.” I knew God would answer in time.

A few weeks later I had an idea. I started drawing logic puzzles and art games for Anna. She loved completing the designs & figuring out the patterns. I began to add letters and words into the designs. I even snuck in games with the d,b,p & q.

I created dozens of these Dyslexia Games, starting out simple and becoming more complicated. The activities were fun for her. As Anna worked through them the reading confusion disappeared.

After a few days she could read three and four letter words. This had never happened before. She had always been stumped by any word with confusing letters. In three months she was reading chapter books.

As I flip through her old Bible I can see that my prayer was answered. That she would be able to read the Bible. Not only is she immersing herself in the precious words of God, she is pouring out beautiful prayers, songs and poems, inspired by her love for His Story.

I pray for the thousands of children who are now using the Dyslexia Games that I made for Anna, that they would also discover the treasures of God’s Word.

Difficult Emotions Matter

/ Sarah Janisse Brown / 1 Comment

“In the multitude of anxieties within me, Your comfort delights my soul.” King David

It’s normal to struggle with a multitude of anxieties from time to time in life! Some anxiety is extremely relevant! Some grief is very necessary! Some anger is often justified! Some pain is for a reason!

If you are struggling with pain, grief, anxiety and anger – it’s normal… as long as you can name the reason for your struggle. The struggle is real, it’s normal, it’s human, it’s a valuable process. What I’m saying is that if you know the reason behind your feelings – chances are you are feeling something normal!

In our culture we might be prompted to believe that ALL our difficult emotions are bad and should be drowned out by intervention or pills.

Our difficult emotions matter. We need to listen to them, and bring them to God so that in the midst of a multitude of anxieties His comfort can delight our souls. Take time to journal and pray through your emotions. Can you identify WHY you are feeling the struggle?

Don’t drown it out.

Listen to the cry of your heart. Cry it out in song, poetry, Psalms, sobs, and prayer. His comfort can delight your soul, in the midst of it all.

So often we are ashamed of the struggle and think there is something wrong with feeling our emotions. It’s normal and healthy to experience emotions related to real life pain and struggle.

If you can’t identify the root of your struggle there might be a hormonal or mental health issue. If you are sad and angry and grieving for no reason at all, you may need some serious help.

But if you are struggling for a reason, don’t be so hard on yourself for feeling your very human emotions.

We need our emotions.

They can actually bring healing.

When we face our emotions, and acknowledge the pain, loss or injustice that created our feelings we can start to work on the root cause, or just say to ourselves and our dear ones: “It’s okay to cry, sleep in, listen to the same song over and over, and even curl up in a ball on the bathroom floor!

And it’s okay to ask for help so you can give yourself some respite! Don’t just put on your big girl pants and pretend like you are fine when you are not. It’s okay to let go of some tasks in life that are overwhelming you right now. It’s okay to say NO to pressure to be something you are not, while you heal.

So often moms with little ones feel depressed, and overwhelmed, and lonely, and tired. And they wonder what’s wrong.

What you are going through is normal!

It’s really hard to not get enough sleep! It’s hard to heal from a c-section! It’s hard to care for a baby and preschooler!

It’s hard to work outside the home and try to keep the home running too! It’s really hard to lose a loved one to death, a move, or a break-up!!! You have a reason to cry. Life is hard and pills or alcohol or escapism will not fix it.

It’s okay to feel the struggle!

I think a lot of us struggle more than we were created to, because we have no village, no support system, no compassionate partner in life to share the burden with, no connection with a close mother, sister or auntie.

Women, we were created to live in community. But our modern lifestyle puts jobs and education before family and we disconnect from the roots that sustain and support us.

Maybe instead of drowning out the heartache we should stop replacing human contact with phones.

Maybe we need to work on healing broken family relationships and forgive our mothers, sisters, aunties, friends and grandmas for not being perfect.

I’ve been around long enough to see that a friend or family member can be deemed disposable if they make one mistake too many. Sometimes we are like fair-weather friends – who are there when everything is fun and easy… but gone when a friend is hurting and grieving!

We don’t seem to know how to be there for our friends and family who are struggling with emotional pain. We don’t try to get out of our comfort zones to find out how to support a friend through loss, we just let them go, make new friends, or just quit trying because relationships are a lot of work.

Or we try to customize our “village” to surround ourselves only with people who believe exactly what we believe and we sever those connections when differences arise.

We no longer live in tight communities where we have to work out our differences.

We can change churches, jobs, schools, states, and spouses if we are not “happy”.

But what if being “happy” is not found in having the perfect life, surrounded by the perfect people, doing the perfect things?

What if happiness can be found IN the Multitude of our Anxieties because God’s COMFORT DELIGHTS our SOULS!!!

Did you get that? SOULS!!!!

It’s the SOUL–they can rise above all the pain, grief, anger, sadness and exhaustion because they are not of this world. The soul can experience joy, peace, hope, delight, and comfort no matter what’s happening in the mind, heart, body and earthly story. I’m okay, through a multitude of earthly anxieties my soul is flourishing! It’s the soul that sings in sadness.

Depressed? Sad? Grieved? Angry?

Let your soul delight in eternal comfort and never ending love.

When we are born into God’s family, when we receive the love and gift of God’s rescue through Jesus, our souls come to life, and there is peace that passes understanding.

Do you want to thrive and overcome the pain? Healing starts with the soul. If you need help figuring out how to revive your soul do a search in the Psalms of the Bible for the word SOUL.

If you need a friend to pray for you, just let me know in the comments. How’s it going with your soul? How can I pray for you?