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Homeschooling is Life! ~ Bring on the Rain

1:16 AM, Jul. 6, 2006

When it rains.........

it pours! It is the beginning of our "monsoon" season here on the front range of the Rocky Mountains and we are thrilled with it! Sometimes in a season of rejoicing for us, for some this same blessing from heaven has been nothing less than a curse. We praise the moisture, some Easterners are cursing the river banks that have overflowed and flooded their homelands.

Why is it that one can see the glass half empty while another sees it half full? I don't wish flooding on anyone, but we have been under fire restrictions due to the drought and dryness of the forest. But yesterday rain poured, and it was much needed. But some moaned over the loss of the fireworks. Contentment can be elusive.

Today, the kids and I went to our weekly "work day" on the farm. Working on a farm is an unschoolers dream come true! Usually, it is 10 degrees hotter there than home, and we work and sweat and come home exhausted, but feeling satisfied with our labor. But we have learned so much and look forward to each new task.

This fine day the farm was soggy! What a blessing! It rained and was cloudy all morning so we worked in mud and a fine breeze. We weeded pesky bindweed but today it was much easier to pull---the ground was so saturated that it only took a bit of work to pull them out. Plus, it was a bit of work to pull US out. We got down-right stuck in the mud at times, and we did get mighty dirty. But so goes the life on the farm.

While some weeds are easier to pull because of the rain soaked ground, the other rows we didn't get to this day are getting a booster shot of much needed rain....both vegetables AND weeds alike. So, while we pull one row, the next is growing twice as big (it seems) because of the blessing of rain. There is always a negative thought lurking close by when you are thinking positive!

It kind of reminds me of other areas of life. We work so hard on our homeschooling only to be reminded of those areas that are glaringly deficient. Usually, the reminder comes from someone outside our home. Someone who doesn't know our circumstances, our values, or our plans. But it can come right from ourselves. We start listening to the lies, and questioning ourselves. Even though we are girded up and prayed up, we can still look at the half empty glass.....look at the weeds thriving while we frantically pull the most invasive ones. We get our eyes and ears off God. While we work on one character issue, another one is cropping up and getting out of control before we can get a hand in it. What can we do?

Sometimes outside influences might try to rain on our little homeschooling parade here, and we need to pop up our umbrella and say "ha!" It may look greener on the other row in the garden, but that's just because we haven't pulled our weeds yet. Have you ever heard the expression "don't borrow trouble?" That means, don't worry about tomorrow. And that is also in God's Word. Keep your homeschooling glass half full, and don't let yourself be worn down to where you look at things through any other means, but through God's eyes.

God's word says that it rains on the just and on the unjust. Everyone has their challenges, and we don't always know about them or see them. Our weeds just seem bigger than the Jones's weeds. But we need to keep our eyes off the Jones's weeds, and get our eyes on God. He is the bringer of rain, and of sunshine.

So friend, look for the blessings today ---they are in the rain, the mud and the weeds. Don't be discouraged, praise Him! You will reap a bounty if you keep your eyes on the one who brings the rain.

Nancy Baetz is a homeschooling mother of four little part time farmers. Today, they reaped a blessing from the mud and enjoyed a bounty of beets, squash, radishes, carrots, green beans and even popcorn! Be sure to stop by her blog at www.homeschoolblogger.com/byhisgraceincolorado and say hello. Tell her all about your homeschooling praises today so she can rejoice with you.

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Comments
It is wonderful :)

3:26 PM, Jul. 6, 2006, posted by MrsStevens95

The rain has been great the last few days! The downpour after the fireworks was a bit rough driving home in b/cmy defroster was not defrosting the only part of the windsheild I needed to use! LOL We have been enjoying the rain tremendously though - last night all the kids went outside and played in the rain until we made them come in (it had been a few hours honestly!).

I feel so sorry for those on the east coast with all the rain and flooding they have been ahving. I have family there and it has been real tough for them. They welcome the rain but that area is not used to that kind of flooding either - they need our prayers.

~ Rachel

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