Author Archives: marysmithcreative

Something I find myself saying often is telling my sons to stop correcting each other. They’re quick to point out who is doing wrong, but I remind them that they are responsible for their own actions—not the actions of those around them. They don’t need to carry that kind of weight.

The way we share in one another’s burdens is through prayer and encouragement. It’s good to help each other, but not to take on the responsibility of someone else’s choices. That isn’t ours to carry—that’s Jesus’ role. He carries the heavy burdens so that ours can be light.


Verse 4 teaches us to focus on our own work. When we do, we can find satisfaction in what we’ve done well, without needing to compare ourselves to anyone else.

As soon as we begin to compare ourselves we will be dissatisfied in the job we have in front of us. What once was fulfilling now leaves us empty because instead of keeping our eyes ahead of us, we are looking left and right.

This is something I need to continue to remind my kids, but also need this reminder myself.

Comparison is the thief of joy. When we start measuring ourselves against other parents—seeing where they seem to be succeeding or how their children excel in certain areas—we can quickly lose sight of what’s right in front of us. Looking at what others are doing and thinking we should follow their path often pulls us away from what’s best for our own family.

I need to seek the Lord to guide me in making the right decisions for my children and my family—not decisions made out of exhaustion or haste. I will choose to rest and ask Him for strength. I want to keep my eyes on Jesus, focusing on what He has entrusted to me, instead of looking to the left or right and wondering if I’m “doing it right” compared to others.
It’s good to be inspired by others—that has its place—but I won’t let comparison or distraction pull me off the course and purpose God has set before me.



Galatians 6:1-5 NLT
[1] Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.

[2] Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.

[3] If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.

[4] Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.

[5] For we are each responsible for our own conduct.

Always be willing to help others, but don’t carry the weight of their actions upon yourself. You will stand before the Lord for yourself not what they did or didn’t do. Stay the course the Lord has before you.

New to Homeschooling?
Not sure where to start?

First things first—figure out your covering. Will you homeschool under your county, or under a private/umbrella school?

For us in Florida, we chose HomeLife Academy. Another option here is Florida Unschoolers. These are essentially the organizations you report to as a homeschool family.

Next, take time to learn your state laws. Some states require more record-keeping or testing than others, so it’s important to understand your responsibilities.

Once that’s in place, the next big question is:
What curriculum should I use?

This is honestly where the fun begins (at least for me—I’m a bit of a curriculum junkie!). I love researching and trying different programs.

Start by identifying your child’s learning style—but just as importantly, your teaching style. The best curriculum is one that works for both of you.

I consider myself an eclectic homeschooler. We mix and match based on subject and grade level. For example, we use traditional boxed curriculum like Institute for Excellence in Writing (which includes video instruction), along with printables from other homeschool moms and unit studies from Gather ‘Round Homeschool.

That said, this approach isn’t always ideal for brand-new homeschool moms—it often develops naturally after a few years of experience.

One important reminder:
Curriculum is meant to serve you—you are not meant to be a slave to it.

There are so many options out there, but here are some we’ve personally used or loved:

Curriculum We’ve Used
• Gather ‘Round Homeschool
Great for unit studies, especially during seasons of transition or when homeschooling multiple kids (or adding a new baby). We eventually paired it with IEW for older students (5th grade and up).
• The Good and the Beautiful
An affordable, all-in-one curriculum. It has a gentle mix of Charlotte Mason style with traditional structure. We especially love their math.
• Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW)
A game changer for teaching writing, especially for 5th grade and up. The video instruction makes it much easier to teach, and we plan to continue through high school.
• All About Reading
Excellent for kids who need movement or struggle with reading fluency. Uses levels instead of grades. This helped one of my children significantly.
• My Father’s World
We loved this for 1st grade. It has a gentle, Bible-based approach with lots of hands-on learning and phonics games.
• Master Books
We used Language Lessons for a Living Education alongside All About Reading. We appreciated the weekly Bible integration.
• BJU Press Homeschool
A more traditional, private-school-style curriculum. We used it for spelling.
• Abeka
A rigorous, structured program often used in private schools. We tried it for kindergarten, but it wasn’t our favorite fit.

• Tuttle Twins      We are currently using their History and throughally enjoying the fact they have audio for it to read to the kids as they follow along in the book.

• Journey Homeschool Academy      We have used this Science Video Teacher a few times for elementary. I am considering it for highschool since you can watch thr labs.

