Just a few more thoughts about lifestyle.

 

Moms with lots of little ones are always writing me because they are overwhelmed with the load they bear. They wonder how they're going to get everything done, and give their children the education they need. I understand what they are feeling, and have beentheredonethat, too. Even so, I had to make a decision of my will and train myself to understand that, if that was God's will for me, then it would behoove me to accept it and rest in it. By that I mean that if God has you busy with little ones, it's okay to choose to enjoy them, love them, play with them, feed them, and keep them at home. Lots of little ones means, without question, lots of work, messes, and interruptions. But that is how God has designed family so those children will have the solid and stable foundations they'll need on which to build a life, and you provide that just by being a mom who is enjoying life and living it to the fullest with her children at home. God has you right where your children need you!

 

Read aloud to your children whenever possible, making it a habit every day to curl up with your children and books. Have some simple Bible devotions and pray with them. Plan some interesting activities and field trips that will give you things to do and talk about. I think that there are far too many choices available now if you are a homeschooler. Looking at every possible curriculum can put a mother under pressure to feel that she is not doing enough for her children. The unfortunate result can be filling up hours with busy work. But love, personal mentoring, reading great books, working on projects, doing chores, and discussing great ideas was enough to create genius in the lives of Thomas Jefferson, Michelangelo, Bach, Thomas Edison, Winston Churchill,C.S. Lewis, and many others. Despite challenging issues in their upbringing, often less than perfect lives and training, and the absence of the perfect curriculum or great educations until later in their lives, they all turned out pretty good. The thing they all had in common was someone who loved them, believed in them, and filled their emotional cups at an early age.

 

God is not wringing his hands in heaven with worry that you will choose the wrong curriculum, or leave a workbook unfinished, or miss a day (or week, or month) of schooling. But he is looking to see how you instill faith into your child's heart, and a love for others, and a heart for wisdom. Start with those, and the rest will follow. That's how he has designed us.