Joshua 4:4-7 -- "So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, 'Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan.  Each of you is to take a stone on his shoulder...to serve as a sign among you.  In the future, when your children ask you, "What do these stones mean?" tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord.  When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.  These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever."

When beginning our school year, most of us probably go before the Lord and bathe the coming academic year in prayer.  But at about this time of the year; dreary days and bad weather seem to zap our strength and our energy seems to run down.  (Thank the LORD that Easter Break is on the way...for more reasons than one!)

This time of year it is so easy to feel like we are a hamster in a wheel...running, running, running but going nowhere.  Some are starting to look toward the coming end of the academic school year (except for the year-rounders) and the "cleaning up" of those loose ends that this may bring; but there are other things that will be coming to a crescendo...sports, dance recitals, music recitals, and of year ceremonies and parties, conventions...the list seems to go on and on.  With all this activity and the exhaustion that accompanies it, it is easy to forget all that has been accomplished during this school year and to forget the grace and answered prayer that God has showered down upon us like sweet April rain.

As this busyness can take us by storm, all the little things can cause  our thoughts of what we have accomplished to become distorted.  When homeschool life gets a little overwhelming (or just LIFE in general!) instead of remembering the rough days, we need to strengthen our own faith by getting out our own "stones of remembrance" and look back at ALL the prayers God has answered.  These "stones" are evidence of our faith mainifested in physical reality...answered prayer, healing and restored good health, a loved-one's salvation after many years of prayer, safety in travel, a break-through in learning a new concept...what a list!!

I believe that if you are honest with yourself, you will agree that God's grace has extended to your school and that it is a success!  If you take a peek through your children's notebooks and review what has been absorbed this year, you'll realize that something actually got through!      On those days when you may feel like you're not teaching your children anything, look at all your children do know...The LORD used you to teach them that!  Are they well-rounded?  Do they have a relationship with Jesus?  Have they seen answered prayer?  The LORD used you in their precious lives!  God knew what He was doing when he put those children in your home.

These are our Stones of Remembrance...in the flesh!

Joshua 23:14 --  "...You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed.  Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed."  AMEN!!

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

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