• Drive Thru History     I really love this option especially for learning the bible. I think we tried it too young (3rd grade) I have learned many people use it in middle and highschool.

Curriculum We’ve Heard Great Things About
• Sonlight
• Accelerated Christian Education (ACE PACES)
• Apologia Educational Ministries
• Five in a Row
• Memoria Press
• Lifepac
• Horizons
• Notgrass History
• Saxon Math
• Math-U-See
• Teaching Textbooks
• Christian Liberty Press
• Science Shepherd
• The Mystery of History
• Treehouse Schoolhouse

Here is a fun quiz to take to see your style of homeschooling.

Today at the Kennedy Space Center we watched a video clip of the shuttle entering space leaving earth’s atmosphere.

All I can say is this wow.

Talk about a breath taking thing to watch. We can only *imagine* how big space is. We can’t truly fathom it. I can’t understand how anyone can watch something like that and say there is no God. Everything points to him. He is marvelous, beautiful, and glorious. I’m reminded of the scripture;

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
Romans 1:20 NLT

People will be without excuse of not knowing God.

Everything points that there is a creator and that it wasn’t by random.

They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. Romans 1:25 NLT

I encourage everyone to keep reading all of  Romans 1. It describes the generations on repeat.

The fact that God’s creation, man, invented something that can go to space is amazing. It also makes me think about Babylon and how they were building a tower to the heavens.. and look what the Lord did. Man was created in God’s image. Man was created with intellect. However, man can never surpass God. His ways are higher then ours. We can’t lean on our own understanding nor wisdom of this world, which is all limited. Even the prophetic words we get are only in part.

However, God is sovereign. He is over everything, sees all things, knows all things, and is everywhere at once. Time has no bounds or limits with him.

I can’t help but think about how limited our minds truly are. It’s crazy to think that if we don’t take captive our rebellious thoughts and TEACH them to obey Christ that our minds can be lead astray.

Children of God, be aware of worship of animals (and people). Be aware of obsession with birds, reptiles, animals, and even nature.

Be aware of even Christians stepping into new age practices blindly. Beware of witchcraft in the churches. Not necessarily coming from the pulpit but within the services of those around who do not host the presence of the Lord. PRAY and ask the Lord for discernment of spirits. And PULL DOWN strongholds in your mind of WRONG THINKING!!!!

[21] Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. [22] Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. [23] And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.
Romans 1:21-23 NLT

The people began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like!!!!

The Bible says many times that some people gave into their foolish thinking. Their stinking thinking. Their imaginations. If they did it then, they’ll do it again.

Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 reminds of of this.
[9] History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. [10] Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new.


Be careful where your mind wanders. Including during prayer.  Don’t allow your mind to wander. We are told to meditate on the WORD. Not to empty our minds!!! Honestly, this is where “soaking sessions” can get messy quickly. It’s one thing when the HOLY SPIRIT knocks you out. It’s another to schedule a time to just soak.

Think on whatsoever things that are TRUE.

Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.


Ofcourse we are curious what “heaven” will be like and what even space (the heavens) are like. But it is so important to keep our eyes on Jesus and keep our TRUST in Him, not on our own understanding of things. For we won’t fully grasp all of who God is and what he has waiting for those who believe upon Jesus Christ. There is nothing wrong with the study of space and science. We love science in our home. We love studying space.

All that to say, keep your eyes on Jesus. Meditate on the WORD of God. Worship him in singing, tongues, spirit and truth. And live in such a way that your life is worship to him.

Love God with your all.

Love your neighbor/others as yourself. 

Keep on pressing the Gospel forward by being the light of Christ.

Press on serving the Lord Jesus, raise your children to know and love God and others.

It’s simple. The Gospel is simple. Live your life surrendered to the Lord and walk in love treating others as you would want to be treated.

Growing up we always celebrated Easter and also learned about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior.

However, as a child my focus ofcourse was on Easter egg hunts, Easter baskets, colored eggs, and candy. As most children’s focus is on these things. The resurrection of Jesus was talked about during our kids class but every child was focused on the egg hunt to come waiting for the “story” to end.

I understand the reality that the Lord made spring and we are to celebrate life and the beauty in His creation. Worshipping the ONE who made it and not the creation itself.

With this said, as a young adult someone wished me a happy resurrection sunday instead of Easter and I remember thinking to myself, “how strange” that person must be super “religious” and “legalistic”.

Yall. 🙈 I was so naive and unaware. Thank God for his loving kindness and mercy.

