Here are some ramblings of how life goes on at our house. Enjoy!
We've had much snow the past week causing some amount of cabin fever! But although the world around us is still very white, we know spring is a comin'! This morning our backyard trees were teeming with dozens of red-breasted robins. The buds are patiently waiting to burst, and under the blanket of snow the grass is green. This afternoon the sun peeked through and so the kids and I donned our winter gear and headed out to build a snowman.
And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give you strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.I like what Melody Beatte has to say:
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”Ultimately, the best advise I can give you today is that...
I am the administrator/instructor of an exclusive, multigrade academy designed with the express purpose of enhancing and maximizing potential in a select group of creative individuals!I love this definition and I keep it out where I can read it often. Sometimes I even quote it when people ask me what I do- it’s kinda fun to watch their reaction!
“No matter what multitude of reasons may have initially influenced your decision to bring your children home, in the end the only reason that really matters is that it is the right thing to do. In your heart, God moved you toward the decision, confirming through a variety of sources that you were doing the right thing. And in your heart, you made the step of faith to do what you knew was right-to bring your children home to disciple and educate them as a family.”God has employed you to raise up children equipped to fight for the good of His eternal kingdom. Diana Warring says,
“We need to relinquish ownership into the Master’s capable hands. We need to walk in an awareness that God Himself is behind this parenting/homeschooling movement, raising up a whole group of stable, disciplined, young people to go to the nations!”This is HUGE! And the devil knows it and so he will do everything he can to discourage and deter you. And so you MUST know why motherhood and homeschooling are your high calling.
"God asks, ‘So what is my plan for your homeschool for the godly instruction of the precious children I have entrusted to your care? It is that you be where you are right now. Standing at the crossroads of failure and success, realizing that you can do nothing. Because at this point, you can now make the choice. Will you choose to allow ME to teach your child through you? Are you willing to admit you don’t have all the answers, apologize when you ‘blow it’ and more than anything else, point that child to where the answers can be found- in ME? I have given you the best text book of all, my Living Word! And the whole world is the classroom I have prepared for you and your child. You cannot teach your child, but I can teach both of you. Not just the education that the world values so highly, but also the priceless wisdom of my Father."
Col. 2:8
See to it that no one takes you captive through the philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways (homeschooling included) acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.”
“In our culture, we have almost deified education at the expense of dethroning God! Education has become an idol that demands worship of those from all faiths and cultures. Yet, even education will not bring that soul satisfaction that we all seek for! We are made with a void in our souls that cannot be satisfied with anyone or anything else but God.”Make it a priority to seek God first to nourish your own soul. This is a spiritual battle; it is hard because our soul does not always scream out for help like the cares of the world do.
“A certain degree of isolation is the price you will pay for the choice to give your children the opportunity to learn at home. You will need regular encouragement to strengthen your convictions and to keep going as a home educator, so do what you tell your children to do- look to your books. Start building a library section of books on home schooling.”
"...a community of friends who are hungry for God, who knows what it means to sense the Spirit moving within them as they speak with you. You long for brothers and sisters who are intent not on figuring out how to improve your life, but on being with you wherever your journey leads.”
“Learn together. Learn from each other. Set up a lifestyle of learning that can go on for generations to come!”Family time is just as important as academics- and I believe even more so, especially in this day and age. Think back to your schooling. When did you learn best? I know for me, I learned the most when I was emotionally engaged. Rote learning tended to usually stay in my short term memory, until the end of the test, and then it was gone. But if I was excited or passionate about something, and I had someone to share it with (remember we are relational beings)- I still remember it to this day. Geography never made sense to me until I traveled and became engaged in that learning. I believe that real life is the best teacher. So, allow time to pursue 'life’ together: gardening, building a deck, cooking, traveling, video making. My kids have learned more in being involved together in an interesting pursuit than in the hours finishing worksheets or ‘studying’ a required text.
“As we go through life, we find that life is so short. The sunny moments simply must be snatched along the way. Some lessons only come along once in a lifetime!”
“We must be very particular! We must reach for the BEST! We must guard our routine to make sure that we make time for the impotant...the eternal! Everything in our day must be evaluated from an eternal perspective, leaving only those things that work toward the very best!”The Clarksons tell us,
"God has given you all you need to train and educate your children at home- its in real books and real life.”Certainly, certain curriculums can be and are an asset, but please guard yourself from being discouraged because you cannot have it all. I firmly believe that God will provide you with everything you need if you but ask. Just remember, often what He knows we need and what we think we need can be two different things!
Search me (and our homeschool), oh God, and know my heart. Point out anything in me (or our homeschool) that makes you sad, and lead me (our homeschool) along the path of everlasting life.
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