{To read all the posts in this series, click above.}
Those precious little ones. They are the reason you homeschool.
They are also sometimes the reason you cry yourself to sleep at night, and the reason you call your husband in the middle of the day begging him to come home.
No one could have ever prepared you for the emotion behind parenting. All the cookbooks and how-to and parenting books in the world will fall miserably short when it comes to describing what it is really like to be a mom, let alone a HOMESCHOOL MOM.
Being a homeschool mother has its own set of challenges. We feel the weight of the world on our shoulders and we believe everything we do or say to our children is either building them up or warping them. There is no “in-between” in our world…no balance between crisis and creativity. We’re either on top of the world or in the bottom of the pit.
I’m not sure I can fully explain this phenomenon, but it seems to be widespread among homeschool mothers. Call it guilt, call it pressure, call it insecurity…but we are kept awake at night pondering our every step and wondering if we are doing things right or wrong.
With this post, I want to take you another direction. I want to show you a different side of things. A side that offers balance.
There are so many aspects to your children that you cannot possibly speak to every single need they have. Just as there are gaps in your education, baggage from your past, sins you struggle with today, so will it be with your children.
In Roberts Lewis’ book, Real Family Values, he says, “Kids don’t bounce, they break.”
Not real encouraging, huh?
But, then he goes on to say, “But the good news is, the King delights in putting His kids back together again.”
Now, I have to tell you what he is speaking of here is the need for parents today to let God put their OWN lives back together and then parent their children with purpose. But, I wanted to use this example to demonstrate that when it comes to gaps and all those other things that keep us up at night, only the Lord can truly fill those.
So, how do you parent children and raise children of purpose…finely-sharpened arrows, that have direction?
You disciple them.
When you rise up and when you lie down and every moment in between you offer as a sacrifice to the Lord. He saves your children…not you. You are His earthly hands and feet, guiding and directing them toward Him, acknowledging every step of the way that you are NOT God.
You teach them math because God created numbers and order and in order to glorify Him in their every day lives, they need to master this concept.
You teach them reading so they can read for themselves the Word by which wisdom comes.
You teach them writing so they can communicate to the world intelligently and effectively what it means to be a disciple of Christ.
You search out who they are, directing their paths, but never standing in the way.
And you keep your focus on Him, so that despite all your mistakes and mess-ups and meager attempts at homeschooling, your children still see His glory.
Purposeful children are those who bask in the light that radiates from a mother {and a father} who’s face is turned toward THE Light.
They have purpose because you have purpose.
Be encouraged, mama!
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For those of you who missed the homeschooling webinar I hosted last month, here is a link to the webcast:
The HomeScholar has also graciously extended the product offer at the end of the webinar (The Total Transcript Solution), so you can use my link:
http://budurl.com/raisingarrowswebinar
and receive the discounted price! Thanks so much HomeScholar!
Thank you! These are some of my worries, it’s so good to know that I’m not alone.
I needed to hear these encouraging words this morning! Thank you for sharing this Amy!
Very timely! Thank you so much! Last night was one of those nights…. I appreciate your reminder this morning!
We homeschool mothers need to relax and forget comparing ourselves with other homeschoolers. Our homeschool is going to look different from others because our family dynamics are different. It’s OK!!!!
Beautifully encouraging post, Amy! Thank you for sharing these insights with us. I’m really enjoying this series.
This was a very encouraging post. We know we can’t be and do it all for our kids and yet we strive soo hard and exhaust ourselves or “beat ourselves” up about where we have “dropped the ball”. This is a very FREEing post. I can be the mom that God calls & created me to be and he’ll fill in the gaps;)
This is truly encouraging. I beat myself up, A LOT, because of our lack of true “school days”. But with two special needs toddlers in the home, things are complicated. “Life” comes before “formal education”. Sometimes math looks like figuring out the ratio of Zachariah’s thickener-to formula-to pediasure. Sometimes reading looks like educating all of the family on one of the effects of Tatum’s chromosomal issues, or Zach’s inability to use the paralyzed side of his body. And some days, school looks a lot like a hospital…because we spend 6 or 8 hours at Children’s Mercy and 4 hours of travel time. My children have all learned valuable life lessons in having the special babies…patience, that self esteem is wrong and self worth in God and the praise and worship of Him is right (in other words, life isn’t about us or our wants, needs, and desires, but about God and His wants, needs, desires, and commands), that prayer and time in the Word can be your only comfort when your momma is spending days on end at the hospital with a sick baby, that no matter how much we may want something, or how wonderful something may seem to us at one moment, God will give us the grace to accept what He has given us and be grateful…we have learned to exist on little sleep, pass a screaming baby from one person to the next without missing a beat, and so much more. Those are lessons and qualities that could never be learned in school. Lazy S Ranch Christian Academy doesn’t look anything like public school, and often nothing like our other homeschooling friends…but it works for our family. I frequently wish I had more hours in a day, feel shame that one of my kids doesn’t know something I think they should know (Who else to blame but myself?), and worry about one thing or another to do with their education…often I am left with the only comfort, the one I mentioned above, prayer and the Word. Looking forward to reading other posts on this subject. Bren-
I will pray for your family. Sounds like you are doing a wonderful job!
What encouraging words. My nest is now empty and the kids are in their mid-twenties, but I STILL remember those nights. I see strong, godly fruit of my womb today and I know– I KNOW– that all the glory belongs to the Lord. Believe me, I am deeply grateful.
I recall some unforgettable words during a 2002 School of Missions devotion. The grandfather-aged speaker said, “When your children receive the Holy Ghost and decide to be baptized in Jesus’ name, no matter their age, they are now your sister/brother in the Lord.” That is an incredibly sobering thought. “Follow me as I follow Christ…” God help us edify His Body in our homeschool and family as we disciple our children.
Thank you for the encouraging words. I know that God tells me the same words: disciple your children. But, Lord! I have made so many mistakes! Disciple your children. But, Father! I’m the one who messed them up in the first place! Disciple your children. Thank you for agreeing with the Father, and the encouragement that I’m not the only one who feels like they’re missing it daily.
I needed to read this at this VERY moment! Thank you so much!!