I didn’t really focus on that, I focused on the spring dresses and service we went to and the kids and their fun activities.

But after that sunday, it got me digging deeper. I came to the realization that this person wasn’t  religious and legalistic. They were walking in closeness with the Lord. As they grew in their faith they began to have deeper convictions and celebrated what truly mattered. As I began to study the origins of Easter I realized that it was originated with paganism. Which as a believer we are called OUT of. The church assembly began taking what the world did and making it about Jesus. What the enemy meant for evil the Lord will turn for good. That verses is about the LORD turning what the enemy meant for evil not MAN turning what the enemy meant for evil and calling it good.

The Lord gave me a visual when explaining to the boys why we are no longer partaking in Easter egg hunts.

Imagine a plank of wood with the word “pagen practices” carved into it. Then putting a sticker over it and calling it Christian.
I asked them, would that remove the carving? They said, “no that’s dumb, it’s like putting a mask on”.

Bingo.

So now our Ressurection Sundays will look different.

Learning about hosting a Sedar Dinner and how they “hide” the afikomen. It’s like a game. Interesting, right…
Making it fun for the kids but still about Jesus. Because Sedar points to Jesus.

Anyways, this is why we are celebrating Easter different this year. It’s about Passover and Sedar.

It’s about Jesus. I want the kids to KNOW it’s about Jesus. Not be distracted by other things.

Is it ok to give our kids gifts and candy, ofcourse it is. It is a blessing to be a blessing. But the actual tradition of the baskets and the “nests” and the colored eggs, were originated in paganism practices.

Learning to keep Jesus the focus, and still bless our children without making it feel like we take all their fun away is important. Especially when the Lord is teaching us these things, we don’t want them to see serving Jesus as a fun ruiner. Instead we can teach them that being blessed isn’t sin. Having fun isn’t a sin. However, if we are aware of something that doesn’t please the Lord, we need to repent and adjust. It’s learning that we are free from sin that leads to death, and that we want to live lives that glorify the Lord and not continue in something that points to paganism traditions. It’s a process. I’m unlearning a lot and learning a lot in my walk with the Lord. It’s messy, and I have to seek the Lord for direction and understanding.

Matthew 5:17-18 NLT
[17]  “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.

🌟[18] I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.

– Jesus takes everything to a higher standard.-

Matthew 5:19-22 NLT

[19] So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. [20]  “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven! [21]  “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’

➡️[22] But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell. 🔥


I love how Jesus addresses the beholder of the eye. Not the one being lusted after in this instance. It’s up to each individual to keep their eye gates pure. It is not other peoples responsibility to keep your heart and mind pure. We live in this world and WILL see plenty. It’s what we meditate on is what matters. Not judging others but keeping ourselves in check. We are the LIGHT of the WORLD what good is that light if we hide it. No instead its to be placed on a hill top for ALL to see. It doesn’t say instead hide away from the world. No. We live in this world but we understand our eternity is with Jesus in the heavenly places.


Matthew 5:27-29 NLT
➡️[27]  “You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’

👀 [28] But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

👁[29] So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.


Jesus goes on to say that UNLESS our righteousness is BETTER than the righteousness of the Pharisees we will never enter heaven. (5:20) but we understand that we are counted righteous BY FAITH. Not by works. This is where it’s easy to get tripped up. Understanding BY faith we have been saved not by works that any man shall boast. The works will be evident in our lives just as the fruit of the spirit will be. So if we are trying to work our way to heaven then we must be BETTER then the religious Pharisees. And we know we can’t be. This is by GRACE we have been saved. This is why motives of the heart matters and only God knows a man’s hearts and thoughts.


Matthew 5:37 NLT
[37] Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.

Did you know that many health issues can be helped with supplements?

(Ofcourse always Diet, Exercise, and Proper Rest)

Let’s talk

• High cholesterol

Research shows that Red Yeast Rice that has a large amount of the compound monacolin K in it can lower total cholesterol. The supplement also may lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, also called LDL cholesterol. This is the “bad” cholesterol found in the blood that can raise your risk of heart disease.

Many traditional Dr.s will be quick to put people on
Statins. *Taking red yeast rice with statins might raise the risk of harmful side effects*

https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-red-yeast-rice/art-20363074

It works best when taken at night before bed.

