Not Your Strength But Mine

It was a hard day with the kids. Homeschooling wasn't going right. The kids were irritable (therefore, I was irritable). As I tripped over Legos and train tracks, cleaning up bits of Playdough that the 3-year-old had missed while he "cleaned up" his mess, I knew it was a night where I needed to drive. Just a drive, some peace and quiet and everything would be okay.

Robbie got home and he knew "the look". The look that said, "It's been a long day. I've been trying to keep it together, but I need a moment to breathe." He handed me the car keys.

It was time for me to drive. Jesus and I needed to talk.

I asked Him as I was in the Target parking lot (sniffing back tears) how was I going to handle another child when the five little darlings (they really are, I promise) I already had were trying my patience that day.

Doubt set in. Hard.

Enter the Holy Spirit...

"I never asked YOU to do this. I am going to do it through you."

I breathed a sigh of relief. You know. The kind where you know God has something and you just forgot to turn it over to Him (like He didn't have it before!).

God was going to give me the strength for another child HE was going to bless us with through adoption.

Fast forward almost 2 years later...

"I'm tired and weary of battling", I tell God. "I don't want to do this anymore."

"I'm scared when I look into the eyes of Silas. I love him TOO MUCH." (Is that possible to love a child too much?)

Silas' birth father is fighting for him and we never saw adoption as a process like this. MOST infant, domestic adoption finalizations are within 4-6 months of taking baby home from the hospital.

Here we are almost a YEAR later and we are just nearly beginning the process.

We NEVER saw this coming. We knew this was an "at risk" adoption, but had no idea that this was around the corner. Nobody did. It was something God knew though. Somewhere we missed the Adoption 101 class where they tell you the real deal. Does anyone give those classes anywhere?

Today, I had a "hash-out" with God. I have always given every day to Him, but today was different.

I was ANGRY.

"Why God?" "Why us?" "Why couldn't we have one of those "normal" adoption cases that are hands-down, closed and finalized within a few months?"

I was the kind of angry where I needed my few sisters-in-Christ who have traveled this lonely road of adoption/foster care (because let's face it, this has felt more like a foster care case than an adoption...hello!) to INTERCEDE for me. To lift me up when I have nothing left. To love on me knowing the pain I have when I look into my baby boy's eyes, not knowing what lies in store even a few weeks ahead.

I was the kind of angry where I had to do a rewind and double check everything I remember the Lord revealing to us as we began this journey of adoption years ago. (I am a journaling freak like that.)

"Lord, did I hear you wrong? I didn't know it was going to be like THIS. I can't breathe sometimes thinking about not having my son. What's next?"

I beg for Him to reveal, yet again.

He does not.

Instead, He reveals His character. He continues to refine me. He continues to teach me patience. He never lets me go (even when I feel like giving in and when I don't want to fight any longer).

My dear friend Sara (not sure where I'd be without this gem...and a few others I may add) was reminding me today about the story of Jonah and how he looked at the assignment from God as just about impossible. He tried to hide and resist. It was HARD, but God delivered and came through, and oh the blessing that came from it.

The same for Moses when he reached the point where he couldn't hold up his arms any longer. (Exodus 17:12) Aaron and Hur held his arms for him.

I read THIS BLOG POST today (and just ordered their book!) and was reminded how important it is that when you're on the road of foster care/adoption, you HAVE to have support. And when you find those brothers and sisters who truly understand and can come alongside, you have struck GOLD.

Never let them go!

They will need you and you will need them. (Trust me.) God may even sever other relationships with friends/family so that His will can be done if He is calling you to this ministry. It happened to me. BUT, He will give you others to EQUIP you for what He is calling you to do.

He will bring you brothers and sisters to INTERCEDE for you when you can't hold up your arms any longer and if He hasn't yet, pray and He WILL. His timeline in all this is perfect too.

Sometimes, it's in the form of wisdom from a book, blog, YouTube video or the BEST is when He brings you people in person. Friends who will sit on the floor with you as your foster/adoptive babies play and you drink coffee, sharing where you are in court battles, etc. I love those days.

Sometimes, it's in the form of a phone call or text. A Bible verse from a family member.

   

God doesn't call the equipped. He equips the called.

(I have to remind myself DAILY of this. Sometimes hourly.)

I am no one special. I just told God a long time ago that He can use me.

Some days I don't want to answer the call from our adoption agency, worried it's bad news. I don't want to read the emails from the lawyer laying out how much longer this could take or what our risks are at the next court hearing. How each domino of this situation effects the next domino and when they will stop falling.

I may be angry with God sometimes. I may kick and scream that I don't want my heart to ache anymore. That I want this to be over, but throughout this whole process, He is teaching us, refining us, shaping us and disciplining us. Growing us and stretching us (and I don't like to be stretched).

When people ask how we do it, I don't say we do. God does.

He reminds us..."Not your strength, but Mine."

Amen.


Proverbs 27:17..."As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

How God Uses Silence

(His Message In the Stillness)

Oh, the stillness of God. Something every Christian who walks closely with Jesus despises. When our God is silent, we can question. "Lord, is there something I did?" "Where ARE you?" The questions can go on and on. We doubt. We blame. We can get confused, and then. Then He speaks and He speaks so often with so much revelation that your head spins and everything comes together just as He planned it.

Yep.

That's been me lately. Months of silence.

If you follow our family, you know we have been on this amazing journey of adoption (and now foster care). While I will be sharing that on the next post, I wanted to share the toughest part of this journey for us while it is still fresh in my mind. I wanted to share about the SILENCE.

I have been reading a book by Charles Stanley called The Ultimate Conversation, Talking with God Through Prayer. There is a chapter on How God Uses Silence and while I know that God uses many different ways to get His message across to us, sometimes He is silent.

Here are some things I have learned about God's silence to us:

1. Our ears must be trained to hear His call. Discern the spirits! Ask yourself if this is something from the Lord or not. This can take a long time to master as the Enemy is beautiful, tempting, etc. There have been times in my own life where I thought something was of the Lord, but took time out to pray and discern, come to find out it wasn't.

2. God grew quiet for 400 years towards Israel (Malachi to Matthew). No prophet, priest, judge or king made sure they were on track. The Lord was preparing Israel, His chosen people, for the coming Messiah. During this silence, common language developed, nations united, spreading Greek culture and language, roads were built so that Matthew 28:19 could take place, making disciples out of all nations.

3. God was working to help Israel with its sin problem.

There are six ways God can use silence in our own lives:

Note: Know this, that He is not angry with you, but continues to work on your behalf. If God is quiet, most likely, there is something significant He desires to teach you and He wants you to listen.

1. Getting Our Attention - When our souls become starved for His presence, we must retrace our steps to see where we've walked away from Him.

I Kings 19:9 - "What are you doing here Elijah?" God uses wind, earthquake and fire to get his attention.

2. Preparing Us to OBEY Him - He knows distance causes us to seek Him more passionately. Are we ready and eager to obey Him?

