Last month, The HomeFront team shared verses with you all.  They were verses for praise, wisdom, confidence, or encouragement. This month, we look at harvesting and gathering. With that in mind, let us look at how, through our homeschools, we can "gather" God's Word to impress on our own and our children's hearts. Or, even more importantly, why we should gather verses and teach them to our children.

Why do you homeschool? What is your philosophy of your child(ren)'s education? For us, and for many parents, it is to equip our child to be able to go out into the world once he is grown to impact lives for Christ. We want our son to be equipped with the knowledge of the Lord so he will be able to be 'in the world but not of it' as he pursues his calling in life. We also want him to be a harvester for the Lord when the time comes.

In Matthew 9:35-38, Jesus was traveling throughout cities and villages, teaching and proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom. In those travels, He saw many with "every disease and every affliction. When He saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, for they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." (Matthew 9:35,36)(ESV) In the next verse, Jesus talks to His disciples about the harvest being plentiful, but the laborers being few. Does the description of those crowds describe what many of us see each day when we look at families that don't know the Lord? How about everyday people you pass on the streets? Doesn't this describe most of the world today?

Our desire in homeschooling our son is to, first and foremost, train his character and his heart to be tender to God's leading. I believe that the academics will come if we place God first in our home in all we do. When he leaves our home, we pray that he will want to be a laborer for the Lord's harvest. So many in our world today are harassed and helpless. So many wander like sheep without a shepherd. They need to hear the Good News of God's love and release. That is why focusing on training our child(ren)'s heart(s) now is so important. I don't believe our children are equipped to be salt and light in the world until they are trained in their own faith and are allowed to grow in it and in maturity. That's why we, and many of you, keep our children home. As Gena (link to her blog here) says, "Keep them home where they belong." If our son stays with us, then he will be equipped to be the salt and light in the world when that time comes. He will be equipped to be a harvester for the Lord, and he will have the maturity, too. What do you see for your child(ren)? Do you desire for them to have a heart for the lost and to be a laborer/ harvester for the Lord's harvest? If the harvest is plentiful, let's pray earnestly for our children to grow in Him and desire to be harvesters for the Lord when they leave the protective shelter of our homes.

Memory Verse: Mt 9:38  "Pray the Lord of the harvest will send forth laborers into the
harvest."

Additional Verses: 

Ps. 91

Proverbs 29:18 "Where there is no vision, the people perish."

For Further Meditation:

Pray daily for the Lord's leading for each minute of your school day.  Pray for His vision for your child(ren)'s education.

If you aren't already, start working on memory verses together.  This will be good for you, too. 

Ask the Lord to reveal to you (if you aren 't sure), what your child(ren)'s gift(s) are.  Ask Him to reveal to you ways you can nurture those gifts so that they will be equipped when they leave your home.

Pray now for your child(ren) and their future.  Pray their hearts will be tender to His leading that they will know their calling when the time comes.  Pray for them everyday.

Pray with your child(ren) about their gifts, their calling, and their future.  Let them see you in prayer for them as you prepare them and they prepare.  Model for them seeking God's vision for your life so they may seek His guidance and vision when they are able and ready.