I am getting ready to do an informational get together for moms interested in homeschooling their children (most of these have children reaching school age soon).

As I have been researching and searching for information I have come across some neat things that I used to hold onto steadfastly but have forgotten as my children have grown and I have gotten to be an "older" homeschooler.

Homeschooling is really about developing a home-centered way of life.  God established the family as the primary place where children are supposed to learn and grow and develop.  He established the church or community of believers as the primary place where fellowship, worship and ministry begins.  He established the government as the way to adminster judgment and justice on this earth.  In these three areas, the family if often overlooked as the very center of discipleship for children especially.

Actually, in my vision of homeschooling, home education is not really the goal, home discipleship is the goal.  Home schooling is just a natural extension of discipling my children to know and love the Lord Jesus.  Discipleship happens best within relationships and the family relationships of the home are the prime place for godly training and development.  The very fabric and rhythm of life within a family and in the context of a loving home environment can effectively nurture children and encourage them to grow toward the Lord.

I love my children and have always loved being around them.  It saddens me, truthfully, that they are growing away from me and launching away from our home.  I have always wanted them around and always wanted to spend my days (and nights) with them.  I love having them home.  The days that they are young and impressionable are so fleeting and should not be wasted.

Home schooling is about an attitude.  It is an attitude that home is best, that God entrusted my children to me and my husband to raise and disciple.  It is an attitude that God designed the home and family to be the ultimate in learning environments, full of excitement, discovery and real education in the things that matter.  It spurs me on to make my home a place where the Lord Jesus is honored above all else and the love of learning prevails.

Home schooling for our family has been about building a foundation for our children's lives on the rock of Christ Jesus.  We have heard and read the Words of God and desire to put them into practice.  The best way for us to do that is in the 24/7 dailyness of living and interacting as a family together.  Our prayer is that when the rains come and the streams rise and the winds blow, our house will not fall because its foundation is the Rock of all rocks.  (Matthew 7:24-25)