3. Revealing Our Sin - Is there something bothering you that you can't identify? Are you bearing some heaviness in your spirit that is depleting al your energy? Does it seem like your relationships/plans are going awry? Ask God to identify your iniquity and set you free (Psalm 32:1).

4. Growing Our Trust In Him - He sometimes tests how deeply we believe in Him and how we cling to His promises. he reveals areas where we need to grow. If He's called you to do something specific, He will give you everything you require. The principles God teaches us through His silence are powerful. He acts on behalf of those who wait for Him and He takes full responsibility for our needs when we obey.

5. Training Us To Hear His Voice Above All Others - Although the Holy Spirit can speak through other believers (when I say believers, I am talking about STRONG believers who walk daily with Jesus, not just those who wear the name "Christian" on their sleeve due to cultural or social acceptance), always be ONE with the Lord and go to Him FIRST so that He can reveal in the quiet and stillness. Others can sway our thoughts and opinions on decisions. Be careful on this one.

6. Teaching Us To Persevere In the Ultimate Conversation - He is teaching us to endure in our relationship with Him.

Jesus taught the parable of the widow for this purpose (Luke 18:1-8). His timing is not like ours, nor are His ways comparable to our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). Sometimes, He desires for us to wait because He is arranging our circumstances, or protecting us from danger. He may be purifying our motives, teaching us to rely on Him or preparing us to influence others.

Here are some things we can do to apply these concepts to our lives:

1. Ask God why He is so quiet. Is there a sin I must confess? A step of obedience I must take? God's silence doesn't mean He's inactive. Recall all the ways He has been faithful to you. Be honest. Express your heart to Him. Commit to being quiet before the Lord everyday.

2. Be confident He is calling you to a new level of intimacy. Don't be discouraged or afraid. We do not serve a God of fear! Get on your KNEES and praise Him! Wait quietly before Him. Thank Him and anticipate His answer. When you actively listen for His voice, the Lord is certain to respond.


God is so faithful in these concepts. He LOVES us and is pruning us into magnificent vines to bear much fruit for His kingdom.

That's what my next post will be about...Kingdom work! Our story of How God lead us to pursue foster care. Never say "never" to the Lord! (LOL) One lesson we have learned the hard way. That is usually JUST what He will call you to do! {grin}

Blessings brothers and sisters-in-Christ Jesus! The harvest is ready, but the workers are few. Let's get to work. Kingdom work! {wink}

Our Adoption Story and God's Revelation...Part 1

(All pictures in this post attributed to Google)

Well, if you got a Christmas card from the Bates Family this year, you probably already know that we are indeed adding another precious child to our family and we're excited and scared all wrapped into one! Adding another child has been on our minds for a little while. Since 2005, we have been either pregnant with a baby or nursing a baby and this is a first "break" for us. It's very strange. Some nice things about the break and some things I miss about the break.

I'm sure every mother goes through these thoughts of "Will I have another child?" "Will my husband want another child?" "What will my family say if we add yet another blessing to the mix?" So many thoughts, but to NOT talk about them isn't helping anyone. I've sat in groups of women and seen the tears from some who wish to have more children and don't want their last to be their last. I've had people come to me personally asking what we think. Well, all I can say is that every family structure is different. If your family follows Jesus, I have good news! You can ASK HIM!

So many share that they "give it to the Lord" and for more on this topic, you can read HERE about Quiverful and baby makin'. (grin) We ALSO "give it to the Lord", praying and asking Him to lead and guide our family size and when He reveals, He reveals without doubt and we obey.

I realize that adoption is a touchy subject. Some family and friends have been supportive. Some ignore the topic completely and some have definitely voiced their concerns. We realize it's a big decision, but we know without a shadow of a doubt that the Lord is calling us to adopt in His timing.

I'd love to share our story of God's revelation with you, but first, I want to share with you some of the ways in which God reveals Himself to us. If you are disciplined in studying the Bible (God's inspired Word to us), you already have picked up on some of these ways as you read and reflect on God's character, decisions He has made and people He has used throughout History.

God reveals Himself through:

1.) His Word (II Timothy 3:16..."All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness...") As you read through Scripture, there may be days when something specific is on your heart, you may be going through a trial or a blessing and the Lord brings you a particular verse or chapter as you open up. I can't tell you  how many times this has happened to us and the kids as we sit down for devotions. Something was on my heart or someone else's heart and "bam!", we open up right to a portion of Scripture that we needed. Not always, usually days where I'm not thinking of "trying" to open up to something the Lord would have for us. It's always out of the blue!

2.) His actual voice...very few (or are there really "few"?") can attest to this, although with a book I'm reading called Dreams and Visions - Is Jesus Awakening the Muslim World? by Tom Doyle, many are sharing their dreams and actual life experiences seeing Jesus appear to them. Pretty amazing stuff! Better than any fiction book I've read for sure! Adam, Noah, Moses and Paul (the Damascus road account is fantastic!) all heard the voice of God.

3.) Jesus Christ...Hebrews 1:1-2 "In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe."

We can hear God's heart and voice through the prophets and through Jesus' teachings. (John 10:27..."My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.")

4.) Nature and God's Creation...Romans 1:20 is one of my favorite verses in the Bible.  ^"For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."

5.) Other Believers...Others may have wise counsel for us and they may come in the form of prophetic truth, blessing or warning. Sometimes, while seeking God's will, as a couple, we ask counsel from mature, wise mentors who have nothing to gain or loose in our decisions. A question to keep in mind when seeking counsel is "Do their words reflect those of Scripture/sound mind?" Read: I Samuel 13:13-14, 15; Acts 9:10-18, 10:1-33; II Samuel 12:7-15.  In Numbers 20:28, He spoke through a donkey. Confirming what you're hearing through wise, godly people is important. Does it always mean they're going to be right, not always. When you hear the Holy Spirit speaking to you (through whatever method He chooses), you obey. Period.

6.) Music...Think of the Psalms here. David as well as other Psalmists were inspired by God to write and write they did. They wrote about many trials, blessings, hardships and joy. There was a time when Rob and I lost our 3rd baby (at 7 weeks gestation) and the following Sunday at church, the songs were all about loss and how the Lord can fill that void and how He is here for us. Tried to keep it together, but wasn't very successful. Gulp. I was touched.

7.) Circumstances/Signs...God can use circumstances and signs to get our attention, but sometimes confirms it in other ways. Always try to test conclusions with other evidence.

8.) The Holy Spirit...The Holy Spirit speaks to us through our conscience. If you were sitting in a pew at church listening to a sermon, everyone hears the same message, but we all walk away with something different. I'll never forget one of our first Sundays at our new church. We didn't know anyone. We had had a rough week in the camper and although the sermon wasn't fully on John 15, our new pastor touched on John 15 for awhile and Rob and I both looked at each other and I wiped away some heartfelt tears, knowing the message was for us. Of all the sermons he could've preached on, that message was for US. When Scripture comes alive to us, it is because it is God-breathed.