If you’re looking for a more holistic approach for a Dr. be sure to check out Anti-Aging & Regenerative Associates located in Port Orange. They are self pay and do their blood lab work IN house.
https://share.google/PgT2d6NgZKRvn0JpH

Looking for a good holistic dr. Who can also prescribe a zpack when needed and isn’t into the witchcraft side (there are a lot of holistic practices that are creepy). This is the place. They take the time to find the root causes to problems and actually help you improve your health verses JUST treating the problem.

I am taking a lot of supplements, which I’ll share on throughout different posts and can testify that not only do I feel better, my bloodwork has improved tremendously.

This brand is from Peggy’s Whole Foods
https://share.google/XMmHci3h7KGX5JqrY

And to clarify, I am selling nothing. Just hoping by sharing, it may help one other person.

Do the research. It’s worth it. I have high cholesterol and triglycerides and this is helping lower it. (Plus diet and exercise)

The enemy wants you to confuse weakness with defeat.

Weakness is a condition – this can change, weakness says I’m tired.

Defeat is a conclusion – defeat says I’m done. Weakness is just a moment when your strength is insufficient.

Defeat is when you decide the moment is final.

2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT[9] Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.

This word is 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Grace. God is not just concerned with you doing. He is concerned with you becoming. God doesnt just give you grace for what you can accomplish. He gives you grace so you can transform. 🔥

Paul was weak not defeated.

Weakness says I need help.

Defeat says its over. Stop applying earthly definitions to weakness. When I am weak HE IS STRONG! God wants to expose your dependency.

HUMBLE YOURSELF YOU CANNOT RECEIVE WHAT YOU REFUSE TO ADMIT YOU NEED. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

The enemy confuses definitions by deceiving you to live to definitions that are earthly not biblical and he confuses roles. ➡️He makes you assume responsibilities that are not yours. ⬅️

In this world there is so much chaos and confusion, intimidation and fear being thrown our way. With all the online and broadcasted platforms we get news of things happening around the world  in a matter of seconds, sometimes even live streamed.

This can cause fear and panic. This can cause chaos in our lives simply by allowing our minds to be fixed on what’s going on and what could possibly go wrong.

Does this mean we burry our heads in the sand? No. There is a time and place to be aware of what’s going on around us. However, the moment our awareness shifts to any place of fear it no longer is “wisdom” its an open door to the enemy.

Fear can creep in ever so slightly. Even when making plans for the future. The Bible tells us a man plans his course but the Lord determines the steps. (Proverbs 16:9)

We have so much information being thrown our way, it can be difficult to discern the Voice of the Holy Spirit and the voice of our flesh. We love to say everything’s Satan, but we forget we are also in fleshly bodies. Yes we are supposed to be dead to our flesh but the reality we are called to take up our cross daily because all it takes is a moment to give into our flesh. Our flesh wants pleasures of this world. (1 John 2:15-17) We are to crucify our flesh. Does it give glory to God or man?

A crucified flesh won’t seek to be right (one of my biggest struggles), it won’t seek its own way, it won’t seek to be seen, it won’t seek needing to know what’s next, and it won’t seek control. A crucified flesh will seek the King of kings, it will seek the Kingdom of God. A crucified flesh won’t have any reason to be intimidated because nothing can be lost when it all belongs to the Lord. A crucified flesh won’t be fearful because it knows it has the Spirit of the Living God in him/her. A crucified flesh won’t have need to worry because it knows that the Lord blesses those who work and He will feed those who work. And those who chase fantasies will end up in proverty. (Proverbs 28:19-20).  He will give more to the man who stewarded the 10 well by taking what he gave to the man who buried his treasure. (No one likes to talk about this biblical principle). (Matthew 25:14-30)

1 Peter 5:7-10 NLT
➡️[7] Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

🌟 [8] Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

[9] Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.

[10] In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.

Our way of standing firm against the enemy is by seeking First the Kingdom of God. It’s by keeping our gaze of Jesus not looking to the left or right. Not looking to the intimidation around us, not looking at the chaos next to us. It’s being a becan of light walking IN PEACE when those around us are driven by fear.

It’s learning to walk in Step with the Holy Spirit and yielding to His every leading, even when it’s not what we perceived or fantasized about.

The enemy is lurking, he is looking for an opening to plants deceptive thoughts. He is working. However, we must not look to him, we are to be alert and aware of his tactics, but we are the fix our gaze of Jesus.

Look straight ahead. By keeping our gaze on Jesus in the midst of the storms of life, chaos, intimidation, and fear around us, we can and WILL walk in the shoes of peace.

