Skip to main content

What's In Your Homeschool?

So, here it is almost the end of April. As I reflect on the school year, I am awed and blessed by all that the Lord has done in my family. He has gently and lovingly handled every concern, each struggle, all of the emotions that come with 4 daughters and a 17 year old son sharing the same "space" day in and day out - and He has done it while drawing me to Him with cords of kindness. My God is a good God indeed.

What's in my homeschool? What's in your homeschool? Is the joy of the Lord there? Is His Holy Spirit leading and guiding you through the day? Is there respect for your husband in your homeschool? Plenty of love and grace and mercy shown to your "students"? Is the Ancient of Days the ruler of all your minutes and hours? Does the Great I AM have all authority over your homeschool - from curriculum choices to character building to sick days? Are you talking to Him and seeking Him all throughout the day? Can you say along with Job, "The Lord giveth; the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." and "Though He slay me, yet will I hope in Him." (also quoting Job)? Is all of your life and all of your homeschool laid upon His altar - or is some of your life and some of your homeschool trying to squirm off the altar?

When we teach, let us remember that the very same God Who told Moses that He would give him the ability to speak (after all, He made man from dust - he can give that dust-man words to speak) - this is the very same God Who will give you words to speak to your children as you go throughout your homeschool day. Remember this God is the very same God gave Samson strength to slay a lion with his bare hands - and to tie the tails of hundreds of foxes together with torches between them - and the last surge of strength to push down the pillars in order to honor the Lord with his last breath. Will He not give us all that we need as we pour out of ourselves and into our children day after day after day?

He truly does give us all that we need for life and godliness each and every day. This week I spent all (and I do mean ALL!!) of Monday morning, Tuesday morning, and Wednesday morning at doctor's offices. Monday - I was at the doctor. Tuesday - I was at the doctor again (learning all about glucose intolerance and how to use my brand new glucose meter). Wednesday - I took my oldest daughter to the doctor. (She has a terrible case of poison ivy, which she got while working with LOVE Wichita, a local ministry to serve those in our community who need help with projects, yard work, etc.) Today I had to run to the grocery store before one of my daughter's online cooking class - she can't cook if she doesn't have anything TO cook, right?! But guess what? Even through all of that, we got every bit of our school work done on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and today. Of course, I'm not at all surprised. My God is the same God Who kept the Israelites shoes from wearing out for 40 years of desert walking. My God is the same God Who carried Elijah to heaven on a chariot of fire. My God is the very same God Who struck Saul blind and then changed him into Paul, a man set apart and set afire to do the Lord's bidding. It's nothing at all for Him to maximize the time we had this week, to bless the work of my hands, and to give us peace instead of frustration over the strange events that altered our carefully planned schedule. And guess what is even better? I spent an hour or more with the Lord each morning this week; I didn't have to sacrifice even one minute of the most important hour of my day.

He has provided me with an abundance of praying, loving and supportive friends in addition to all His loving care. Not only has He taken good care of my family this week, He gave me real live, in-the-flesh friends to shore me up and encourage me. He has given exceedingly, abundantly more than I can think or imagine. And He loves you so very much, He'll bless you beyond your wildest imaginations, too. 'Cuz He's good like that!

So, may your home be filled with His aroma and may your homeschool bring much glory to His Name. Be blessed and happy homeschooling!

Day 29 done :)

Jan L. Burt
www.homeschoolingmothersbiblestudy.com

Comments

Popular Posts

A Homeschool Mom's Devotional by award-winning podcaster Jan L. Burt

Colossians 4:17 tells the reader to "be sure to carry out the work the Lord gave you". How can this be applied to the enormously busy lifestyle of a homeschool mom? First of all, we must always remember that the Word of God has the answer for our every need and we can trust fully in God to use His Word to lead us, guide us, correct us, and bless us. Keeping that in mind, let's consider what this verse is saying. We are told to carry out, or complete, the work the Lord has given us. We are wives, mothers, homeschoolers. Those three BIG job descriptions come immediately to mind when I think of homeschooling mothers. Applying God's Word to our life means carrying out our work as wives, as mothers, and as homeschoolers. When I am exhausted from another long day (or long week, long month, long year, etc.) I still must honor the Lord by blessing my husband. Maybe that means having a hot meal on the table when he arrives home from work. Perhaps your husband

I Gotta Let You Know Two Very Important Things (Seriously, They Are Truly Important For You To Know...)

 First, a big --- fat --- hefty dose of encouragement for you, my wonderful homeschooling friend.  As you get ready to roll into the fall of 2020...stop for just one moment and hear what God's Word has to say to you right here, right now, on the brink of the last stretch of what has possibly been the most turn-your-whole-world-upside-down year ever.  Psalm 125:2 - As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people both now and forevermore.   You are surrounded.  Completely & totally, that's exactly how surrounded you are.  Going into the great unknown as, say, a working mom whose children are going to be doing school online at home (or a working mom homeschooling and working from home for just the next several months, but not planning on continuing to home educate after things "normalize" again).  This is God's promise just for you as you embark upon this season of life. I really, truly believe He wants you to know that He has you surrounded

My Preferred Bible Reading Plan

We all know that reading our Bibles is a key part of living a healthy life as a follower of Jesus. But busy homeschool moms may, at times, struggle to know what part of the Bible to read on any given day. Some people read the Bible through, Genesis to Revelation, and when they finish simply start over. Others have reading plans that follow along with the sermons their pastor is currently preaching. And yet others find themselves "stuck in the Psalms", since they're not quite sure what to read. I'm not going to tell you how many chapters a day you should read, or that you need to do exactly what I do. I'm just going to share what has worked for me, and hopefully encourage you to get into the Word using some type of plan ~ because every homeschool mom knows what happens to our plans when we fail to create a plan, right?! I use a prayer and Bible reading guide called "Prayer Point" , published by Samaritan's Purse. About every 8 weeks, I receive a

Schoolhouse Review Crew ~ A Thomas Jefferson Education (This Week in History)

Rachel DeMille, of Thomas Jefferson Education , promotes a fascinating educational philosophy (based on The Seven Keys of Great Teaching ). Her website, www.TJEd.org , provides a thorough explanation of this philosophy. It's also an excellent history resource that I hope my blog readers will consider using in their homeschools. I really love what Rachel is doing! I am not reviewing everything available at the website - trust me, there is quite a bit to be found there! What I am reviewing is " This Week in History ", a resource that covers a wide variety of subjects and topics on a daily basis in an engaging and interesting manner. I have used this as a part of our history curriculum, but it really is so much more than history.  Each week I receive an email with the current week's " This Week in History ". I am also able to access this information at the website, along an archive that covers the current year. And I also receive daily emails, called &q

Do You Homeschool? Then You Need to Read This Article!

Whether you have been homeschooling for a month, a year, or a decade, you've inevitably faced the "questions". Questions about socialization, college, athletics, driver's ed, high-school biology, etc. etc. etc. and so on..... It seems as if homeschoolers are ripe for questions from day one; but the flip side seems to be that there really is no flip side. We are expected to patiently answer any and all questions, smiling politely and pretending we've never heard this line of questioning before. But when we try to ask a few questions about, say, public schools as a whole or the issue of private schools being used as a last-ditch landing spot for students expelled from public school, well...ahem...we're pretty much told to keep quiet. No one wants to hear our questions, and often times no one really wants to hear our answers to their questions. They just kind of want us to....go....away. I'm not planning on going away any time soon. And neither are my fiv