9.) Prayer...(Romans 8:26-27) Sometimes we pray for things WE want and the Lord knows those desires and may or may not grant them. A mature Christian prays that God would take control of his/her life and take over. When we fast (pass up food) and replace it with prayer, our minds clear out, distractions fade and our hearts become more sensitive to God. Sometimes it seems as though we're praying for days, months, even years for the Lord to reveal His will and all of the sudden, a still, small voice. The Holy Spirit speaks. Keep in mind that His Word will never be contradicted and will bring Him glory, not ourselves.

10.) Miracles...we've all heard stories that defeat modern day science. As I read more and more books about others' testimonies, I love hearing about the miracles that take place in lives.

11.) Dreams/Visions...I'm smack, dab in the middle of my book Dreams and Visions by Tom Doyle and it's goosebump-raising as I read the dreams and actual visions of Jesus and angels amongst those in the Middle East. So encouraging. I myself, have had a dream of Jesus while we were in our camper. He came and appeared in my dream, his face only. His eyes. Oh, his eyes. Caring and kind, but just and powerful all at the same time. He didn't say anything, but his presence was of ultimate peace and as I woke up, I thought He had returned. Then discovered I was still in our camper. I remember this feeling of nothing else mattering. He was all that mattered and we were going to get through this lonely, trying time in our family's life. After reading many stories from my book by Doyle, I felt connected with these fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. These aren't just made up stories. Some people are actually having visions and some of these visions are taking place in their family's tents as they camp in Mecca on their spiritual journey! Jesus is revealing and He can certainly reveal plans for our lives. Test them against Scripture though to make sure.

The Holy Spirit is our communicator to God (I Cor. 2:9-16; Acts 8:29, 13:2, Romans 8:26; John 14:26)

In the Bible, it is recorded that God's voice is heard by certain people, but exactly how it was heard is not described:

Genesis 8:15 (Noah), Genesis 12:1 (Abram), Exodus 24:12 (Moses), Isaiah 38:4 (Isaiah)

I Peter 3:15-16 says "Be ready to give an answer to others whenever necessary."

What are you good at? What are your passions and gifts? How do you want to see God's Kingdom furthered? What opportunities do you have available right now for glorifying God? Are there any doors open or are they closed?

A few on topic books for study:

Finding God's Will by Chuck Swindoll

Can I Know God's Will? by R.C. Sproul

Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God by Henry and Richard Blackby



(Part 2 of our adoption story to follow. I can't wait to share it with you! It was a birthday surprise for sure!!!)

Stories of God's Preservation...Continued

 

 

 

 

As I was reading at Cultivating Home this week, I immediately thought, I must contribute to this and maybe others will too.

 

We live in a day in age where if you mention the fact that you are a Christian, you may be viewed as a bigot, a hypocrite, a fool, and the list goes on. To believe in a supernatural being greater than ourselves, more intelligent than our most intelligent modern scientists is downright, just plain, crazy. To have an absolute standard above man's law is absurd (man's law in constantly changing whereas God's law is constant). 

 

I could jump into a bunch of apologetics here, but I won't.  This post is simply to share how He has revealed Himself to me beyond the coincidental. I must state that the God I am claiming to believe in is a God who created our earth (see Genesis and John 1). He has a Son, Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:18-2:12; Mark 1:1-8; Luke 1:26-26-38; and prophesied in Isaiah 7:14; 40:3; Micah5:2; Malachi 3:1; Psalm 22:16; Psalm 16:10) , who saw that this sinful world needed a Savior (John 3:16; prophesied in Isaiah 53 hundreds of years before He even came, roughly 681 B.C.) so that we may have a hope, an eternity with Him in heaven when our earthly bodies are put in the ground. He also has the Holy Spirit (read the exciting book of Acts in the Bible!) who lives in us and in other believers, who reveals Himself in many ways as we go about our earthly days. If we can quiet ourselves enough to listen and look, He reveals Himself in the neatest of ways in which I want to share with you today.

 

1.) I remember being six years old and it was Christmas Day. My uncle had brought over a puppy he had just purchased and wanted to let my sisters (then 3 and 2) and I pet him.  My sisters and I were petting him that morning before we opened presents and the dog grabbed my face and wouldn't let go. His jaw was locked. He was thrashing me around and I remember being dizzy and seeing a lot of light. Everyone was screaming. I remember going limp. I had lost a lot of blood and it took men to pry his jaw off of me. When he let go, I remember faintly being rushed around the kitchen as family started pressing towels onto my face. My other uncle and my father rushed me to the hospital where I was able to get treatment and I was okay. Months later, as my mother was talking about the incident with a friend, my sister chimed in and said, "Mommy, I remember seeing an angel above Kelli when that doggie bit her."

 

2.) I was about 8 at the time and was driving with my Uncle Stan on the highway. I don't quite remember where we were going, but he was talking with me about the Lord. He said that he felt like we should pray over our car while we were driving and asked me to do it, but specifically to pray that "the blood of Jesus would protect us". I prayed and within 2 seconds, there was a massive car accident involving the car behind us and many others. Ours was spared.

 

3.) I was in college and struggling with my faith tremendously. I told the Lord that I needed physical proof of His existence. Pretty bold for a college kid to ask of God Almighty huh? The next week in our chapel service, a speaker came in and showed a video on the big screen in our chapel of a worship service in another state. People were bowing down and there was true, genuine worship going on. The video began to focus more on a figure in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. It was a figure of a man and he was beaming with light. After the chapel service, I went upstairs where some friends of mine ran the video and sound. They said, "Come here. Watch this!" When they pressed rewind and fast forward through the part where the image was, it was missing. When they pressed play, it was clear as day.

 

4.) Rob and I took the kids on a trip once and funds were low. We tried to budge out gas for the trip, but we seemed to be traveling a lot more than anticipated. As we drove for what seemed like miles and miles, my husband kept checking the gas meter and it never moved.

 

5.) Titus was a baby who was very colicky and we had never had a colicky baby before. Rob and I would take turns passing him off at night. The crying usually started at 7:00 and would go for hours. We felt so helpless for our little guy. One night, Rob took him into the nursery and began rocking him, praying over him that the Lord would quiet him. Mind you, when he would begin to "wind down", it was always very subtle and would take some time. This one, particular night, he prayed that God would preform a miracle. He began praying, listing the miracles that Jesus had done here on earth (see the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the New Testament) and the Holy Spirit began to take over, listing miracle, after miracle, after miracle, and then....STOP. Our baby was quiet. Not a whimper. Was completely sound asleep and at peace.

 

6.) I struggled with our fifth child's name. I was reading in Titus one day at the beginning of my pregnancy thinking it was a neat name and oh, how we need more Titus 2 women (and men) today. I struggled because I had this feeling as though the Lord wanted me to name him Titus. Read the rest of the story HERE. 

