Homeschooling...

Dec 22, 2008
"If we want to know God’s plan for our homeschool and each of our children, we must be willing to lay it all down—our homeschooling reputation, our ideas, our abilities, our techniques, our plans, our dreams, and our desires. All. Lay it all down daily!"
Cindy Rushton

I came across this website tonight and this quote really spoke to my heart. We are in our second year of homeschooling and I have to admit that right now I'm not feeling too strong in this area. And sadly the one thing that I have to admit is that I try so hard to do this in my own strength and I end up failing miserably! I wonder why?! Anything we try to do in our own strength will not be as successful if we were to just let the Lord guide our every step. That seems like such a simple thing to say but putting it into practice is a whole different story! At least for me it is! Again, sad but true.

I have all these wonderful plans of what I want accomplished in our homeschooling and so many of them just never get off the ground. God called my heart to homeschooling two summers ago (well I think He was calling me a lot longer than that but that was the time I truly listened!) and I know He has a specific plan for our daily lives in it. I am laying it all down to hear His voice for what this next year is to be in our homeschooling (and in everything!). I want His plan for our day and for what I should be teaching Kiersten and what He would have us do, not my own.

Normally, I would be walking in guilt over not doing the things I wanted or not following through with "my" plans, but I'm not going to take that on. God has been teaching me so much lately about simply walking in His spirit and that doesn't involve guilt. I'm going to sit at His feet and listen to Him on what He wants to accomplish this next year in our homeschooling (not my plans!) and make that a starting point. And not even what the "standard" for my daughters grade is or what others are doing around me or anything of that sort, but what is good and right for us. And follow that through with His guidance and help, not on my own strength.

And in this I have to make plans! Once I hear what the Lord wants me to accomplish for our year I have to sit down and really make plans. Something I have learned about myself this past year is that I don't do well just flying by the seat of my pants! I am a natural planner anyways and I don't know why I even thought for a second that I could do this without a plan. So I am taking the next couple of weeks to really do that. But even in that I want to be flexible. I thing one of the biggest goals for our homeschooling that I want to accomplish is to instill a love for learning into my daughter. So I will have a plan but even in that be flexible to be "out of the box" with that and allow the Lord to guide our every step.

I read this ezine tonight that had a lot of great info in it that I will share here. I loved so much what she had to say about the ONE thing is needful. Here is a quote from the article that I loved...

"Christians mistakenly believe that once we are saved that we can
do ALL THINGS in Christ Jesus. However, Scripture is very clear
that God does not anoint and bless EVERYTHING that we decide to
do! In fact, we can be assured that He will not anoint and bless anything
that is not OF HIM in the beginning. His path is narrow...very
specific!
Want to keep it all together in this journey? Then, we must ask the
Lord for His plan. His Way. We must ask Him to show us and keep
before our faces that “one thing is needful” for each child!"

This really jumped out to me! I want the Lord to show me that "one needful thing" that I should be concentrating on in our homeschooling for Kiersten.

I can see how easy it is to get burned out trying to homeschool in our own strength. I am there! But thankfully I know and have confidence that God can and will redeem what I have tried to do on my own and make it something beautiful as I listen to His voice for our homeschooling and put His plan into action in our daily routine. I have honestly had the thought of feeling Kiersten would be better off in school lately because at least she would be learning what she needs to for her grade. But my heart takes me back to the moment I heard, loud and clear, God calling me to this for our family. And I look at the changes that have taken place in her and her confidence since walking out of the public school system and I know that is not the plan He has for her or us! So I sit here thanking God for new beginnings and knowing that with His help and guidance I can make it! I don't have to do this on my own and feel like the failure at it. 2009 is going to be our best year yet!

A quote from Steve Lambert that really spoke volumes to me as I read it yesterday,

"The number one rule for successful homeschooling in our experience is *ENJOY THE JOURNEY*. If you're not enjoying it on most days, you're not doing it right. This was meant to be a joy and a source of delight for you AND your family. When it becomes a pressure to your children and a frustration to you--that's a symptom that something is wrong.

Take one day at a time and remember that learning is a lifetime experience and your number one goal isn't to fill their buckets with facts in a year--but rather to light a fire... a fire that consumes them with a lifetime love of learning."

That is my heart and what I want this journey to be for us!

4 comments:

  1. This post has inspired me to pray before planning January. I was thinking that I too need to do more in the new year. I have those doubts too but I know I need to keep on going and that it will all come together. A love of learning is my top priority. I need to include God more. It's hard when my child passes preschool and asks to go back even when he didn't want to go everyday he was there. So I asked questions and found out he wants to go on more field trips! We've been housebound all week so of course he would say that.... Thanks for the nice post. It spoke to me too. =)

  1. Henry Cate said...:

    I had a friend named Steve Lambert in high school. Who is the Steve Lambert you are quoting from?

    Thanks.

  1. Jill said...:

    Heather...your post has me thinking. I love the reminder that He doesn't bless everything we do. He has been refocusing things for me in the last year. I'm anxious to see what is on the horizon.

    Merry Christmas!

  1. Shawnna said...:

    Hi there, I wanted to let you know that this post truly ministered to me. I was called to homeschool my daughters about 2 years ago and I have been having a very hard time. I was beginning to wonder if I made a huge mistake. I happened on your blog because I was looking for workbox pictures and loved your blog and began to read some of your posts. I came upon this one and I truly believe God used what your were going through to speak to me. Thank you for your honesty and passion for Papa and for your family!! Great Job!!
    Your sister in Christ, Shawnna

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