Monday, September 13, 2010

He Is Called


As we've "officially" started our school year, I've been reflecting on the beginning of our home school journey. I was very excited to home school! I had various motives, from wanting to be "just like them" to wanting to save my children from the world. Daniel, on the other hand, didn't want anything to do with it. My emotions were very strong. I was angry. I pouted. I called friends. I called a friend of mine, an older, Godly man, a father figure for me. I told him how I was feeling. "Laura, if you are meant to home school, God will call Daniel." "Fathers are called to home school." Talk about taking the wind out of my sails. Here I was, wanting to do the "right" thing, and God was saying, "Trust me & wait."

Maybe a year later, school was getting ready to start. I still wanted to home school badly. We didn't have any money for curriculum. But Daniel said that if God wanted us to home school, He would provide the curriculum. I called friends again, women who had been homeschooling for years. "What curriculum did you use for...?" A Godly friend said, "Ask the One who called you?" Talk about taking the wind out of my sails. Here I was, trying to find the "perfect" curriculum, and God was saying, "Trust me & prepare."

So I prayed. I researched. I decided on a curriculum that would give Rose & I time together. More intimate, less structured. I called Nancy, the local home school group coordinator. She was giving me ideas. I said, "What I really want to do is Five In A Row." "Oh my gosh, I am the Five In A Row queen. I have all the books you need & you can borrow them all!" "WHAT!?! Did I just hear that correctly? No way! Oh yeah... God is good!"

The next year came. I really wanted to home school Kathryn, too. Daniel was not interested. He was concerned with the amount of time it would take to home school both girls. Would I have enough time to take care of the little ones? I didn't pout so much this time. I prayed. I prepared. I ordered a curriculum that both the girls could do if God changed Daniel's heart on the matter. Daniel started working with this guy. He didn't have any kids. But, as they talked, Kit convinced Daniel that Kathryn really didn't know what was best for her, that the public schools were not what was best... Within a couple of months, Daniel told me to pull Kathryn from school.

Ryan told us 2 weeks later that he wanted to be home schooled, too. He couldn't see the benefit in spending 9 hours a day away from home when his sisters "had it sooo much easier." I will elaborate on his story in a later post.

That was 2 years ago. It has been a struggle at times. It has been a process, a journey. Our home is constantly changing & growing.

This year, we have a fresh vision & focus. We have Gabriel, Lukasz & Anya who have their own special "class" now. Gabriel, because he loves it from last year. Lukasz, because I want him to get lots of practice speaking (there is a lot of rhyming in this program). Anya, because she wants to be apart of the group (she's not a baby, you know). We have a curriculum that helps to teach all of them in a one room school house type setting with the Bible as the main history book. We will learn how the Ancient Egyptian culture relates to the men in the Bible. Kathryn is focusing on Algebra & writing. Rosalie & Mama will be spending some focused time on math & math & more math. Ryan is gaining more & more skill as a carpenter. He's working through his Stewardship math class that I probably need to take right along with him & his world history that he's realizing he MUST complete if he wants to read the next book on his list, "What He Must Be To Marry My Daughter" by Voddie Baucham. We'll do one or two scrap book pages a week to put into our notebooks, to keep track of what we're learning & to give them an outlet for their natural creative abilities. We'll continue to take care of our garden, put up the veggies & prepare for winter. We'll go to the Sprinkler Lake Nature Fest, the planetarium for Christmas, the Saginaw Children's Museum & possibly the Creation Museum. Most importantly, we'll build another year's worth of memories, learn a lot of lessons, learn a lot about the grace & mercy of our Saviour, that He would chose us for this journey.

I am so thankful that God granted me the grace to listen to those hard words that Gary told me years ago. I am positive that our home school journey would be very different today, if I had continued in rebellion against my husband & not honored him even when he told me "no." I am also positive that God has poured His blessings down on us because we allowed Him to work in our home.

Jesus has changed my heart so much since the "beginning". Now, instead of trying to fit in or impress others... instead of trying to shield them from the world out of fear... Now, we just want to be obedient to what God has called us to do, to shut out the "noise" of the world, so we can look them in the eye & instruct them & train them in the way they should go.



In His Grip,
Laura

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