Homeschooling Encouragement

      Since we started our at home education experience in October of 2013 I can say it has definitely been a roller coaster. There have been so many days that I wanted to quit. I just wanted to drop them off on the front steps of the nearest public school and say "You deal with them." Then there were the successful days which definitely outnumbered the unsuccessful ones! All in all I would say even the days I would call "unsuccessful" were actually successful in a number of a ways. Dale Carnegie says, "Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success." I could not agree more with this statement. Discouragement draws me closer to God to be able to hear His voice and learn exactly what we need in that moment. My failures are daily and I have to remember that disobedience to God is the worst type of failure and for me to know that God is calling me to homeschool my children and not do it would be complete disobedience and that is not an option. 

      I have heard so much negativity from so many people since we started homeschooling. "They're not getting enough social interaction", "They're not developing life skills", "You're not even a teacher", "What about High School?". Question after question and negative statements one after another pour in on a weekly basis and I have learned a valuable lesson from them all: I DO NOT HAVE TO ANSWER TO A SINGLE HUMAN BEING ON THIS PLANET NOR DO I HAVE TO DEFEND MY REASONS FOR HOMESCHOOLING! :) Once I was able to truly believe that bold statement I found peace in the Lord and rest in my soul. It is not meant to be rude. It is simply our family's decision and until God says otherwise it is the life we will lead. 

     I could discuss the ins and outs of homeschooling, the pros and cons, and the politics vs spirituality of it all day long but what is boils down to is that it's best for some families and not for others. I do not hate on parents who choose public school or private school but it is sometimes hard to have sympathy for those that come to me saying I wish I could homeschool like you do but never try it and never put forth the effort to become able to financially. I'm not going to lie... the drastic slice in income was difficult for us and still is to be honest but we are overcoming that obstacle and it is getting better all the time.

    Do not believe the lie that you cannot teach your children. Do not believe the lie that proper homeschooling materials are too expensive. Do not believe the lie that your children will lack socialization skills if you homeschool. Do not believe the lie that your children will resent you for not having a prom. DO NOT BELIEVE THE LIES. Read the homeschool success stories! Read about some of the wealthiest business men and women in the country that possess a homeschool education. 

     I know some of you that are reading this have talked to me about homeschooling. If it's on your heart I believe you should strongly consider it an option and I would love to tell you my success stories and help you learn from some of my mistakes. Don't say you can't do it because you aren't smart enough. Don't say you can't do it because you can't afford it. Don't say you can't do it because ___________ (you fill in the blank). It's a major life change but it's worth it and I will keep on keeping on. I plan on blogging a lot more about our lessons and the curriculum we are utilizing this coming up school year!

    To my friends who are teachers in the public school system Thank You!  The public school system needs good teachers!

P.S. I am really excited about getting back to our lessons in a few weeks! =)

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

      

A Work In Progress

          What in the world am I doing? Over the past month since I started homeschooling Grace and Isaiah I have second guessed myself more than once. I have let the enemy enter my thoughts and tell me that I am not patient enough, smart enough, wealthy enough, or organized enough to home school my children. Well, it's true. I am probably not enough of any of those things but I am courageous enough! I took the leap of faith and now I must work on my follow through. I love being with Grace and Isaiah everyday but I get frustrated with not only them but with my self as well. Some mornings are a struggle to even get out of bed but I manage to do so. As much as I want to say it is for them, it is not. It is for God. God has called me to make this special, out of the ordinary, courageous transition and I will continue to be obedient.
            Our home school is not everything I want it to be and our family has a lot of work to do on our attitudes, our character, and our relationship with Jesus but I know that my first step was being obedient and my second step is remaining courageous enough to continue the journey. I feel there are still big changes to come in our little family but they will be what God wants for us and that is what is most important to me. I am excited to see Grace and Isaiah learn and grow everyday. Everyday is a little better than the last. I am excited to see what God has in store for us. I have learned to never say never. =)

A Leap of Faith

Sometimes it is hard to take the first plunge into the pool on that first somewhat "hot" day of summer but once you dive in it's the most refreshing thing you've felt in months. Ok, I'm lying... I hate the first plunge. We always go to the pool or the creek before it's hot enough outside and the water is freezing cold still and the sun is high in the sky but the cold water takes my breath away and I get out shivering everytime. My life is often times the same way but I often times allow my fears to talk me out of ever diving in,even though once I'm in, the water is fine and I have fun. It's always my fear of what's to come that changes the initial direction in which I felt God leading me to go. 

Homeschooling and Obedience

I said I wasn't going to write about this. I said I wasn't going to blog about this. I said I'm not going to even talk much about this. The truth of the matter is I must do all of the above. Writing is the single most destressing activity in my life. At this point, I can truly say that homeschooling is not stressful... In any of the ways I initially thought. I thought I would be stressed about disciplining them. I thought I would be stressed about their learning or lack of. I thought I would be stressed about their lack of social interaction. Nope, couldn't care much less about any of those issues at this point. I'm stressing over how they'll get a high school diploma (Grace is 7 and Isaiah is 6), I'm stressing over finding the right desks to accommodate the small space in which we call home, and I'm stressing over how I'm going to incorporate chores into their daily activities. Wow. God has done some amazing work on my heart over the last few weeks. He has laid out exactly what I need to be doing, what I need to spend money on and what resources I can utilize that are free. But most importantly He has showed me that I have amazing, talented, smart, insanely funny little beings with sparkly personalities and the spirits of lions. And I get to call them mine when in all actuality they are His. My journey will be long and I'm sure at times it will be treacherous but assuming Jesus does not return or call me home soon this will be a journey in which I will conquer the raging waters,  defeat the enemy, and declare victory in Jesus' name! 

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. ~Matthew 6:33

Lesson of the month: Obedience

I am excited to see what God has in store for our lives!!! Never know what might be just around the corner...

My goal for this next half of this month is to focus on giving my kids to The Lord and letting Him do the amazing work in them that he so easily does all the time and all the times that I don't even recognize. My God truly is amazing. 

Writer at Heart

I am a writer at heart and I enjoy expressing everything I feel in writing. However, I do not believe that everything in my life should be posted on a social networking site for the world to gossip about. I would like to start blogging about interesting and heartfelt topics to see other opinions. This is not an "if you can't say anything nice then don't say anything at all" blog but rude, perverted, and profane comments will not be allowed. I hope that I can obtain some followers and we can all have fun and learn on my blog! Please let me know of any topic requests you may think of and we will try to let the Holy Spirit be our guide on this thing.