Avoid "Doing School"

I read an article in our state homeschool newsletter today that was very encouraging. It's a message I have heard many times over the years but, I am a forgetful human and need constant reminding of why I do what I do. Why do I homeschool? Why do I purposefully watch for "teachable" moments? Why do I look for opportunities to learn more about biblical model training, character building, mothering, "wifeing" (not a word but it works here- maybe) and growing disciples?

First of all, I do what I do because I love Jesus and I want Him to be proud of me. It's like any child with their parent or someone they admire and look up to I suppose. I desire to hear these words when I finally see my Lord face to face, "Well done my good and faithful servant...". Won't that be awesome! To have the King of the Universe, the Creator of all things say that He is proud of you? Wow!

The other reason I do what I do is that I want my children's strongest desire to be the same as mine. I want them to be able to say, without me involved, that their desire above all things is to know and love THEIR Jesus. Not mine, not because of my husband or myself, but because they know Him so well that they can't help but want to know Him more and more. Children that hunger and thirst for Jesus- now that's a legacy.

So, how do I (we) do that? Avoid "doing school". It's not about workbooks and finishing texts. It's not about making all the field trips and being a part of all the co-op or church activities. It's about doing whatever it takes to make Jesus and His Word as the foundation of our home. It's about being students in His Word ourselves and modeling that for our children. It's about loving Him with all our hearts, minds, soul and strength and our neighbors as ourselves. It's about developing a servant's perspective by becoming more and more like Christ and less and less like ourselves. What I love about this approach is that it puts everything into perspective for me. I must be Christ focused. It makes me a better teacher, mother, wife and Daughter of the King.

In the real world what does this look like for our family schooling? Well, our daily plan is that we come together before we are even all put together in the morning and pray that God uses the day for His glory. I say "plan" because this is a new thing for us and we are still in the process of making this a habit. The next thing we do is have Character and Bible/AWANA as our first topics of our school day. It helps us (and especially me) remember that He is the only good and perfect thing in our lives and should always be given the priority.

The next thing we want to do is to apply what we have learned. How do we do that? In our own families. The first character quality we are studying this year is gentleness. How can we show that to each other? What is the opposite of gentleness and what does that look like? Where do we find examples of this quality in Scripture? I am using a form of the 49 Operational Definitions of Character Qualities this year. I can't wait to see those light bulbs over our heads as we study these traits this year.

Finally, I hope you notice that I say "us" a lot while I am discussing schooling, home life, etc; because it is about us. It is a family experience not an individual pursuit at this point in our journey. Sure, we all must have an individual relationship with Jesus and that is our ultimate goal but, in order for our children to have that kind of supernatural relationship with Jesus they must have a foundation in the natural through their earthly relationships. God has given us as their parents that job. We must model the ups and downs of life and show our need for a Savior though it all. The good, the bad and the ugly.

My prayer is that our family will be that sweet aroma of sacrifice and well pleasing to our King. I know that is Christ's desire for us as well. What a blessing to have this great privilege! We get to teach our children about The One True God! We get to show them His creation and how it was made just for us! We get to avoid "doing school" and instead we get to LIVE school! We serve a great God! Amen? Amen!