Today’s interviewee, Karen Woodward, is our 2005 winner of the “Best International Homeschool Blog” award.  Karen and her family served as missionaries for 10 years in Romania. She currently blogs at For Such a Time as Now and resides in Virginia. Below, Karen shares advice for those considering missions, encourages those who are homeschooling in “less than ideal” situations, and proves it is possible to blog AND maintain a clean desk at the same time. If you’ve never visited Karen’s blog, do so today. You’re in for a treat.  I enjoyed reading her anwers to my questions and I bet you will too.

Tell us a little bit about your family.
My husband John and I have been married for 21 years. He was in law enforcement when we met. Six years after we were married, he resigned from the Virginia State Police and began studying for the ministry. We have 3 children. Gabriel is 17. He enjoys art, drama and history. He is the family comedian and keeps us laughing. Hannah is 15. She has a sweet spirit and gentle nature. Her passion is photography and shopping! She also has a blog.  Holly is 10. She is a girly girl and loves anything pink and sparkly. Her goal in life right now is to be a teenager.

Karen, you and your family were missionaries for 10 years to Romania. What is your favorite memory from that time?
It’s really hard to choose one favorite memory out of 10 years. One of my favorite moments was during our last year. We had gone to a conference with national Romanian pastors. It was similar to a missions conference. They found out that it was my birthday and they sang to me, gave me a beautiful wreath and the children gave me a bouquet of flowers.

What a wonderful tribute to the love and respect these pastors had for you Karen. I’m a MK and remember vividly graduating from high school and moving to the states for college. I stood in the grocery store in awe…..out and out shock. Did you and/or your family have any similar culture shock when you moved back to the states?
One of the things that was a surprise to my family was the friendliness of the cashiers in the stores here in the states. It was such a shock to be greeted with a “Hello” and a smile.

Can you share a bit about what your family is currently doing?
When we returned to the States in March of 2007, we had no idea of what we would be doing. I am not yet ready to share online about the direction that we are heading but I will say that we never imagined that we would be walking down this road. I will also add that John will be taking some tests on July 8th concerning this path and I am begging for fervent prayers.

You have my prayers, and I’m sure many of our readers will pray for you and your husband’s test as well.

Do you have any advice you care to share for a young person or family interested in pursuing missions? (This is a personal question as our 21 yo is planning on going overseas in the next year or two).
First of all, take a first aid/CPR course. Medical conditions in most other countries cannot compare to what we are used to in the United States. Second, have a good grasp on English grammar. Knowing your own language well will help in learning a foreign language. Third and probably most important, be prepared to find the enemy in unexpected places.

Great advice. Do you have a favorite must-read-before-you-graduate book on missions that you’d recommend?
I’ve read several biographies of missionaries but the one that really made an impact on my life was William Carey. His first wife became such a burden to him and his ministry. It became my prayer that I would not be a hindrance to my husband and ultimately to God’s work.

What does a typical homeschool day look like in your home?
This past year has been a difficult homeschool year. We not only moved back to the States but then we moved from Alabama to Virginia. The expense was tremendous and we found it necessary for me to go back to work part time. I was a teacher in the public schools before we had children of our own and it made sense to become a substitute teacher. That meant that I had to do a lot of planning on the weekends and have assignments written down for the children to do independently. On a day that I am working, I leave before anyone else is awake. Gabriel is usually the first one to get up and he will start on his schoolwork immediately after he eats. Hannah and Holly get up a bit later and they do their work. When I come home in the afternoon, I go over their work with them and see if they have any questions. It’s not the best scenario but it works. Thankfully, John works in the evenings and can be home with them during the day. The best situation in any homeschool would be for the mom to be at home, but life is not always ideal. I will be working full time for 12 weeks beginning in August. I am hoping that we will have our debts paid off soon after that and I can be a full time stay at home mom again. Meanwhile, I would love to be able to encourage others that homeschooling is still possible when life is less than ideal.

Karen thanks so much for sharing honestly. Your gracious words are an encouragement. What a joy to hear how God faithfully enabled your family to fulfill the call to homeschool even in the midst of less than ideal circumstances.

Would you care to share a piece of advice for new homeschoolers?
Don’t try to do 5 or 6 subjects with the early grades. Concentrate on reading and math.

What is your favorite book on homeschooling?
Amazingly, I don’t really have a favorite book.

Karen you’ve been blogging for quite a few years. When DID you begin?
I began blogging on June 18, 2005.

What motivated you to begin blogging?
I was researching online about notebooking and came across Cindy Rushton’s webpage. I joined her Mom to Mom group and one day she had a message saying that everyone should get a blog. I didn’t really know what a blog was but I decided to check it out. It quickly became a passion.

What are some of the good and the bad things that blogging has brought into your life?
Good things have been meeting blogging friends in real life like Julie , Patricia  and Cindy Rushton. The bad things would be spending too much time on the computer and neglecting my lifelong passion for books.

Overall would you say blogging has been a positive experience? What advice do you have for others just starting to blog?
Overall, blogging has definitely been a positive experience. I have found encouragement both in reading other blogs and from comments made on mine. My advice to new bloggers would be to monitor your time spent on blogging. Also, don’t be afraid to comment on other people’s blogs. It’s great to know that someone has actually read your blog and you just might be the encouragement they needed for that day.

What are your favorite topics to blog about?
My family and how God is working in our lives.

Can we see a photo of your desk where you blog?

Do you have any passions besides blogging and missions that you’d like to share with us?
Reading! I love reading Christian fiction and biographies.

Thanks for taking the time to let us get to know you a bit better, Karen. I’ve enjoyed visiting your blog in the past few weeks. I’ll be checking in for my dose of encouragement For Such a Time as Now.