Titus2.com offers a wide variety of resources for home, family
Kathryn Nielson · Dec 18, 2018
Visitors to Titus2.com will find a plethora of resources from the Maxwell family, starting with the numerous books they’ve written over the years. (To enter a giveaway that runs until midnight on January 15, click here)
The ‘Managers’ series
The Maxwells are likely most known for their Managers series: Managers of Their Homes, Managers of Their School, and Managers of Their Chores.
“Each mother has a choice: Will she be a home manager or a daily victim of circumstances?” Teri writes in Managers of Their Homes.
After being asked multiple times how she “got it all done”—that is, homeschooled eight children, led a local homeschool group, and had time to make matching clothes for her daughters—she and Steve wrote Managers of Their Homes. The book begins by explaining why a schedule is so vital to the peace and harmony moms want in their homes.
“I think the schedule ties in well with what Samaritan is doing because that is what helps moms to do things that are going to help them to be healthy,” Teri says. “It gives them time in the Word. It gives them the spiritual nourishment that they need and grounds them emotionally. I love when moms can get hold of that instead of being overwhelmed and burdened, pulled down by all the things they have to do.”
If Managers of Their Homes is the what and why of homeschooling, Managers of Their School is the how. In it, Teri breaks down how she organized the homeschool day and created the schedule sheets. She even breaks down each grade and subject and tells the reader what she used. “I take 30 years of homeschooling experience, with eight children, and narrow it down to 200 pages,” she says.
Getting their kids to do chores didn’t come without some work. In Managers of Their Chores Steve and Teri share with the reader what they learned to help them finally have success in this area. They explain how to make a master chore list, how to assign chores, how to teach them to do their chores, how to schedule chores, how to implement the chore system, and more. They’ve recently launched an online software companion to the book at ChorePacks.com.
Working chores into the schedule “helps moms get a handle on the scheduling and lightens the burden for moms,” Teri says. “And it teaches kids to learn to help with the workload.”
Help for tough times
Sweet Journey was written while Teri was going through depression and learning what God was teaching her about having daily time with Him.
“I needed to learn to take every thought captive based on the truth of His Word,” Teri says. “I had to take his Word and speak it out loud.”
She began collecting verses to use in the tough times. At different times in her life, she has found herself going back and applying what she learned then.
“Homeschooling With a Meek and Quiet Spirit was the story of what God was teaching me through those emotional struggles I was having,” Teri says. “There are a lot of moms struggling with that, and it’s helpful for them to know they aren’t the only ones who struggle. I love to give moms hope. If God can do what He did in my life, He can do it in their life.”
Providing for families
Homeschooling and keeping house aren’t the only subjects on Steve and Teri’s minds. They have written extensively on raising sons who will be able to provide for their families and on how to buy a house debt-free before getting married.
The Maxwells are firm believers that fathers should be the primary breadwinners, which provides the opportunity for mothers to focus on nurturing young children in a home environment that is optimal for raising up children to love and follow the Lord. Although many factors have undermined what was once considered the norm, they have seen in their own family and many others that it is worth pursuing and can be achieved.
In Preparing Sons, they emphasize that it is possible for sons to be able to provide for their future family on a single income, despite the widespread belief in our culture that two incomes are necessary.
Their goal in the book is to “first form an understanding of the real issues that affect a son’s ability to provide for his family.”
“Then you should come to see what God has to say about these difficulties and what your responsibility is in it all,” Teri says.
Those “real issues” include choosing a vocation, pursuing education, and developing skills that cater to the goal of providing for a family, all things that they encourage parents to start instilling in children at a young age.
Steve and Teri are often asked what the “plan” is for teaching sons to buy a house debt-free. In Buying a House Debt-Free, they write, “It is not a plan; it is a way of life. A debt-free house is not the ultimate goal in life, but it can be a byproduct of an abiding life in Christ.”
From a young age, they encouraged their children to develop an appetite for God and His Word, for learning, and for work, all things that contribute to their ability to purchase a house outright. All five of their sons have purchased their homes with cash.
More resources
The prolific Maxwells offer the books mentioned above in a MegaPack, with these additional titles:
- Summer with the Moodys
- Keeping Your Children’s Hearts
- Redeeming the Time
- Sweet Relationships
- Making Great Conversationalists
- Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit
- Encouraging the Homeschool Family audio set
- Feed My Sheep audio
One of the Maxwells’ daughters, Sarah, has penned a 12-volume set of Moody Family children’s books. Her latest book, Finding Change, the first in a new series, was just released.
Titus2.com also features more than 500 free articles and a blog with the latest goings-on of the Maxwell family.