 

7.) I've heard some neat missionary stories, but one that stands out in particular was one a god-fearing friend shared with me recently. It was about a tribe of people living on a remote island (now I can't remember the exact geographical position...bleh) and the head chief of the tribe had said that he had dreams that one day, someone would come with a black book and the tribe was to listen to him when he came. There was apparently a lot of worship of other gods on this island...sun gods, fertility gods, etc. Well, the chief passed away, but shortly after, a missionary came to the village and of coarse he had a black book and wanted to teach the village about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

8.) Years ago when Rob and I were first getting into agriculture, we were learning so much. We were experimenting with things and wanting to grow our little, city farm. We loved our calling, but were starting to feel a bit, you know, "different". We do many things that aren't "the norm" according to city dwellers and it can ware on a person after awhile. Your sense of community can seem quite slim. Let's face it, it's hard to share your whole heart with others who don't have the same heart-convictions as you. Your common denominator is Jesus, yes, but unless you're talking about just Him, it can make conversation scarce. I've got some ideas swirling and have been studying heart convictions, but that's for another post. Ah-hem. {grin}

 

I remember being sick one Sunday morning and Rob said he'd go to church with the kids while I rested at home. I sat down on the couch and was trying to read through Scripture. I got down on my knees and while feeling blessed that the Lord had opened our eyes to a life of agriculture, I was so lonely. I 1.) prayed that God would make things clear, that whatever He wanted us to do, we would do, and 2.) that He would send us a family somehow in which we could share our love of agriculture here in the city. Two days later, we were at our discipleship group at church (we have a very small group), there was a new couple. They had just moved down from Georgia and were new. Each evening in our group, our pastor begins class with a fun question and this particular evening, he asked us to go around and share our favorite pet. The new couple went second and said "a cow". My jaw dropped. (I've been wanting a cow, but who shares that kind of stuff in a group setting...in the city!) When it got to be our turn, I said cow also. We found out that they lived off the beach and were housing their Jersey cow at our friend's farm about an hour away. We chatted for what seemed like forever that night after class, talking about farming. Finally, I could let it out. Finally, I could ask questions and have someone know what the heck I was talking about. I was humbled. About a week later, I found out that they also home educated. When they shared this, I immediately said to the Lord, "of coarse they do". Big smile on my face. Now they run THIS BEAUTIFUL FARM in which the Lord granted them the desire of their hearts. (That's a whole other "God-gets-the-glory-story" in itself.)

 

9.) One biggie is how when the Lord saw our hearts and desire for a bigger piece of land to work. The details are a big personal, but financially, we could have never made this work ourselves. God completely laid the money in our lap and said, "Here, go build your farm and don't forget to give me the glory for it. Manage it well. Multiply it. Nourish others with your bounty. Share it." Completely humbled, we are. You can follow our "Going Country" posts on the sidebar. 

 

10.) I remember driving once across a large, nearby bridge on the way to search for properties to build our home and farm. The kids were all quiet (which is rare) and there was no radio as we drove and I remember looking out onto the water, watching the small waves glisten like diamonds. It was so still. So peaceful. I heard a voice in my head and it said "You're not going to get your paradise here, but in the next life." It was so clear. The Holy Spirit as speaking and I had to turn around to make sure that someone in the car wasn't speaking to me it was so clear. Almost one of those, "Hey, did you hear that?" moments.

 

11.) My father had a pretty amazing experience when he accepted the Lord. He was walking along a sidewalk and felt his feet get really hot and tingly and then it continued going up his body to his head. It all of the sudden got really windy and he knew that the Holy Spirit had entered him.

 

I could go on for awhile with stories from friends who have had amazing experiences. Lots of stories from missionaries because missionaries have the best stories! {smile}

 

I want to share a verse with you today and it's a verse that I clung to when I was struggling with my faith in college. It's Matthew 16:1-4...

 

"The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven. He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’  and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah (meaning Jesus' death and resurrection...insert mine).'  Jesus then left them and went away."

 

Miracles never convince the skeptical. Jesus had been healing, raising people from the dead, feeding thousands and still people wanted him to prove himself.

 

John 20:29 reminds us that..."Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

 

If this post has touched you in any way and you'd like to continue on the topic of God's Preservation, PLEASE share your stories.

 

To God Be the Glory!

Just Wanted You To Know...

You know, as a writer/blogger, I constantly have writing topics that zip through my mind and I think, "Oh! That would be a great blog topic!" Sometimes, I write them down on my day planner. Sometimes, on my hand. Sometimes, I think I'll remember the topic and don't write it down, and then it pretty much never makes it to the blog topic list (yes, I'm a nerd and I have a small one going...thank you also for your input recently. More on that later.)

 

I want to touch on a subject that I should've touched on a LONG time ago. A topic that I think rings like a gong in certain communities more than others.

 

Judgement.

 

I read an article recently that touched on this and thought to myself, I need to elaborate. I need to clear a few things up before another blog post gets written.

 

 

We are constantly trying to better our lives as people, right? We strive for things. We enjoy learning new things. We "ooh" and "ahh" over what others are doing and we praise them for it. We praise them for the things they're doing with their lives and we can SO EASILY loose sight of the goal. Us moms are REALLY bad at this. We praise others for what they can accomplish. It's almost like a competition and it shouldn't be. It can't be.

 

Writing is a wonderful tool. I love to write, but writing eliminates tone of voice. It eliminates personal touch. It eliminates fellowship. Some would argue that words could, indeed, present a tone and I agree, but to an extent. It will never replace face-to-face connection. It will never replace fellowship. It will never replace memories or personal experience.

 

On this blog, you only get to see what I type out on my computer. Unless you know me well personally, you don't know my heart. I want you to know my heart today.

 

On this blog, I write a lot about food. I write a lot about nutrition, farming, agriculture and gardening. Things that I believe God gave me deep passion for. Things that I believe are beneficial in this short life. Yes, short life. This isn't the end and that's the key. These passions that I often blog about (and do enjoy a good conversation about), will never exceed my love for the Lord and my gratitude for his brutal flogging and crucifixion on the cross for all of the sins of the world. My daily sins. I mess up ALL.THE.TIME.

 

I do firmly believe that we are to be good stewards of what the Lord has given us on this earth and that is not to be taken lightly. We are to take care of His creation...animal husbandry, soil, grasses, vegetation, water, but these things should NEVER exceed our passion to spread the gospel. The Great Commission is clear...

 

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey every thing I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)

 

What a dangerous thing to live this life not knowing Jesus. Eternally dangerous. A life without hope.

 

Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21)

 

Just because we think we "know" the Lord, doesn't mean He knows us!

 

You can know who a famous singer is, but that doesn't mean he/she knows who you are.

 

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13

 

Do I think that a mother out there who feeds her children Pop Tarts and Kool Aid love her children any less than I do? No. Are those things eternally important? No.

 

There are many things that we judge one another for.

 

Romans 14 is a wonderful reminder NOT to do this.

 

So, from my comfy couch, jammies and cozy blanket covering this evening, I just wanted you to know {wink}.

