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God knows that homeschooling can be tough sometimes.
Some days are wonderful and you can see the fruits of
your labor. Your child's handwriting is neat, the
answers are correct, and his attitude is cooperative. On
those days, you know why you homeschool. We all love
those days -- reading together as a family, working
together on a new skill, and enjoying each other. You
can feel God's hand of blessing upon you so easily, and
you are confident that God has called you to homeschool.
But what about the other days? Do you feel as certain
when the house is a mess, you're off schedule, and you
can hardly even find the books? Are you still confident
when the kids continue to be argumentative, after you
feel like you've tried all that you know? Or do you
start to wonder if you really can teach your own child
when he just isn't reading like you had hoped? What
about when you are just physically, mentally, and
emotionally exhausted? Can you keep homeschooling when
you have nothing else to give?
Yes! God will continually affirm His plan for you and
your family. Satan will try to attack you with negative
thoughts -- self criticism, doubt, fears, and
discouragement. Learn to recognize when that is
happening, cast out those thoughts, and look for God's
affirmations and grace for you. Again and again in the
Bible, God uses unlikely people to accomplish His will.
If we were capable of doing it all without His help, He
wouldn't get any glory. People would say, "Of course,
they can home school, they are Super Parents!" However,
when people see you willing to tough it out and continue
on in faith and obedience, they'll see the God who can
work in all circumstances. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, " .
. . My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is
made perfect in weakness."
Think of how God used Moses. When Moses heard God's
voice in a burning bush, and God told him that He was
going to use him to bring the Israelites out of bondage,
Moses' first response was, "Why would you choose me?"
God tried to put Moses' mind at ease and reminded him
that He would be with him. Later Moses asked, "What if
they don't believe me or listen to me?" God then
explained how He would reveal His power to the people.
Still Moses was so doubtful that he reminded God that he
wasn't a good speaker. Even that didn't change God's
mind. God reminded him that He is the Creator and can do
anything. In Exodus 4:12, God said, "Now therefore go,
and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou
shalt say."
I believe God says that to all of us. "Go, I will help
you speak and will teach you what to say." I've often
heard it said that God doesn't call the equipped, He
equips the called. We all have different strengths and
weaknesses, just as our children do. God knew all of
that when he gave us children and led us to
homeschooling. He isn't surprised when we struggle. He
holds out His gentle hands and wants us to bring all of
our concerns and worries to him and allow Him to do the
work. Philippians 1:6 is one of my favorite verses. It
reminds me that God isn't just sitting back watching to
see what WE can do. He is the One that is truly doing
the work through us. "Being confident of this very
thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will
perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." He affirms
homeschooling. He'll complete the work; we just need to
stay the course.
I believe that God is doing a wonderful work in
homeschool families. Society has failed families in many
ways. The world has led women to believe their value is
in the workplace, rather than in the home. It has led
parents to believe that children will be behind if they
don't go to preschool to prepare for public school.
Society has led people to think only professional
teachers with education degrees are capable of teaching
children. Those misconceptions have sent families in all
different directions with very little time together. Our
time with our children is a precious gift. God's word
emphasizes the importance of quantity time, as well as
quality time with our children. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says,
"And these words, which I command thee this day, shall
be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently
unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou
sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the
way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."
Notice that God says YOU shall teach them diligently to
YOUR children. It's not the job of either the government
or the Christian school to teach our children His word.
God gives that responsibility to parents, and
homeschooling is the best opportunity for discipling our
children. God affirms homeschooling.
I am so encouraged by talking with other homeschool
parents about how their families are growing closer
together and towards the Lord. Long before I ever
considered homeschooling, a woman talked about how God
is continually growing us as we are growing our
children. While homeschooling can be very rewarding and
enjoyable, it can also be very humbling and demanding at
times. Homeschooling pushes us towards God as we pray
for guidance about character issues, curriculum choices,
and His will. I believe that God can use other
homeschool families to encourage us and affirm
homeschooling. Many times an encouraging word has been
just what I needed to hear to fight off discouragement.
It takes time to cultivate friendships, but the
encouragement and affirmation that my family and I
receive from other homeschool families makes it worth
the effort.
Time and time again God affirms His will for us to
homeschool through the rich relationships He's
developing among my family. I am so blessed to witness
how my boys love and care for each other, their father
and me. When you spend as much time together as we do,
you learn to get along. It isn't always easy, and I know
that we all have bad days, but I can't imagine how
different our family would be if we were all apart from
each other for 8 hours a day! I was raised pretty much
as an only child and I can remember dreaming of someday
having a house full of children. I thought my friends
with siblings were so lucky to always have someone to
play with and talk to, but they usually thought I was
the lucky one! Most of them didn't really enjoy their
time with their siblings and always wanted to get a
break from them. While I know everyone needs time alone
occasionally, I love watching siblings choose to play
and work together.
One of the things that stood out to me, as a young mom
attending my first homeschool support group meeting, was
how well all the children got along! After teaching in
public school for a few years and hearing students
complain about younger siblings, it was great when I saw
the older kids happily helping with the younger kids
while the parents were in the meeting. The parents
trusted their children to be responsible and the kids
rose to the task. I knew then that I desired for my
children to get along well and to have willing hearts
that serve happily. God used those other families to
affirm homeschooling for me.
Beyond that, you can just look at the statistics.
Homeschooling is growing by leaps and bounds. Research
is showing how homeschoolers are succeeding on
standardized tests, in college, in the workforce, home
life, and more. I believe more families are seeing the
fruit of homeschooling and are considering it as an
option. Even many public and private school educators
see the value of homeschooling. They know how hard it is
to teach a whole classroom full of students. They know
how important it is to have parents involved. Schools
are constantly trying to find ways to get more parents
involved. They may not want to acknowledge that parents
can teach their own children just as well as (or better
than!) the public schools, but we don't really need
their affirmation or permission. We have God's!
When you are going through the tough, crazy times and
feel you're in survival mode, look for God's affirmation
and grace for your homeschool. It's always there if you
just look for it. God loves all of us so much and has a
wonderful plan for our families. Trust Him to lead you
through the tough times, even when things aren't the way
you hoped. Don't focus too much on what you aren't
getting done or give in to discouragement. Keep things
in perspective. While academics are certainly important,
eternity is the most important. God sees the big picture
and is in control. His grace can cover all of our
mistakes or shortcomings. Ultimately He is actually the
one doing the work and has promised to complete it. As
your children watch you walk in faith, they will learn
to walk in faith as well. Isn't that yet another
wonderful affirmation of homeschooling?
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not
unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways
acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."
Proverbs 3:5-6
Nancy, Tony and their three boys enjoy learning on their
KY farm. God called Nancy away from teaching public
school to homeschool their children seven years ago. Now
she seeks to encourage other parents to homeschool, to
enjoy a lifestyle of learning as a family and to find
God's wonderful plan for their family. You can email her
at
tn3jcarter@peoplepc.com.
This article was originally published in the May/Jun '05
issue of Home School Enrichment Magazine. For more
information, visit
http://HomeSchoolEnrichment.com.
To request a FREE sample copy, visit
http://homeschoolenrichment.com/magazine/request-sample-issue.html.
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