Three Encouraging Truths for Homeschool Moms
Homeschooling well can be a challenge.
Well, homeschooling can be a challenge.
Homeschooling? Well, its a challenge.
Homeschooling well. It is a challenge.
Confused, yet? Frustrated? Homeschooling WELL (successfully, with intention, without loosing your mind, with a good result) is a challenge but in 2020 with Covid, national unrest and a presidential election gone “epic” -you have all the ingredients for an extra challenging homeschool year. Bonus points if 2020 is your first year homeschooling!
So have you found your stride? Do you face each new school day with a sunny outlook and eagerness? Are you satisfied with the achievements of your students, the harmony in your at-home classroom? Are you enjoying homeschool bliss? If so, congrats and please (I beg you) keep doing whatever you’re doing! If not, if you could use a little shot in the arm, please read on. My prayer is to remind you of three quick truths that will speak to your heart. As I often do during my Bible study time, I’ve thought of a little prayer based on that scripture.
We absolutely must trust the Lord because we know our hearts are deceitful and the enemy is on the prowl like a lion, waiting to devour us. I dunno about you, but I forget this truth a lot as I live my busy life as Willful Wendy. It’s so much easier to love and care for myself than to remember the command to love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. When all my kids were at home and I was teaching three grade levels at once, it was so much harder to find quiet time with the Lord, time to study the Word and even time for deep meaningful daily prayer. Honestly, entire years were filled with arrow prayers in the heat of trouble and desperation.
Whether it’s the spelling test you’ve been training the kids for all week that resulted in failure or that moment you thought you were strong enough to visit Facebook again only to learn that you weren’t, we must remember that Gods plan is higher than ours and he designed us to connect with Him to get our roadmap. He designed us for His purpose and we must trust Him in ALL our ways. This means we trust him with the spelling test after we have trusted Him with the lesson plan, delivery of the lessons and we’ve trained our kids to do the same. Yes! Trust Him with our social networking interactions and, these days, with whatever “news” is going to reach our eyes, ears, minds and hearts. Yes! Trust Him with our laundry and housekeeping and the dinner that might be late. Trust Him with the bills, our recreation, our elected and appointed leaders and even the plans someone may have to cancel Christmas because of the Rona. Sister, trust Him with everything we do and He will guide our paths.
Prayer: Lord, help me acknowledge your omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient authority in absolutely every facet of my life and world. Father, I don’t just hope or wish or pretend but, I expect and anticipate you to direct my days, order my steps and bless my efforts as I keep my eyes on you and your will. No matter the tasks I have for the day, Lord, I give them each to you and I pray you will guide my feet as I pray, surrendering each moment to you.
I always have to remind myself that the Lord has a purpose for each person and that isn’t the same purpose the world would has, particularly in a culture that values academic achievement over spiritual development. As a homeschool mom, my purpose is to train up my children in HIS ways. Here’s an uncommon idea: My child’s score on the SAT does not reflect God’s purpose for my kids or my success as a homeschool parent. The world has a whole lot of plans for us but to-date they haven’t been aimed at loving the Lord. I’ve yet to see the standardized test to measure the spiritual richness someone’s heart.
In homeschool, its easy to forget God’s plan is focused, centers and revolves around Him, God. In a world of shiny new curriculum, achievement goals, state-expectations of learning and a multitude experts touting creative teach strategies how often are we reminded that the most important thing is to teach our children to love the Lord, to know Him and how to know Him better, and to discern His ways and plans for their own lives? Have you submitted your reading, writing and arithmetic plans to the Lord for his direction and have you preceded those plans with a schedule that includes His priorities: praising, worshiping and consulting God, himself? If you are struggling with some academic subject, could it be that it hasn’t been properly set before the Lord, first?
Prayer: As author of the universe and creator of all things including me and my children, God, I ask you to keep me on your path and to remember that teaching my children about you, Lord, is the most important thing I can do. I pray your protection from laziness, distraction, and from the lies of the world that would have me believe that my child’s academic achievement is paramount. Never allow me to forget that you are our rock , foundation and refuge. Help me teach this to my children every day, help me weave praise, dependence on you, your Word and your ways into every lesson and all that I do.
Of all the scriptures I’ve clung to this year, this is this one that keeps coming up. The enemy is prowling and looking to devour Christ followers and as a saint, I feel this tangibly in 2020 more than ever before! Countless times I’ve struggled with doubt and fear, suspecting I was doing something wrong before recognizing I was under spiritual attack! Now I realize the fight much more quickly than I did when three busy littles were taking classes in my homeschool and when I didn’t even know spiritual attack was “a thing.” No matter the enemy’s scheme, I’m convinced God always wishes me to bring not just my joys and delights but my negative emotions, frustrations and painful physical reactions to Him in prayer.
Recently, a dear friend mentioned that she had trained her younger children that it was the family’s responsibility to take up the armor of God and surround an elder, prodigal child who was not currently walking with the Lord and maybe the subject of some spiritual attacks. She painted a beautiful picture of a family standing against the enemy, together. I will never forget this mighty image. It underscores the real battle we face today and the confidence we should have that God is already victorious in His plan. No matter your position on the Rona, it’s spread, masks or lock downs; no matter who you think will be president come January 2021; no matter where you go to church or school; our battle as Christians is not against one another it is against an enemy that Christ has already defeated! Likley you have faced some struggles with homeschooling and maybe some of those were directly from the pit of Hell, roadblocks meant to keep you from sharing precious time with your kids. Maybe the enemy spurs doubts or has stoked friction among family in this decision. Sister, I pray you will recognize the enemy when he is the bad actor trying to sabotage you. I pray you will confidently say, “Not my circus, not my monkeys. The battle is the Lord’s.” So as we face the week with fresh spelling lessons, a new chapter of Math or a science lab that doesn’t make sense, trust that our Lord will make known what needs to be known and make straight the paths we commit to Him and in that we will be victorious.
Prayer: Father, I cry out to you in my weakness and offer praise that you are already and always victorious. Remind me continually who the real enemy is and do not allow me to stop watchful lookout for the enemy’s schemes. When spiritual battles come, may I stand confident in my armor as an example to the children you’ve entrusted me to train.
I pray these thoughts are an encouragement. I pray that you will pray powerfully and frequently as you teach your children the ways of the Lord and some reading, writing and arithmetic, too.
Do you have a question about homeschooling? Need a mentor mom? Email me at jesushomeschools@gmail.com.