 

Why We Homeschool

1. Parents are the model for our children and not strangers.

2. Healthy, warm, home cooked meals.

3. God tells us to constantly be talking to our children about Him (Deuteronomy 6) and disciplining them, molding and shaping them to be witnesses for Him. We do believe that homeschooling is Biblical. Yes, I said it.

4. We can choose a curriculum that enhances each individual child’s learning style. “School” shouldn’t be a “one-size-fits-all” approach.

5. A teacher starts off each year not knowing their students. As my children’s teacher I know just where to pick up at each year's beginning. Many studies have been done in Finland regarding this and it’s proven to really WORK. This is why homeschooled children are more advanced and beyond what a “gifted” child would be in traditional school. Gifted programs are way overrated!

6. Discipline is consistent and doesn’t change with each year.

  7. No competition for fancy, electronic gadgets, clothing, shoes, expensive purses, who's parent drives the coolest car at carline, etc.

8. No competition with other families…their rules vs. ours: dating age, wearing makeup, what age others get cell phones, etc.

9. No age segregation categories. Typical scenario: Teenagers not wanting to play with younger, “uncool” kids. Homeschool co-op groups include all ages of all children where bigger ones learn to mentor smaller ones and smaller ones take instruction from bigger ones. Traditional schools try to replicate this, but it's a few times a year if the teacher does in fact try to replicate this.

10. Children have the time to take up their own interests such as science, agriculture, art, music, writing, debate, photography, sewing, mechanics, etc.

11. (a tag-on to #9) Adult jobs aren’t like this. Could you imagine your first day of working for a local company and the boss says, “Okay, all the 35-year-olds will be working on the 14th floor and the 26-year-olds will be working on the 19th floor.” Really?

12. The home economics opportunities …need I say more? Our schools don’t have the budget for this anymore and our children are graduating with minimal skills of this sort, but yet we get upset if they don’t pass Chemistry II, a class they’ll never use unless they go into the medical field, pharmaceuticals or such. When was the last time YOU used Calculus?

13. So many parents SHUDDER at the thought of being with their kids all day, but truth is that if you take the time and energy to train them early, it can be a big help and a blessing when they’re older.

14. The curriculum we choose for our children are biblically-based and historically accurate. We teach Biblical Creationism, not Evolution. We teach the truth about our country’s religious history, the Pilgrim’s great faith in God and the history of our nation’s forefathers and their faith in God. What a responsibility to teach our children about HIStory. The timeline that God ordained to happen for His glory and WE get to teach it to our little ones. So cool!

15. Our life is so much simpler and we’re not rushing around here and there yelling at each other because homework isn’t done, breakfast is getting cold and you can’t find your socks. We enjoy taking our time, practicing kindness, training chores slowly and efficiently and being simplistic in this fast-paced world.

16. Time is love. (You've heard the country song.) Where your time is as a family is what your kids will remember your devotion towards. Be careful of outside activities (I couldn't be more serious.)

17. We can participate in acts of service during the day such as visiting a nursing home to cheer up the elderly, help a neighbor with yard work, baking cookies for a friend who needs a smile, etc.

18. Our kids don’t have to ask for a bathroom pass to have alone time or just a mental break. You’d be surprised at how children really need this! In John Taylor Gatto's book Dumbing Us Down, he has a section on this very subject and it's heartbreaking. I can remember SO many moments like this when I was in school. I just wanted to get away. Just lay in a field and read a book that I was interested in. Go get my hands dirty as I learned. I felt so confined to the cold, hard walls of the classroom.

19. They learn more responsibility as they are home during the day to learn how to do laundry, care for siblings, feed and take care of animals, use good manners in the grocery store or patience for a doctor’s appointment.

20. Our children aren’t labeled with ADHD just because they would rather be outside running around sometimes. They're also not labeled "slow" if one learns to read at 3 and the other at 5. Every child is so different. My heart ACHES for children who's teachers claim that they need to be medicated or else removed from the classroom.

21. Homeschooling benefits the parents!! It’s the education WE never had, especially when you’re teaching Scripture memorization and learning about Biblical apologetics and Biblical history. These are some of the areas Christians struggle with the most (beside us sharing our faith). A neat program for teaching the Bible to children (heck, even adults!) is The Picture Smart Bible curriculum. We also have flip cards that I made and laminated that have Biblical character traits on them along with a Bible verse, picture and then a story about someone in the Bible that displayed that trait (for example: "Attentiveness", Samuel). We also use hand motions to get kinesthetic, the pictures are for visual and we say the verse out loud for audible learning. You can use this chart to get you started. I don't know about you, but I had a TERRIBLE middle school experience with my history teacher. So dry textbook and unalive. I hated the subject. I turned my mind off to it and missed out on some of the most interesting things that founded our world and our country. I'm having an absolute BLAST reading to our children about HIStory now and learning more than I ever did. I have a new found love for history and it ranks right behind science. :)

22. Opportunities for teaching good, godly character. Most traditional schools TRY to touch on this, but…

a.) Public schools don’t back up good character with an absolute standard like God’s Word. “Just don’t hit your classmate” doesn’t really cut it. Why or why not? That’s America’s problem today though (in a nutshell). There’s no absolute standard for anything, but that’s another blog post. A heavy one at that.

b.)Christian schools can’t be as consistent as homeschooling b/c of the high student to teacher ratios. A teacher may claim to “know” their students, but they don’t really know the inward struggles of sin that they each deal with. An involved parent knows. Most Christian schools now are a mission field themselves due to open enrollment.

23. As parents, we know our children THE BEST. We know what SPECIFIC traits to work with them on and we can praise them and discipline them accordingly and consistently instead of the teacher’s word vs. the student’s in a parent/teacher conference trying to figure out who’s right and what the punishment should be (and I’ve been in some conferences, ah-hem!).

24. Some people claim that homeschooled children are “sheltered”. GASP! If you find yourself thinking this, I would encourage you to read Keeping Our Children’s Hearts by Steve and Teri Maxwell and then get back to me. Matthew 23:37 is a great reminder of how a mother hen just wants to protect her babies, such as any mom would want to protect her own human babies. I call it “the Mother Hen Instinct”. Please remember that as we make disciples of our children, in Christ’s example of Him training His disciples, He didn’t release them for years after constant, everyday training and they were ADULTS. Children take much longer to train. That would be my argument to Rev. Graham in the movie Indoctination as he wants a child trained in God's Word to be in every public school classroom. They're not trained to defend their faith yet Mr. Graham. I know that many people love Billy Graham, but I have a serious problem with an alter call for salvation and then "turn 'em loose" take. Where is the discipleship?

There is a difference between protection in sheltering our children and just plain isolation. I know of many home educating families that talk of some of life's HARDEST issues with their children and at very young ages. They do it under THEIR protection. They pray and they find ways to minister together as a family so that mom and dad can help guide. I'm talking about abortion, divorce, foul language, dressing immodestly, hate crimes, terrorism, torture, secular music, suicide, drugs, alcohol, sexual impurity, and the list goes on. They are learning of the sin they may encounter in the world, but they are learning about it under their parents' protection.

