Musings of a Mentor - Bumper sticker philosophy.

Musings of a Mentor

Jun. 11, 2006

Bumper sticker philosophy.

Posted in General

'People too weak to follow their own dreams, will always find a way to discourage others'-- as seen on the bumper sticker When the kids come to be with new ideas, I ask myself how do I say "yes, that will work." My mind goes naturally to all the reasons it won't work, why it is inconvient, why it is too expensive, or why we don't have time. Stopping and biting my tongue for a few seconds to let my brain work has been a huge blessing. I have been training my mouth to say "Cool idea, how would you make it work," or "that is interesting, what would you need from me" or "neat, what's the next step"...now I can and do say these things out of habit. I am following my dreams and I want more than anything for the kids to follow theirs. I want them to feel safe enough to bring new dreams to me to help them grow. Since I believe passions and dreams are gifts of the Holy Spirit, to destroy them, to belittle them, to push them aside too quicky or to dismiss them as flights of fancy is to sin against the Spirit. When a child is told no constantly, they stop dreaming altogether. I see this way too often with the broken spirits that come to be for mentoring. Teens should be full of passion! Yet, more often then not these kids come to me defeated, lost, and feeling powerless because well meaning teachers and parents have have shut down every dream they have had. We do it in little ways, stop playing your music now and get to work, stop what your writing and do what I assigned, that book's not good enough read this one instead, stop what your doing and do what I want done right now.... in every way we say what we want is more important and more valuable then what they were finding meaningful. What they are learning is "So, what would be the point of dreaming, if my dreams and desires are not valuable or valued." So, the next time you find yourself faced with a child who has a strange idea, or wants to do something wacky sounding... ask yourself is there anyway I can say yes, or can I discuss and brainstorm this idea with them without shutting them or it down...Get excited about the freedom we have as homeschoolers to follow these rabbit trails of learning and life. Let your child truly know they can listen to the Spirit and follow their dreams.

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Jun. 11, 2006 - Dreamers