Fast Transcripts–Review: Create Homeschooling Transcripts Easily and Professionally

My oldest son is in high school, and I wanted a good product for making his transcript, something that would be easy to use and produce a high quality result. We are members of HSLDA, and I had seen an ad for their “Fast Transcripts”.  Sure enough, I tried it, and I loved it.

Within a short chunk of time, I was able to create a transcript for my son, by entering his information and data fairly simply. “Fast Transcripts” was easy to use and clearly laid out.

With little effort, at a very reasonable price, you can make a professional transcript that you and your students will be proud of!

Fast Transcripts enables you to track your high schooler’s courses via online record keeping, and then helps you produce an official transcript with an auto-calculation feature for determining yearly and cumulative GPAs.

You even have the option of having your final transcript printed on watermark protected, academic record stock!
~From the “Fast Transcripts” web site

“Fast Transcripts” is $12 for HSLDA members and $16 for non-members – a certainly affordable price for a product well-worth your money!

For more information about “Fast Transcripts”, check out their web site. You can even get a 30 day free trial to see if you like the product.

Make Time for God

In my last post, I encouraged you to make time for things that you don’t think you have time for, or things you need to have time for! Hopefully you have started to, at least, think about how you can make more time in life for some things.

One thing (person) you need to have time for is God!

Are you making time for Him? Are you setting aside time each day to pray, to read and meditate on His Word, to just be still and know that He is God?

It’s so easy to be caught up with living, to be caught up with the urgent things of life. When I wake up in the morning, my mind races. I think about what I am making for breakfast, the coffee and lunch I need to make for my husband, the long To Do list that awaits me… My mind is very active in the morning. It takes discipline for me to turn it off and just sit and direct it towards my Father.

In Luke 10:42, in the familiar story of Martha and Mary, Jesus said:

But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.

Each day we, too, have a choice to make:
to choose to sit with God and hear from Him,
to offer our hearts before Him,
to learn from Him,to surrender to Him,
and to have our minds, hearts, and souls refreshed by Him.

It will not just happen. We have to force ourselves to sit, to open our Bibles, to pray, and to be quiet. It is our job to MAKE TIME for God.

The other day a friend asked me how I find time to have my devotional time with God. I simply said, “I just make myself do it.” I don’t say that pridefully or easily. I say that with the same flesh and struggles as everyone else, with the struggle of juggling time and energies and entering into the rush and scurry of the day, with the hopes of accomplishing much and feeling like I have made a dent in my never-ending list of tasks.

Within the last handful of months, I have really placed a priority on having my Bible time in the morning… even if I wake up late, even if the kids are up, even if I feel swamped… I realize how important it is for me to spend time with my God.

Obviously I have a luxury of being a stay-at-home mom, so my schedule is a bit different in that way. I can be a bit more flexible.

I encourage you to try to fit in your time with God in the morning. It does help set your day on the right foot. Wake up 15 minutes earlier with the intent of establishing a morning habit. If and when you fail, don’t leave out your Bible time altogether, find another time during the day when you can spend time with God.

If the morning doesn’t work, get your Bible out during lunch. Take a break during the afternoon or before you start to make dinner. Take your Bible with you if you will be waiting for a child’s lesson or practice. After dinner, before you browse social media and the internet, read your Bible. And if you haven’t touched it before you are ready for bed, open God’s Word and take a few moments to reflect.

Some how, some way, MAKE TIME with God your priority
by MAKING TIME for it in your day.

Make Time for What You Don't Have Time For

“I don’t have time for _____________________.”

It is a statement that many of us utter when we survey our lives. The load of responsibility, the privilege of opportunity, and the limit of time and our human selves fill our lives to the fullest. Margin seems inaccessible. The clock appears to move way too quickly, and we are left with a sense that we just can not fit anything else in or pursue some of our priorities and dreams.

Unfortunately, we sell ourselves short oftentimes. Yes, our schedules are full. Yes, we are finite. Yes, there is much vying for our attention.

However, life really is what we MAKE of it.

I took a survey on my Facebook page the other day to see what my readers wish they had more time for. Here were some of the responses:

• quilting
• crocheting
• reading, for pleasure and for growth
• scrapbooking
• thoroughly cleaning out a computer room

Let me add some more:

• reading the Bible and other spiritual disciplines
• rest and sleep
• exercise
• time with loved ones

If we examine the lists above, we can conclude that all of these things contribute to our well-being. They, all, have to do with taking care of ourselves, giving ourselves well-needed breaks and rest, and fueling the passions and dreams we have. Wouldn’t you say that is pretty important?

The first thing we must realize when it comes to things we want more time for is that we have to MAKE time for them. If you evaluate everything you do today, you will see that you have established goals and habits that cause your day to flow the way it has OR maybe you, in a large part, have just “gone with the flow”. Either way, your day has been accounted for.

How do you want to account for your day? Do you really want to make time for the things you don’t have time for?

I will be posting more about this topic to encourage and motivate you to make time for these things that are really important in life.

Here is my current challenge to you:

Over the next few days, PICK ONE thing you want to do and set a goal to do it, even if it is only 15 minutes. Something is better than nothing!

When you have made goals and/or accomplished something, let me know! Catch me on social media. Email me at thecozynookblog@gmail.com. I would love to hear how you are moving forward and use your stories to inspire others.