The joy in homeschooling

It is such a privilege to be able to teach my children at home.  Besides the “reasons” we homeschool, the best is that I get to actually see the joy when my child first learns how to do something. 

Yesterday, my 5 year old completed the first level in his Hooked on Phonics reading program.  To see how excited he was when he finished was a true “delight” to my heart!  He did it!  He pushed me to let him keep going on and he pushed himself and tried so very hard, and he did it!  I’m proud of him and excited that the more he learns to read, the closer he is to being able to read God’s Word on his own.  I think I just may bawl my eyes out when I hear him read his bible for the first time!

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."    

Proverbs 22:6

It's a battle: Got Armor?

“Give ear, O my people, to my law;

Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

I will open my mouth in a parable;

I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. 

We will not hide them from their children,

Telling to the generations to come the praises of the Lord,

And His strength and His wonderful works that he has done.

Psalm 78:1-4

Well it is day 10 of the 21 days of Prayer for Sons which I have been participating in.  While I have been so blessed by the encouragement and wise words that Brooke Mc Glothlin has shared in her ebook Warrior Prayers, I have to confess that it has not been a cake walk.  The enemy has been on the prowl discouraging me in so many ways and by reminding me of my failings and causing me to doubt that anything good will happen from this.  He has even used the voice of earthly people in my life to make me doubt what I am doing.  However, I know this must be the enemy, because what I am doing is what God has encouraged us to do as parents…pray for our children and raise them up in HIS WAYS!

One example happened today when we were with some family and the boys were interested in watching a movie, and when my son asked my permission I had to tell him “no”.  It was difficult to stand up for what I believe is right for my children, especially when it makes them stand out as “different”, or as “a party pooper”.  It was bothering me all the way home.  Then while I was making dinner, my daily encouragement from A Heart at Rest devotional flip calendar by Nancy Leigh DeMoss was as follows:

“As easy as it is to shift blame to peers, entertainment, or secular culture, the fact is parents are accountable for the spiritual condition of the flock God has given them to shepherd.”

And the scripture that was referenced was

 “I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them”

1 Samuel 3:13

Why did this encourage me that what I was doing was right?  Because I am responsible for my children’s spiritual conditions and I need to guide them through this world protecting them from things that will corrupt them and teaching them what is right in God’s sight.  I trusts that the Lord will help them understand in time so that when we (their parents) are no longer there, that they will choose what is best according to the Lord.  This is certainly my prayer.

Then I read my daily devotional by Charles Stanley of In Touch Ministries and he referenced Psalm 78 which talks about how gracious and kind God is in continually providing for His people, taking us back and loving us in spite of our rebellious ways.  Several places he talks about how we need to make known to our children and other generations of His commands to us.  For example:

“For He established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers, That they should make them known to their children; That the generation to come might know them, the children who would be born, that they may arise and declare them to their children, that they may set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments; and may not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not set its heart aright, and whose spirit was not faithful to God.” Psalm 78:5-8

So I continue on in this battle with the enemy of our souls for the heart of my children.  When we were on our way to spend time with family today, I was thinking about this prayer experience and the following picture came to my mind.

When there are battles, soldiers are called to battle.  If you are in the frontline or on the battlefield, the fiery darts come at you and you are prepared with all your armor and your weapons, because you are expecting them.  If you are on the side lines, you are less likely to expect a dart to hit you, although there is a chance that that will happen.  So as I look toward the next 11 days on this journey, I am securing my armor and taking up my weapons and will be battling for the precious hearts of my

Please share with me your thoughts or encouragement by commenting on this post.  I would love to hear from you!

Balance

In the daily grind and the busyness of life, we can tend to miss the joy and fun in each day and even miss actually "being" with our kids.  It struck me today, that I focus so much on school with my 12 year old, health issues, behavior issues and my desire to "train him up" well, that I am really missing out on getting to know him.

Today I had the opportunity to take my son on a field trip, just the two of us.  I enjoyed time to talk to him without any interruptions.  It was fun to see his extreme joy when he saw the "Google" logo on the building as we were approaching.  Then I heard him say, "Oh, I have always wanted to see this place".  He had a blast and he participated well.

It changed my perspective and caused me to reconsider what is truly important.  There needs to be "balance" in our lives or we can miss out on so many of the special moments with those who are closest to us, especially if we are so busy or focused on the detail  that we miss what is in front of us. 

After today, I am determined to stop more often and enjoy this sweet boy who is in my life and spend some time one on one doing things that are fun and just getting to know each other more. This could be just what he and I need so that our learning becomes more enjoyable.  After all, he is my miracle from God and an answer to a deep longing that I had over 14 years ago to be a Mom.

Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and feed on His faithfulness. 

Delight yourself also in the Lord and He WILL give you the desires of your heart. 

Commit your way to the Lord.

Trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. 

He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the noonday. 

Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. 

Psalm 37:3-7a

R-R-Rejoice!

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks;

 for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you"

I Thessalonians 5:16-18

My little guy came home tonight with this cute little craft that he made in his Royal Rangers group.  I couldn't help but take this picture to capture the joy in his face and he sure looked CUTE!   It caused me think about the joy that this little guy brings to us. 

We have had challenging issues with him over the last 3 years; delayed speech, test after test and evaluation after evaluation, behavior issues, potty training, seizure episodes and changing to a gluten free, casein free, soy free diet.  However, he is such a sweet gift from God.  Through this experience we are learning to:

REJOICE ALWAYS: on days when things are difficult and even overwhelming, when we are exhausted and feel like we can't go on.

PRAY WITHOUT CEASING: because we can't do it without the strength of the Lord.  He can heal our child, He knows our children better than we and has a plan for their lives.

IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS: even when he has written all over the walls, plugged up the toilet, hit his sibling for the tenth time today, and has melted down one to many times.

FOR THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS! Amen..we are the parents that He has chosen and the Lord doesn't make mistakes.  He will guide us and give us what we need to raise this child.  He doesn't promise it will be easy, but we can be sure that He will be with us and guide us in all our decisions...we just need to ask Him for help.

R-R-Rejoice!

Parenting Resource

I wanted to share this resource with all the parents that read my blog.  The mother who created this Child Training Bible was in a Bible Study with me and she is such a godly woman and has used the gift that God has given her to help other parents in training up their children in the ways of the Lord.  I hope you will look at her site and share it with your friends.

childtrainingbible.com

Scribbles to Showpiece

What to do with a child who is angrily scribbling on all the paper at his table?  That appeared to be my dilemma with my 5 year old.  I told myself, "don't get angry and tell him not to do that".  Then I remembered something I did as a child and set forth to enlighten him about how he can scribble. This is how it went:

I told him to get a piece of paper and then I used "hand over hand" and helped him to scribble slowly all over on his paper. He was intent to find out what to do next.  Then I instructed him to watch as I colored in one of the spaces.  He was delighted to see the result.  I finished by telling him, "now you need to color in each of the other spaces and you will see a beautiful picture".  He was determined to work on the project, and best of all he stopped scribbling angrily on all the paper at the table.

The end result was this beautiful masterpiece! 

My son's masterpiece embellished with patriotic stickers. I think it looks like a hen.