See:
Deuteronomy 12:30; 7:1-4...God shelters His children from negative influences.
Deuteronomy 6:5-9...God directs His children to positive influences
Psalm 91:1-4...God's sheltering enables us to take refuge in Him
Matthew 15:19...We can't shelter them from everything, but through our discipleship they will learn how to respond to that struggle.
Matthew 23:37...Without our children's hearts, they may resist our sheltering. Make sure we have their heart!
Genesis 19...Sodom and Gamorrah...BAD example with Lot
Genesis 12:1...GOOD example with Abraham
Matthew 10:16; Philippians 2:15; Romans 16:19...for a few more to ponder on


25. Jesus didn't dedicate himself to disciple his 12 and then say, "See ya! Have a great day in the temple" and drop them off for the day for 3 years. He was WITH them, mentoring them throughout the day. Not from 3:00 til bedtime. If you want to learn more about true discipleship, may I suggest reading the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the Bible as well as The Complete Book of Discipleship by Bill Hull.

26. Our main goal for our children is NOT college. I say this with confidence in an economy that’s college tuition is ridiculous and where jobs are so frequent that a small fraction of college grads are finding jobs in their specialization. We’re open to whatever God has for them, but we also know that it’s God’s money we’re spending and not our own so this is a big decision of debt to consider. Debt that can take years to pay off. We measure success today in such selfish ways...who has the better body, who has the bigger house, who has the better work status (you know, the climbing of the corporate ladder thing). Why don't we measure success in who has a great marriage, who has a stable family rooted in the Lord, who might live in a small house but is financially stable and not worried about where the next mortgage payment will come from, who volunteers at the local homeless shelter or jail teaching others about Christ's love, who is training disciples to further the kingdom of God? Wouldn't our world be a different place if THAT is how we measured success. Life isn't about "being happy" either. Sometimes God calls us to suffer great suffering for His glory, but if we know Him, are reading His Word and following the Holy Spirit's guidance for the will that He has us in for this particular part of history, we should have peace. True lasting joy, not temporary happiness.

27. Homeschooling can be done VERY cheap. There are many families out there worried about paying the bills, but continue to send their children to private or Christian schools spending thousands of dollars a year on tuition, uniforms, etc. when the mother still desires to stay at home. To this I would say is a great reason to homeschool! You can remain in the home, taking care of it the way God designed a woman to be the caretaker of the home (Proverbs 31), and yet now you don't have the worry of paying thousands of dollars of tuition payments each year and you have the blessing of being WITH your child(ren), discipling them throughout the day. Imagine what God could use that extra money towards!

28. There's no UNDOING! I know that this is one of the biggest hurdles and frustrations of parents today. They're trying to train their children at home, but the minute they send them off to school, they are competing with 100s of other people, children, teachers. Whether your child is in a public, private, charter, boarding, whatever-school, children will constantly be challenged with going against what their parents say and going with the crowd that they are around the MAJORITY of the time they are awake in a day. Think about that for a second. Your child could possibly be spending the majority of his/her time with influences other than you and you're the one who was given the responsibility of training them by God.

29. One day we will stand before God the Father and He will ask us what we did with our lives, how we brought Him glory, who we trained as disciples to further His kingdom. It's our responsibility as parents to train our children the very best way we know how and if we can truly say that we love Jesus with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, wouldn't we want to share that with our offspring constantly throughout the day? A challenging question, but Christ did say that He came to divide and not to make everyone feel all warm and fuzzy inside. (Luke 12:49-59)

30. In Matthew 5:13 says "You ARE the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men." This is one of the biggest arguments for Christian parents wanting to send their young children out into the world. Notice the text...It doesn't say that we "are TO BE salt and light" but that we ARE salt and light. We already ARE. We should always be no matter where we are. This is not justification to send a child to a traditional school.

31. Learning happens ALL THE TIME. Life is a classroom. Education is DISCIPLESHIP.

32. Deuteronomy 6:5-9 is a COMMANDMENT, not a suggestion. The purpose is to produce disciples so that further generations may know and live in the Lord.

 "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."

The purpose of this verse is ALL THE TIME we're supposed to be speaking to our children, discipling, and mentoring them about Him, applying life's circumstances around Him. Those that do have their children in a traditional school system have SUCH a harder job than home-educating parents. Why? They don't get as much time with them. Mornings are a rush to get dressed and out the door and then there's the dreaded homework each night. How much time ARE they REALLY discipling their children in a day's time as they're subjected to someone else's requirements (the school's)?

33. Luke 6:40... "The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher."

34. Psalm 78:5-8..." He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands. They would not be like their forefathers-- a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him."

As parents, we can't be applying this verse to our children's lives if they're not with us and in someone else's care throughout the day.

35. We're so quick to pat the next guy/girl on the back who volunteers for this program at church and that program at church. We praise them for discipling others, but the amount of time that we spend discipling others exceeds (by far) the amount of time that we're spending with our own children, discipling THEM, the very beings God has entrusted us to train and continue on our faith in God Almighty.

36. Home Education isn't a "it works for me" attitude. Lots of things WORK for people. Islam, Atheism, Baha'i, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shintoism, Taoism, etc. all WORK for people.

We believe that...

"We have a reliable collection of historical documents written by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. They report supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophesies and claim that their writings are divine rather than human in origin." (II Peter 1:16)

 

Tolerance is dangerous. However there is a difference between tolerance and speaking the truth in LOVE as Jesus did.

 

"Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ." Ephesians 4:15

We don't get a second chance at this. Let's take our children back!

{Note: I find that I am constantly updating this list as the Holy Spirit guides our family.}

 

Why We Homeschool

So, I was thinking the other day that I’ve never actually done a post on the “why” of which we home educate our children. I think it’s easy for some readers out there to read a person’s blog (a homeschooling mother’s blog) and see beautiful pictures of happy children, lovely artwork displayed (I stopped visiting these types of blogs awhile ago…never could “measure up” I guess) and perfectly organized schoolrooms (gulp, mine has sewing bits and pieces in it, sometimes messy desks and there’s always flashcards, art supplies or puzzle pieces scattered around mine).

I hope that this blog has never given away the impression that we’re a perfect home educating family because we’re far from it. But you know what? That in itself is a perfect example of Christ and us. We’re home all day with our children. Our little darlings whom we dearly love. However, they SIN. We SIN. Sometimes it gets ugly. There’s selfishness about us. Greed. Disobedience. The list goes on, but you know what else?

We do the same to Christ!

We ignore the Holy Spirit’s existence daily.

We think we can handle the load by ourselves and we FAIL.

I love the picture of Christ and how dirty a process it was for Him to die on a rugged, bloody cross, but He did it for our SIN. Daily we must pick up our cross and follow Him. Daily we must forgive the sins of our children and the imperfections that arise. We must, out of love, discipline them and try to show them that same love that Christ showed us.

