Archive for the ‘Heart of the Matter’ Category
Do You Really Need More Time??
Not enough time in your day? Is your clock moving in fast motion and the hours slipping away? I am often asked how I manage with such a large family. How do I find the time to do all that needs to be done? After all there are only 24 hours in a day! “By the grace of God and day by day,” I reply. I must remember that I have been called to do this and that God will not ask of me any more than I am capable. My capability however does not rest on my shoulders alone. In fact, my capability is not worth much at all but I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
We can accomplish so much more if we rely on God; his guidance, His strength, and His might. He provides the tools we need to accomplish the tasks He places before us. One of those tools is the ability to prioritize. We must not get caught in the trap of taking care of the urgent before the most important. This is a habit into which we can easily fall.
For those with larger families this task of prioritizing can seem a more daunting task.This is not necessarily because we have more things to accomplish (though sometimes that is the case) it is usually because of the volume of those things is greatly multiplied. I can say this because I have been there. When our family was smaller we had fewer things to pick up and A LOT less laundry to wash. There were not as many dishes to clean and diapers to change. I could vacuum less often because there were not as many feet tracking in dirt. I could go on and on. It is very easy to get caught up in all of this to the point of neglecting the most important things, our time with the Lord and the training and enjoyment of our children. This is not glorifying to God and glorifying God is the reason we are here.
The Westminster Catechism question #1 asks, What is the chief end of man?
The answer is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
(1 Corinthians 6:20, 10:31, Revelation 4:11)
Prioritizing is the one of the best ways to address this problem. To prioritize simply means to assign priority to. Priority is, according to Webster, precedence in place or rank. We must, through prayer and discussion with our spouses, determine those things that are most important and those things that can be removed from our plate. We need to determine what all of those things are that we have to accomplish, or think we have to accomplish, and rank them. We often read about the picture perfect homeschooling families where the children excel in everything and have a dozen of extra curricular activities at which they also excel, but this is not what every homeschooling family looks like or even should look like. We are all different. Can we accept that we do not have to look like that perfect homeschool family? Can we face the fact that there is such a thing as being too busy and doing too much? You will find that 24 hours in a day is more than enough if priorities are set, unnecessary things are let go, and a good plan is implemented.
If you find you do not have enough time in your day or you are meeting the urgent before the important, I would suggest reevaluating priorities. List them. See what can be let go. Do first things first, in order of importance. Accomplish the primary before the secondary and see if things fall into place better than before. Trust in the Lord and His might.
Please Pray
One of the ladies who writes for the Heart of the Matter Online homeschool magazine is in need of prayer. Her name is Marsha. Their three year old son, Christian, went missing. Two and half hours later divers pulled him from the pond behind their home. Marsha, her husband, and two other children need prayer. Please lift them up today and in the coming days and months ahead
(even longer). Heart of the Matter is celebrating little Christian’s life today, stop by and let Marsha and her family know that you are praying for them.
Why we Homeschool
There are many different reasons people decide to homeschool their children. I would like to share with you today why our family homeschools. Being fully aware of our reasons propels us forward and it gives us purpose. Placing these reasons ever before us pushes us on toward our goal.
Deuteronomy 6:4-7 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
This encompasses every aspect of life, at all times and in all things. I do not believe this can be fully accomplished if the responsibility is abdicated to others and children are put under the authority of those who disagree with the biblical approach to every aspect of life or are obligated to teach using a secular curriculum with a humanistic and atheistic approach. There truly is no real neutrality. Here is a quote from a book I have read recently, it gives a good summary. This is enough to propel me to move forward and count the rewards when I am feeling overwhelmed. It is what God has called me to do as a Christian mother.
The biblical mind is not compartmentalized into two distinct areas of though: secular and sacred. All of life is under the authority of God’s revealed Word, and children were to be taught in terms of this comprehensive authority all the time.from: Standing on the Promises by Doug Wilson
I acknowledge that all will not agree with my reasons for homeschooling. Many will have other reasons and some will just flat out disagree and that is ok. We have our reasons and they are grounded in the Word. These reasons as propel to continue on our homeschooling journey. When we have a frustrating day, they urge us forward and help to keep us focused.
The Heart of the Matter
My article is here: Teaching to the Heart
Other articles in this month’s issue:
Why Homeschool?
What’s in Your Beach Bag?
Density, Buoyancy, Viscosity, Oh My!
How Does Homeschooling Benefit Society?
Planning our Preschool
When Friends Stop Homeschooling
Creating a Mission Statement
Money Management for Children
How To Tell WHY Your Child is Struggling
So We’ve Chosen to Shelter Our Children
Teaching our Children is More Than “Doing School”
Making The School Year Easier On The Teacher
Teaching to the Heart
Why Charlotte Mason?
Rejoicing in Weakness
End of Year Organization
HOTM – Schedules
The May edition of The Heart of the Matter homeschool magazine has been published! You can catch me over there today! Stop by, read, and leave some comments! Have a terrific Thursday.
Where Am I Today???
Today I am posting on two other sites. Stop by and check them out. Leave me a comment so I know you were there; it is always great when others add to the discussion!
The Heart of the Matter Homeschool Magazine March issue is up and running. There are a lot of wonderful homeschooling articles. This month in my column Ducks in a Row, I write about five ways to make school run more smoothly.
Come on by and see how we organize our homeschool….HERE…
Over at The Well Drained Mind I write about struggling with the “perfect homeschooler syndrome” and how the Lord gives us little glimpses to encourage us as we teach our children.
Head on over and read about my Boggle Blessing.
