Daily Focus - October 2009

"Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance" (2 Corinthians 7:9a).

I stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom with my makeup case in my hands. There seemed to be a sense of irony in the fact that I was putting on a "pretty face" for the rest of the world to see, but inside I was an angry and ugly homeschooling mother. The morning had gone from bad to worse with my husband's car that wouldn't start, a broken washing machine, and my mother's "helpful" advice. I should have talked to the Lord when I felt the tremors coming, but instead, my pent up emotions erupted onto my ten-year-old son like a violent volcano when he failed to complete his math assignment. I had quickly said, "I'm sorry" for my outburst, but my son's expression told me I had hurt his loving heart....

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Homeschooling while living in our "little house on the prairie" in western Nebraska was both exciting and dangerous. We lived with sand burs, relentless wind, prairie dogs, harvester ants, coyotes, scorpions, and worst of all, rattlesnakes.

Since you never knew if rattlesnakes would be hiding in the long grass, under a rock, or even in the flower beds, we had to teach our young children to be on a constant lookout during the summer. What made things even more complicated was the fact that good bullsnakes looked exactly like bad rattlesnakes except for the shape of their heads and the rattles on the tail. Our cowboy neighbors tried several times to teach me and our children the difference. I refused to learn this lesson. To me, the only good snake was a dead snake!...

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"Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child" (Proverbs 22:15a).

What seems an obvious choice to us as homeschooling parents is not so easy for our children. When we say "What were you thinking?" to our children for making foolish decisions, we forget that we, too, found ourselves in difficult situations when we were young. Many times, the only thing that separates our choices from our children's is a few years of wisdom from having been there and done that. What is even worse is when we as homeschooling parents make foolish choices, even when we know the right thing to do....

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"As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me" (Psalm 55:16).

Receiving "the call" late at night is the dread of every parent — homeschooling or not. Our call came around 12:45 a.m. one Friday night. The officer on the other end of the line told us our son was being held at the police station. As we drove to town, I was thankful our son wasn't dead or injured in a car accident. However, I knew that the discipline his father and I were planning may make him wish he was dead....

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I saw the expression on my youngest son's face, as the last of his older siblings packed to leave for college. Saying goodbye to his sister was going to be very difficult. As the remaining two children left at home in our homeschooling family, they had shared so much together, but our family was transitioning once again. My son was starting to realize that with all his classmates gone, he would have to homeschool alone....

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What did you look like this morning as you began homeschooling your children? Were you still dressed in your pajamas or sweats? Did you prepare yourself as if you were working at an 8 to 5 job, or did you skip the time — consuming effort until later? Busy homeschooling mothers don't always have time to put their best foot forward each day, especially with their appearance. We cheat by putting our hair in a ponytail again and wearing disheveled clothing, as we stand instructing our children in their schoolwork....

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As Grandpa and Grandma drove out our yard to return to their home nine hours away, my daughter sat looking out the living room window with tears in her eyes. Each time they came to visit, I dreaded the day they were scheduled to leave. The emotional heartache my young daughter experienced made concentrating on homeschooling for the next several days difficult....

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The quiet time I was experiencing with the Lord before my homeschooling day overwhelmed me with conviction. I watched as the morning sun's rays attempted to burn off the gray cloud of fog that had settled as a blanket over our farm. The cool night air had met the warmth of Earth, and the resulting fog was locked in a battle with the sun's rays. As the strength of the sun's light grew more brilliant, the lesson God was teaching me also became clearer....

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"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7).

"I'm never going back to the mountains again until we have a better car," I said resolutely to my husband. This trip was the last time I would risk getting stranded because of car problems. Our homeschool field trips to isolated mountain areas in Colorado would just have to wait until we could afford a new vehicle....

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"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God" (1 John 4:1a).

Homeschooling that is led and guided by the Holy Spirit proves to be the most successful. Prayerfully choosing curriculum, daily schedules, lesson plans, field trips, extra-curricular activities, or even books used for reading or literature class allows God to influence your children's education. God is the best at customizing our children's education because He knows the future plans for each of their lives (Jeremiah 29:11)....

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