Christ hung out with the dirtiest of sinful people, but He knew that they needed Him. They needed His love and the salvation that He offers.

I’m a pretty enthusiastic, optimistic, “go-get ‘em attitude” person, but we have days just like everyone else where you want to load everyone up in the car and drop them off at various buildings to spend the day apart as a family and gain an “education” from complete strangers who most likely will never get to experience and celebrate with you on what God calls them to be in life.

They move through the assembly line in perfect fashion just like the governments want to happen.

 I made this list so that on the days when I have thoughts about the “Q” word (quitting), I remind myself why in the world we do this. Why we sacrifice what we do as parents. We sacrifice a lot, but we do it to train our little disciples so that they may be steadfast in Christ and not sway to the opinions of their peers. That they may be firmly rooted and as they get older and are ready with the wisdom Christ gave His own disciples, we will release them into the world to claim others for Christ.

1. I get the most amazing privilege of sharing Jesus' love and educating my kids about Him all day long and not just a few hours at night and on the weekends. Doesn't get much better than that! What a responsibility, but what a privilege!!

I once had someone who actually said that they thought there was "more to life than being JUST a housewife". Yeah. I know. Low. This person obviously doesn't have children, but oddly enough I graduated with her and never thought something like that could come out of her mouth. It's never bothered me because I don't take the opinions of liberal, openly ungodly people to heart, but never-the-less there are people out there who think in this way and as mothers, especially homeschooling mothers, we need to be ready to share the JOY that comes from this amazing privilege. Some will never understand and think that we are "just housewives", but we can pray for these people and I still pray for her daily. If more mothers would make the choice to stay at home (and I know it requires a HUGE sacrifice, maybe you'd be down to one car, maybe you'd have to cut lessons and soccer coaching or the membership to the gym, moving to another cheaper house even), I know that our world would be a different place. There are many websites and blogs out there that encourage home making and for those that do stay at home, thank God everyday that you can. Praise Him for it!

2. Parents are the model for our children and not strangers.

3. Healthy, warm, home cooked meals.

4. God tells us to constantly be talking to our children about Him (Deuteronomy 6) and disciplining them, molding and shaping them to be witnesses for Him. We do believe that homeschooling is Biblical. Yes, I said it.

5. We can choose a curriculum that enhances each individual child’s learning style. “School” shouldn’t be a “one-size-fits-all” approach.

6. A teacher starts off each year not knowing their students. As my children’s teacher I know just where to pick up at each year's beginning. Many studies have been done in Finland regarding this and it’s proven to really WORK. This is why homeschooled children are more advanced and beyond what a “gifted” child would be in traditional school.

7. Discipline is consistent and doesn’t change with each year.

8. No competition for fancy, electronic gadgets, clothing, shoes, expensive purses, who's parent drives the coolest car at carline, etc.

9. No competition with other families…their rules vs. ours: dating age, wearing makeup, what age others get cell phones, etc.

10. No age segregation categories. Typical scenario: Teenagers not wanting to play with younger, “uncool” kids. Homeschool co-op groups include all ages of all children where bigger ones learn to mentor smaller ones and smaller ones take instruction from bigger ones. Traditional schools try to replicate this, but it's a few times a year if the teacher does in fact try to replicate this.

11. Children have the time to take up their own interests such as science, agriculture, art, music, writing, debate, photography, sewing, mechanics, etc.

12. (a tag-on to #10) Adult jobs aren’t like this. Could you imagine your first day of working for a local company and the boss says, “Okay, all the 35-year-olds will be working on the 14th floor and the 26-year-olds will be working on the 19th floor.” Really?

13. The home economics opportunities …need I say more? Our schools don’t have the budget for this anymore and our children are graduating with minimal skills of this sort, but yet we get upset if they don’t pass Chemistry II, a class they’ll never use unless they go into the medical field, pharmaceuticals or such. When was the last time YOU used Calculus? I added this DVD set to my Christmas wishlist in hopes to continue doing some of these fun things with my own daughters.

 

14. So many parents SHUDDER at the thought of being with their kids all day, but truth is that if you take the time and energy to train them early, it can be a big help and a blessing when they’re older. The Lord puts us through the more narrow roads to help GROW us, bless us and to glorify Him.

15. The curriculums we choose for our children are biblically-based and historically accurate. We teach Biblical Creationism, not Evolution. We teach the truth about our country’s religious history, the Pilgrim’s great faith in God and the history of our nation’s forefathers and their faith in God. What a responsibility to teach our children about HIStory. The timeline that God ordained to happen for His glory and WE get to teach it to our little ones. So cool!

I just love Doug's heart for history and family (over at Vision Forum). Watch this video about where the Pilgrim's journey started for religious freedom over in England. Really brings the meaning of Thanksgiving to life.

16. Our life is so much simpler and we’re not rushing around here and there yelling at each other because homework isn’t done, breakfast is getting cold and you can’t find your socks. We enjoy taking our time, practicing kindness, training chores slowly and efficiently and being simplistic in this fast-paced world.

Time is love. (You've heard the country song.) Where your time is as a family is what your kids will remember your devotion towards. Be careful of outside activities (I couldn't be more serious).

17. We can participate in acts of service during the day such as visiting a nursing home to cheer up the elderly, help a neighbor with yard work, baking cookies for a friend who needs a smile, etc.

18. Our kids don’t have to ask for a bathroom pass to have alone time or just a mental break. You’d be surprised at how children really need this! In John Taylor Gatto's book Dumbing Us Down, he has a section on this very subject and it's heartbreaking. I can remember SO many moments like this when I was in school. I just wanted to get away. Just lay in a field and read a book that I was intersted in. Go get my hands dirty as I learned. I felt so confined to the cold, hard walls of the classroom.

19. They learn more responsibility as they are home during the day to learn how to do laundry, care for siblings, feed and take care of animals, use good manners in the grocery store or patience for a doctor’s appointment.

20. Our children aren’t labeled with ADHD just because they would rather be outside running around sometimes. They're also not labeled "slow" if one learns to read at 3 and the other at 5. Every child is so different. My heart ACHES for children who's teachers claim that they need to be medicated or else removed from the classroom.

21. Homeschooling benefits the parents!! It’s the education WE never had, especially when you’re teaching Scripture memorization and learning about Biblical apologetics and Biblical history. These are some of the areas Christians struggle with the most (beside us sharing our faith). I love AWANA programs and so do my kids, but there’s something to be said about saying Bible verses EVERY morning and building on them. A neat program for teaching the Bible to children (heck, even adults!) is The Picture Smart Bible curriculum. We also have flip cards that I made and laminated that have Biblical character traits on them along with a Bible verse, picture and then a story about someone in the Bible that displayed that trait (for example: "Attentiveness", Samuel). We also use hand motions to get kinesthetic, the pictures are for visual and we say the verse out loud for audible learning. You can use this chart to get you started.

