I love school breaks.  Breaks release us to take a step back and see where we really are.  How good it is set aside our pencils and books and just practice “being” together.  Our first day of Spring Break this year was wonderful.  Freed from the constraints of any schedule my kids took the morning to plan and ponder their plan of attack for the next few days.  My littlest pulled out games that had been tucked away for months. Within an hour my oldest sons were cleaning out the workshop that they felt needed reorganizing for Dad.  No one asked them to do this; they came up with it on their own as a love gift for their dad, who as a tax accountant is in his busiest season.  How proud they were when it was all neat and tidy. 

While they were working another plan had formulated in their heads.  This one was pure fun.  “Mom” they asked, “Can we build a boat to float in the pond at the park?”  Working in the shop organizing tools had inspired them.  In no time they collected their younger siblings and began creating.  Taking an old purple dinosaur sandbox, PVC pipe, duct tape and liquid nails, they made a floating contraption with pop bottle pontoons.  In an hour they had a boat they were ready to try.  A spot of sun shone out the window and despite the temp of 45 degrees we loaded the boat and oars into the back of our beat up van and we headed out. 

What a sight we made trooping up to the pond. I noticed a few heads turn as joggers went by us.  Excitedly the kids put the boat in the pond and it floated.  I have to admit I wondered if it could really hold up a 6’ 1” boy, and was mentally planning on bringing home sodden kids.  One by one, each of my four got into the boat and floated around the pond.  They were ecstatic.  The oldest two realized they had to balance their weight just so or the boat would fill with water, but it did not sink.  When all were sufficiently wet and cold enough we loaded the boat back into the van and headed home for hot chocolate.  Everyone chatted about improvements to make the boat more stable for the future.  My seven year old son envisioned plans of adding motor.  My 10 year old daughter was ready to get out the paint brushes and decorate the ship more appropriately.  I could see in that moment how the strengths of each child were allowed to flourish in this small endeavor.  Teamwork, ingenuity, spontaneity, genuine love and concern for each other were displayed.  School work shows me only a snapshot of all I really want to teach my children.  Break times show me another.

While I fight the constant temptation each break to fill it with schoolish things, I hold tight to the joy that comes from letting my kids “be”.  I’ll never be an unschooler, or one who could go too long without a schedule, but I see the value in it.  In closing, the highlight of this break was my oldest son giving me a hug and saying, “I’m so glad I have a mother who understands that boys need to have adventures.”  Truth is, so do moms.

OCetwork Currents                                 December 2006                                                               page 2

                  Arid desert climates and obscurity hid the scrolls well, but God knew they were there. The world filled with skeptics. “What is truth?” it asked. “Can it even be known?” “How do we know the Bible as we have it is accurate?” Nearly 2000 years later, Bedouin shepherd boys heard the crash of broken pottery in a cave. They were simply looking for a missing goat. The scribes’ handiwork was rediscovered and gifted to the nation of Israel newly reborn. New scientific discoveries confirmed that the scrolls were over 1000 years older than any other known text. The comparison of texts displayed the constancy of God’s word. Amazing accident? I think not., more like purposed providence.

           As we walked throughout the exhibit we were delighted as information was presented. Daddy boldly taught the Bible despite the pressing crowds around us. The New Testament Era and stories came alive for us. My children touched 2,000 year old pottery shards. They examined the changes in oil lamps over a 1,000 year period and saw the type of lamp Jesus referred to in his parable of the 10 Virgins. (The lamps were so small they fit in the palm of your hand, no wonder the wise virgins carried extra oil.) 

A Year End  Discouragement

By Christine Bullock

     It was one of those days again last week when I second guessed myself as the chief educator in our home.  It was one of those days when I felt the wave of discouragement wash over me and leave me battered and bruised.  It all started with a simple writing and math lesson for two of my precious children.  With good attitudes they worked hard at their studies but as they submitted their lessons to me for review, my heart sank. 

     I had recently looked over my yearly goals for our children and it was grade time for momma.  Here we were a nearly a year later and I felt we were still struggling with the same points.  “Lord,” I thought “I’ve failed.  They can’t spell any better today, or add any better.  What am I doing wrong?” 

       Almost instantly I recognized this sinking feeling.  It seems to come at the end of a “school year” as I evaluate myself and my children students fairly severely.  Every year the Lord reminds me in His still quiet way to hush, not to speak but just to listen.  We put the school books away and loaded up into the van to rush off to piano lessons.  My heart aching, I poured out my sorrows and fears in silent prayer while the back seats bounced with giggles and wiggles. 

     As homeschooling parents we know where the “buck stops.”  We understand that we will not be able to blame the school system for giving our kids a shoddy education, nor the bad influence of others for a wayward bent.  That is a lot of responsibility, but it is the responsibility that God gave us the day our children were born.  Most of our peers have abdicated their job.  They don’t fret over the things we do, they expect the professionals to take care of it.  It can feel lonely and isolating at times as we look for answers from God and not a “peer review” board at a P.T.A. meeting.     

     Discouragement can be a real part of the battle we fight as we homeschool our children.  Am I doing enough?  Should I do something different?  How much am I missing?  We shouldn’t be surprised when the wave crashes.  Our enemy isn’t going to lie down and not fight us on this issue.  We know that a main battle ground in our culture is our families.  So of course the “accuser”, our enemy, is going to throw our failures, real or otherwise, up into our faces

     I’m so glad God taught me the lesson to be still when this wave of discouragement comes.   Because I chose silence, and sought the counsel of the Supreme Teacher and Encourager, I was able to hear the messages He sent in the next few days. 

     First the piano teacher noted that a major break through had occurred in a persistent little boy to whom music does not always come easily.  Diligence had paid off.  Later that afternoon a total stranger approached me after she had watched my brood interact with a room full of rowdy youngsters at a local pizza place.  She complimented my family, especially the teen boy, for their kindness and gentleness.  “You don’t see that anymore “she said.    Compassion and tenderness were commended. 

     The next day a story was shared about my little “gospel sharing” daughter who boldly told the truth the way it was.  Courage and strength to defend the faith was noted.  A bell suddenly went off in my head. 

     You see my list of goals for my children do not only include academics, they also include any number of life skills and godly character traits my husband and I feel led to work toward.  God in His goodness chose to show me through the words of total strangers and fellow “co-laborers” (a.k.a. homeschool buddies) that God had done an amazing work in my children this year. 

     The very words I had written about a year before were displayed in their lives.  I had focused on the academics but God was working on the character in both my children and myself.  The cloud of discouragement lifted. 

   Dick Karman from OCEANetwork said during Family Discipleship Day in April that it is the “series of faithful steps that build strands that make a bridge to support a faithful godly life.”  How true this is.  Daily small steps in faithfully educating our children will pay off.  We may not see them as clearly up close but one day the big picture will emerge.  God had shared with me just a snippet of the portrait He is creating in our family.  I was so blessed.

     The following Monday the struggling speller was much improved and the math facts seemed to stick much better for the bubbly girl.  To God be the Glory!