You must be a rebel.
Not a bad type of rebel. But your choice to homeschool defies our culture. When most parents delegate the responsibility of education, you have courageously placed your child’s education on your own shoulders.
You research and read, plan and prepare. You probably stay up too late at night searching for guidance for your homeschool’s current source of struggle.
Homeschool moms, we are in grave danger.
If we are not careful, we will trust in ourselves too much.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NASB)
Any area of life where we are tempted to lean on our own understanding is exactly where we should pause.
Pause.
Pray.
We pause and pray, then we take a step of faith. We may not see the path ahead of us – actually, we cannot see the path ahead of us – but Jesus can.
Rather than lean on our own understanding, let’s lean into Him. It is much easier to trust someone if we know them well and are close to them.
That’s where prayer comes in. Prayer is how our hearts draw close to God’s heart. We must lean in and draw close to the One who can make that path straight.
In order to not lean on our own understanding, we must pause.
With my non-stop lifestyle of homeschooling, I often find myself not stopping. Wait, I guess that’s what non-stop means. If I am going to draw close so I can trust God with all my heart, I must intentionally pause.
A pause is not a forever stop. I stop for a moment or a season. Then I step forward. I step forward in faith in my lesson plans, character training, and schedule coordination.
Two practices have taught me the art of pausing:
Fasting and Prayer Stops
Fasting is not a self-depriving, miserable experience.
Fasting is pausing something in my life – stopping for a season – to take my focus off myself. It might be food, social media, any media or numerous other possibilities. Regardless of what I pause in my life, fasting reminds me of my dependence on God alone and draws me closer to Him.
Prayer Stops are simple pauses throughout my day.
I set my phone alarm for various times throughout the day – times I know I will be struggling in my efforts to depend on myself. When the alarm chimes, I pause. And I pray. I talk to God about whatever is right in front of me. My current situation becomes the topic of my prayer.
Fasting and Prayer Stops remind me to use my rebellious side cautiously.
Pausing has great power to remind us to trust in God rather than ourselves.
Today’s Heart Challenge:
Plan to Pause
How will you pause during these next 20 days? Choose one (or both) of the following:
Fasting – Will you choose to give up something tangible as a reminder of your dependence on God?
Prayer Stops – Will you set alarms for prayer stops throughout the day to remind you to lean on God and not yourself? What times?
Write down your plan.
Today’s Homeschool Prayer:
Family Vision
Do you have a vision for your family and your children’s education? When they graduate high school, what do you want them to know, think, be? Better yet, what do you want them to say in memory of their homeschool years? If you do have a written family vision, are you on track with it?
Lack of direction leads our hearts away from rest.
If you do have a written vision, pull it out and read through it. Talk with God about it. Ask if He wants you to change or add anything. Ask Him to help you if you are off track.
If this is a new concept, start small. Write one sentence about why you homeschool. I homeschool my children because…
But not quite yet. Before writing, remember to seek Jesus first. Remember to pause.
Seek Jesus first. He can give rest to your heart in the midst.
Write out your prayer as you evaluate, surrender and receive rest in your family vision.
EVALUATE
- Ask yourself if this area of your homeschool life is currently restful.
- Ask God to reveal any cues of unrest in your heart.
SURRENDER
- Surrender your efforts to fix the problem.
- Surrender your expectation of the outcome.
RECEIVE
- Ask God to give you grace and rest in the midst of your current struggle.
- Ask Him to give you guidance for ONE THING you can do to cultivate rest in this area.
A glimpse into my homeschool vision:
I homeschool because I enjoy being with my children and want to teach them day by day how to learn and how to live an abundant life. (Many days, when I’m not enjoying them, I pull out my written reminder of my vision!)
Keep seeking Him first!
Leave a Reply