WHY we chose homeschool...

Something occurred to me today after watching my daughter get out our lunch for the day and start preparing it. Not only because she was hungry, but also to help. I have sat back and watched as both of my children have really started helping around the house and with each other more and more each day. Haylee loves to bathe the dog, do laundry and help cook. RJ loves to help unload the dishwasher and also help cook, even if it is only requires making sandwiches. His wife may thank us one day! 
 It hit me! What we REALLY want them to gain from homeschool. Here are a few that stand out:
1. We want them to LOVE the process of learning! Not something that is FORCED, but something that leaves them wanting more.
2. We want them to learn in the real life situations. Learning is not all about books and sitting at a desk 7 hours a day. Yes, you need book time, and a good amount of it. But so much more can be learned and retained through everyday life.
3. We want them to grow into the people God made them to be. Not who society, or another peer group may tell them to be. To have a strong sense of who they are, not who others think they are or should be.
4. We want them to see through God's eyes, not the world's. It is a very different view.
5. We want to instill values that are so lacking and fading in today's world.

No, we are not putting them in a bubble. But this world around us is changing so fast and we don't want to change with it.

GOD is the same no matter how fast things change. He is the same as He has been always.

 

I am looking to Him more than ever so I can fulfill the plans He has for my life. And we are doing our best to guide our children to fulfill the plans He has for their lives.
I want to walk on the path He has set for me, no matter what it looks like to the world around us. 

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 

~ Jeremiah 29:11

When squeezed.....

Today was yet another awesome day...thank you Lord! I always look forward to my Tuesday mornings. We take a break from the books and head to CHC (Colonial Hills Church). Haylee goes to her P.E. class and RJ goes and plays with friends while I attend the GROW (Girls Raised on the Word) class. We are going through the Chronological Bible together in groups. But man is it awesome when the Lord really speaks to the heart of the speaker and changes their topic to match what we (or someone) need to hear that particular day! Today it hit me right between the eyes!!
  One of the things the Lord has really been changing in me, is my being quick to anger. It has been years in the making! He has delivered me from such a bitter, hateful, self-absorbed attitude, but I am far from perfect. I am thankful that He is never finished removing unfruitful behaviors and pruning the fruitful!.....“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. John 15:1-2........So, one that was brought up today was how we act at home when things don't go our way. That's a biggie! It is so easy to slip back into that "all about me" mode when I am at home. For me, it's yelling when the kids are fighting with each other, not doing what I have asked of them, or doing what I have asked them not to do.
  It's like this....If I were an orange, and you were to squeeze me what comes out? When everything is going fine and dandy, just the way I want it, I can be the most loving person. But the minute something goes wrong (I get squeezed) what comes out can be the VERY opposite of loving! I am not glorifying this. I am ashamed.
  I thank the Lord that He has blessed me with two of the most loving, forgiving, and patient (got that from the daddy) kids I know! I REFUSE to take advantage of that. And I want them to see love, patience, kindness and self control coming out of me no matter what circumstance I am in. I want that for them as well, not anger. I have learned to stop, and call on the Lord when I feel like yelling. He brings to my attention usually immediately that I have no right to want my way at that moment anyway..............Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city. ~Proverbs 16:32
 So, I guess what I am trying to say is that it is so easy to be fruitful (loving, kind, patient) when things go our way. But when the rug is pulled out from under us and we are squeezed, what comes (or even drips) out of us then? I only want that which comes from the Holy Spirit within me!.....
  But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. ~ Galations 5:22-23

The Holy Spirit can be spontaneous!

 My daughter has gone to public school up through the 2nd grade and then this year for her 3rd grade year we started homeschooling. My son will be in Kindergarten next year. He will be 5 this month. The Lord started calling me to homeschooling back in late June. I thought at first it may have been a crazy idea that popped in my head due to the fact that I can be a little crazy and spontaneous. When I get a crazy idea it usually haunts me until I do it. I am beginning to think this spontaneous bone is called the Holy Spirit! I know, I know, sometimes it's just me being crazy. But after praying and praying and seeking wise council.....‘Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety." Proverbs 11:14....I realized that this is where the Lord wanted to lead us. As I looked back I could see the hand of God at work putting the puzzle pieces together at just the right time to set us up to be able to do this! He led us to the Dave Ramsey course at our church and we were led to pay off and sell cars that had payments. We stopped using credit cards and started focusing all extra cash to pay them off(almost done):). Then He started leading me to want to stay home with my children since I was now working to pay daycare and no longer needed any extra to pay car payments. So I thought I would be staying home with my son during his LAST year at home before sending him off to kindergarten....BOY was I wrong!

 So the Lord knew exactly what he wanted me to do with our new found freedom before it ever even entered my thoughts!...... So when it occurred to me that I just might be able to do this homeschooling thing I then presented the "spontaneous" thought to my hubby. Ok, so he was not exactly thrilled with the idea. I think we both were questioning whether the future of our children, academically speaking, should be left in our hands. What took a while for us to realize is that it was not ever going to be in OUR hands, but in the hands of our Creator! Man, the time we waste in life worrying about things for no reason. Well, I did doubt myself (and God) at first. I mean, I was like a D student in school. It wasn't that I could not have done better, but I did not care to. My focus was on the wrong things at that time. But what I did not realize at the time was that I was not only lacking the faith in myself, more importantly I was lacking Faith in my Lord. I was just not equipped for this. But thankfully, God does not call the equipped, He equips the called!