The shoes of peace aren’t just for us to have peace. It is being prepared to STAND FIRM which is produced in us by the Gospel of Christ. We must STAND against the enemy not swayed.

Ephesians 6:15 AMP
[15] and having strapped on your feet the gospel of peace in preparation [to face the enemy with firm-footed stability and the readiness produced by the good news]. [Is 52:7]

The enemy is real, but my God is also very real and so MUCH bigger and my God holds ALL the Power.

Yeshua is his name. Jesus Christ. HE IS GOD AND HE IS THE SON OF GOD. HE SENT US HIS HOLY SPIRIT WHEN HE ROSE AGAIN SO THAT WE COULD WALK WITH HIM AND IN HIM.

So fear not. Worry not. Don’t look to the things of this world for comfort or satisfaction. We are in this world but not of this World. Our Spirit is from heavenly places.

Walk in the assurance of who Jesus is and what he has done for us. Put on the armor of God, and seek the Lord. Fear not. Give NO place to the enemy.

Fear is a doorway. Shut that door and TRUST the Lord.

When you’re trusting God, you’ll be at peace. You won’t feel the need to know and understand everything. You will be able to obey Him in which he leads today and trust him with tomorrow.

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths. – Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV

Another translation says in all your ways submit to Him.

Submit to his leading. It’s soft and gentle. We must listen closely.

Be lead by the Holy Spirit today and trust Him with tomorrow.

Psalms 27:4 NLT
[4] The one thing I ask of the Lord— the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple.

David wrote this, desiring to be in the Lord’s presence often. As believers it is easy to take for granite of the fact that we are temples of the Holy Spirit. That the spirit of God dwells within us. We are carriers of His glory. Not because we are good enough but because thru Jesus we have been made righteous.

If we truly got the revelation that we carry God’s presence within us, we would worship him like never before, praise him like never before. Seek Him like never before. We would host his presence like never before.

David longed to be in the presence of the Lord. He couldn’t wait to be. And yet we have access to God’s presence 24/7 and don’t? Do we wait til Sunday morning to “feel” his presence?

We ought to be in it daily. So if that means we turn off our devices and spend time in his presence, so be it. Our lives would look different.

One sunday morning last year when I was helping lead worship at my old church, the Lord reminded me of the scripture that He inhabits the praises of His people. Well recently at my church the pastor mentioned it, and it reminded me of that moment the Holy Spirit spoke it to my Spirit. I was all nervous about leading a song, but His gentle spirit reminded me that He inhabits the praises of His people. It wasn’t about how perfect I did, (although I believe I gave it my best) it was about the fact that they Lord shows up when we praise Him. He shows up when we glorify him. It was never about the music it was about Him showing up. And that was the sunday He did tangibly show up. I felt his presence so strong.

He will show up like that anytime we worship/praise Him. It wasn’t a special service, it wasn’t my favorite song, it wasn’t because I was so good, no. It was His glory filling the room because we turned our attention to Him.

David longed for this. We have it. Let us not take it for granite. Instead let’s host His presence regularly. Let’s be truly walking by His Spirit daily reflecting His image, carrying his glory.

We are HIS temple. He dwells within the believer. Meditate on this.

Zechariah 8:12-13 NLT
For I am planting seeds of peace and prosperity among you. The grapevines will be heavy with fruit. The earth will produce its crops, and the heavens will release the dew. Once more I will cause the remnant in Judah and Israel to inherit these blessings. [13] Among the other nations, Judah and Israel became symbols of a cursed nation. But no longer! Now I will rescue you and make you both a symbol and a source of blessing. So don’t be afraid. Be strong, and get on with rebuilding the Temple!

I believe that the Lord is rebuilding his Temple in us. We are temples of His Holy Spirit. We Receive the spirit in part. Jesus received it fully. We get to carry his presence and dwell in his presence. It’s so beautiful. He inhabits the praises of His people. When we close our eyes and sing unto the Lord from our hearts, his weighty glory just sits on us. It’s beautiful.  It’s never been by our might nor by our power but always by His Spirit. HE IS THE GREAT I AM. HE IS ALPHA AND OMEGA, BEGGINING AND END. HE IS TIME. THERE IS NO TIME IN HIM. He is patient in coming back because he wants everyone to have the chance to turn towards him. He wants all the children to come unto him. But not all people are God’s children. Only those who believe in Jesus as their Lord and savior and follow him.