I don't know about you, but I had a TERRIBLE middle school experience with my history teacher. So dry textbook and unalive. I hated the subject. I turned my mind off to it and missed out on some of the most interesting things that founded our world and our country. I'm having an absolute BLAST reading to our children about HIStory now and learning more than I ever did. I have a newfound love for history and it ranks right behind science. :)

22. Opportunities for teaching good, godly character. Most traditional schools TRY to touch on this, but…

a.) Public schools don’t back up good character with an absolute standard like God’s Word. “Just don’t hit your classmate” doesn’t really cut it. Why or why not? That’s America’s problem today though (in a nutshell). There’s no absolute standard for anything, but that’s another blog post. A heavy one at that.  

b.)Christian schools can’t be as consistent as homeschooling b/c of the high student to teacher ratios. A teacher may claim to “know” their students, but they don’t really know the inward struggles of sin that they each deal with. An involved parent knows.

23. As parents, we know our children THE BEST. We know what SPECIFIC traits to work with them on and we can praise them and discipline them accordingly and consistently instead of the teacher’s word vs. the student’s in a parent/teacher conference trying to figure out who’s right and what the punishment should be (and I’ve been in some conferences, ah-hem!).

24. Some people claim that homeschooled children are “sheltered”. GASP! If you find yourself thinking this, I would encourage you to read Keeping Our Children’s Hearts by Steve and Teri Maxwell and then get back to me. Matthew 23:37 is a great reminder of how a mother hen just wants to protect her babies, such as any mom would want to protect her own human babies. I call it “the Mother Hen Instinct”. Please remember that as we make disciples of our children, in Christ’s example of Him training His disciples, He didn’t release them for years after constant, everyday training and they were ADULTS. Children take much longer to train. That would be my argument to Rev. Graham in the movie Indoctination as he wants a child trained in God's Word to be in every public school classroom. They're not trained to defend their faith yet Mr. Graham.

Jesus didn't dedicate himself to disciple his 12 and then say, "See ya! Have a great day in the temple" and drop them off for the day for 3 years. He was WITH them, mentoring them throughout the day. Not from 3:00 til bedtime.

Here's a little more about a child's brain and the basic stages it develops in...Bloom's Taxonomy.

 

25. Homeschooled kiddos get a rap for not being socialized. I don’t know about you but I’ve never known a more social child than my son, Lincoln. He has no fear to go up to grown adults and start full-fledged conversations with them (if you know him, you’re probably laughing out loud right now cause you’ve had one of those conversations with him). Maybe the boy will be a preacher. I seriously don’t know where this myth started.

26. Our main goal for our children is NOT college. I say this with confidence in an economy that’s college tuition is ridiculous and where jobs are so frequent that a small fraction of college grads are finding jobs in their specialization. We’re open to whatever God has for them, but we also know that it’s God’s money we’re spending and not our own so this is a big decision of debt to consider. Debt that can take years to pay off. We measure success today in such selfish ways...who has the better body, who has the bigger house, who has the better work status (you know, the climbing of the corporate ladder thing). Why don't we measure success in who has a great marriage, who has a stable family rooted in the Lord, who might live in a small house but is financially stable and not worried about where the next mortgage payment will come from, who volunteers at the local homeless shelter or jail teaching others about Christ's love, who is training disciples to further the kingdom of God? Wouldn't our world be a different place if THAT is how we measured success. Life isn't about "being happy" either. Sometimes God calls us to suffer great suffering for His glory, but if we know Him, are reading His Word and following the Holy Spirit's guidance for the will that He has us in for this particular part of history, we should have peace. True lasting joy, not temporary happiness.

27. Homeschooling can be done VERY cheap. (*side note addition: There are many families out there worried about paying the bills, but continue to send their children to private or Christian schools spending thousands of dollars a year on tuition, uniforms, etc. when the mother still desires to stay at home. To this I would say is a great reason to homeschool! You can remain in the home, taking care of it the way God designed a woman to be the caretaker of the home, and yet now you don't have the worry of paying thousands of dollars of tuition payments each year and you have the blessing of being WITH your child(ren), discipling them throughout the day. Imagine what God could use that extra money towards!)

28. There's no UNDOING! I know that this is one of the biggest hurdles and frustrations of parents today. They're trying to train their children at home, but the minute they send them off to school, they are competing with 100s of other people, children, teachers. Whether your child is in a public, private, charter, boarding, whatever-school, children will constantly be challenged with going against what their parents say and going with the crowd that they are around the MAJORITY of the time they are awake in a day. Think about that for a second. Your child could possibly be spending the majority of his/her time with influences other than you and you're the one who was given the responsibility of training them by God.

29. One day we will stand before God the Father and He will ask us what we did with our lives, how we brought Him glory, who we trained as disciples to further His kingdom. It's our responsibility as parents to train our children the very best way we know how and if we can truly say that we love Jesus with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, wouldn't we want to share that with our offspring constantly throughout the day? A challenging question, but Christ did say that He came to divide and not to make everyone feel all warm and fuzzy inside. (Luke 12:49-59)

30. In Matthew 5:13 says "You ARE the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men."  This is one of the biggest arguments for Christian parents wanting to send their young children out into the world. Notice the text...It doesn't say that we "are TO BE salt and light" but that we ARE salt and light. We already ARE. We should always be no matter where we are. This is not justification to send a child to a traditional school.

31. Learning happens ALL THE TIME. Life is a classroom. Home Education is DISCIPLESHIP.

32. Deuteronomy 6:5-9 is a COMMANDMENT, not a suggestion. The purpose is to produce disciples so that further generations may know and live in the Lord.

 ^"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."

The purpose of this verse is ALL THE TIME we're supposed to be speaking to our children, discipling, and mentoring them about Him, applying life's circumstances around Him. Those that do have their children in a traditional school system have SUCH a harder job than home-educating parents. Why? They don't get as much time with them. Mornings are a rush to get dressed and out the door and then there's the dreaded homework each night. How much time ARE they REALLY discipling their children in a day's time?

33. Luke 6:40...

"The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher."


. Luke 6:40...

"The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher."

Psalm 78:5-8..." He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.  They would not be like their forefathers-- a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him."

 

As parents, we can't be applying this verse to our lives if they're not with us and in someone else's care throughout the day.

If you have ever contemplated about home education and hear the Holy Spirit speaking to you that you need to make a change, but don't know where in the world to start, please contact me via the comment section and I would be more than willing (Did you hear that? "More than willing"!) to help get you started in a home-based curriculum and schedule that would suit your family FOR FREE. Absolutely FREE at no cost to you! If you know me personally and live locally, I'd be happy to have you in our home and show you (with the Lord's guidance) how you too can do this and succeed. I'm also open to meeting you in your home and setting up a schedule, discipline system, curriculum, etc. for your family. Please be sure that you have sought out your husband and his leadership over your home and have his blessing first.

I pray that this was an encouragement to my readers and not something to judge or condemn as I am only one human being striving to follow the Holy Spirit's guiding and am a daily sinner saved by God's grace and certainly no super mom. God gets all the glory!!!

Blessings and hugs to you all. :)