 I began to put my trust in God and not on myself. I was pumped up after that realization! "Ok Lord, if you want me to do this, then I know YOU will provide!!" But one problem....my husband was still not so convinced. WHAT??! Ok, so here I knew the Lord was calling us to do this but how could I move forward without my husband's consent?......"Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything." ~ Ephesians 5:22-24......By the way God brought me right to this verse as I was praying about homeschooling as a reminder! I do have a hard time in this area as a hard headed woman. So, I began to pray that the Lord would open his heart and speak to him in His perfect timing. He did, and my husband was soon totally on board! God is so Good! The Lord used this "minor set back" as a reminder for me to 1. be patient, 2.follow my husbands leadership, and 3. fully trust that He is able!! I have tried to be my husband's (along with some other peoples) Holy Spirit. That does not work, thank goodness.

 Now, walking in faith through this awesome journey has been both overwhelming and an amazing blessing at the same time. We just want the Lord to be our focus and at the center of all we learn and do!......Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. ~Matthew 6:33........Most of my family back home does not support what we are doing. It is hard because I get excited on certain days and really want to call and tell someone about it and I know that I can't, or shouldn't for sake of disappointment when I do not get the response back that I hope for. But I have to let that go, not hold a grudge and trust the Lord with all I have! Some think that they will not get the "proper education" by government standards. But we know that true wisdom comes from God our Creator! Who better to trust for knowledge and wisdom than the all knowing Creator of knowledge Himself?.... Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. ~Proverbs 3:5-6........For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. ~Proverbs 2:6

First Blog...Enter at your own risk

Dear Blog world,
 Ok, so this is my first blog....I have been wanting to do this for a while now, but how to find the time, what to write about, and trying to keep this ADD brain to focus on ONE thing at a time.....SQUIRREL... is going to be tricky! So hang on for dear life or I may lose you with my scattered thoughts and ideas.
 Well, I may just make this one short and sweet to get me rolling.
 I am a 29 year old who has been dragged(mostly willing) across the country following my husband's career along with our two children. We have been married for 9 awesome(but bumpy) years! We are from Plant City, FL. Our first adventure was all the way to Washington, DC. in Maryland, then to Oklahoma City, OK, and we are currently just south of Memphis, TN. Now, I do have to say that it was hard to move away from all you have ever known and who you have ever known! But, I can say that the Lord had a reason for every single move and I would not go back and change a single thing. I am thankful for a God who is the author of the BIG picture and stays patient with my kicking and whining until, in His perfect timing, He reveals it to me!
 So, let me shorten this up.....SQUIRREL....That is only funny if you have seen the movie "Up". At anytime the dog in the movie will be talking then stops right in mid sentence and yells "squirrel", and points, then goes right back to talking. That describes the function of my brain in a nut shell!
 Anyways, so we have been away from "home" now for almost 7 years and I really love it now. Nothing against my family back "home" or anything, but now I must focus on my own family and what is best for us. The Lord has led us here for a reason. We are part of an awesome missions style bapticostal church:) and we are right where God wants to use us in His awesome ways! We joined a small group at the perfect timing.....THAT in itself will be a whole other blog! He has really opened our eyes to the world and shown us things that we would have NEVER seen had we stayed in our little, comfy, cozy hometown in FL. Not that God is not there too! He would have met us right there too had we stayed, but MAN when you are obedient to Him and follow His guidance you cannot imagine where He will take you and what He wants to show you! And how He wants to use you and bless you!! Thank you Lord!
 Ok, so now we are at a new chapter in our lives and it is called homeschool! Yay! Not what I would have said a couple of years ago though! I would have called you insane had you told me I would even consider this as an option! You catching my drift? I CANNOT do anything like this in my own strength!! My family back in FL can back me up on that atleast! They may not agree with what we are doing but that is only because the mentality on HOW I am doing this has to change first! God does not call the equiped, He equips the called. AMEN. I will give you an idea of what I was like as a student. My mother was lucky if I brought home a C on the report card or on anything for that matter. I cared more about boys, partying, skipping school and lunch more than anything else. By the way I am NOT glorifying that in any way. So yes, I can see where the idea of me teaching my children would be cause for panic! And that is kinda what we did when I first felt the tug in my heart from the Lord to do this. My husband was not totally on board for a little while, but I did not give up and just prayed that if this is truely what He was calling us to do then my hubby would feel the same a get on board. And of course the Lord had a perfect plan to bring him on board in His perfect timing. And here we are today, being blessed by this opportunity to teach and learn right along with our kids. God is Good. That is all I need to know and rely on to get us through this. He has provided all that we have needed to get his adventure going and to keep it going.  Anything I can think of worrying about He has taken care of...what to teach...how to teach two...what books...what subjects...what money!? We know if we Seek First His Kingdom the rest He takes care of. His Word promises this and I am a living testimony of that truth!
So much for staying short and sweet....This was a little of this and a little of that, but I will try to blog on more specific topics as I blog with the Lord's guidance. Thank you for reading! God Bless!