Homeschooling--Choosing the road less traveled

Robert Frost wrote, “Two roads diverged in a wood and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” 

As homeschooling parents, you have chosen a road less traveled. As you begin your school year, let me commend you for choosing to educate your children at home. You have not chosen an easy path, but you are following one chosen by the ancients. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says, “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them upon your children. Talk about then when you sit at home, when you lie down, and when you get up.” This is the essence of Christian parenting, and the essence of homeschooling. You have chosen a good and noble calling, but you will not accomplish it without sacrifice.

Instead of orderly ladies’ Bible studies after the children are at school, you have chosen to act out the story of David and Goliath on your hands and knees in the living room with your five year old. Instead of enjoying a leisurely cup of espresso at the bookstore with a girlfriend, you have chosen to enjoy apple juice and Little Debbie cakes in between phonics lessons and science. 

 Instead of emotionally detached intellectual debates over the proper methods of rearing the next generation of young people, you have chosen to discipline a young one for disobedience and then hold him while he cries.


Instead of living in a house that stays clean all day because no one is home, you have chosen to live in one where books are everywhere and phone messages are written in crayon because it is the only writing implement available. Instead of delegating the job to a “professional,” you have chosen to be there when the first book is read, when the light bulb goes off in multiplication, and when the tadpole finally grows legs and becomes a frog. 

 
Homeschooling mom, know that you are investing in eternity as you devote your time and energy to homeschool your children. You have them for such a short time, and there is much to learn. 






“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not”     (Galatians 6:9).


Application Questions: 

1. What are some spiritual goals you would like to accomplish with each of your children this school year?
2. How can you incorporate spiritual lessons into the day to day routine of life?

Action Step for This Week:


Ask God to show you areas of spiritual growth that need to take place in your children and in yourself this school year. As He reveals these things to you, write them down and keep the list somewhere safe. Pray over these areas and commit them to God.

Prayer of Commitment:

Lord, it is my heart’s desire to rear my children to love and follow you. I know You have called me to this task, but sometimes I am discontent when I look around at other mothers who seem to have an easier, more glamorous life. Help me to remember that while I may not see all of the results in my children immediately, next week, or even next year, I can trust Your word which tells me that I will reap a harvest if I do not faint. Help me to seek first your kingdom, both for me and for my family. When I start to grumble, remind me of the great privilege it is to be able to stay home with my children and raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Remind me, in everything, to give thanks.

  Homeschooling is HARD!

This post is a sample from Lori's new devotional book, Joy in the Journey - Encouragement for Homeschooling Moms. 

With a devotion for every week of the school year, Joy in the Journey helps remind you that God wants to be a vital, active part of your homeschool. Each chapter contains devotions specific to what a homeschooling mom encounters each month, application questions, an action step, and a prayer. It's suitable for personal devotions or for use by your support group for meeting topic ideas.

You've invested in wonderful curriculum for your children's  school year, why not invest in something for yourself?

To read more about Joy in the Journey and what other homeschooling moms are saying about it, click here.

Click here to order a paperback or Kindle copy of Joy In the Journey ~ Encouragement for Homeschooling Moms


To read the post "Homeschooling--The hardest thing I've ever done" Click here.
To read the post "Homeschooling--When you've lost your joy," Click Here.
To read the post "Homeschooling and God's mercy--When you feel like a failure," Click Here.
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