God is not so Mysterious after all!!!

The past few years homeschooling as been in the back of my mind. I've met many women who homeschool, and each time I do, I think, I would like to do that, I wish I could do that, that's cool, etc.

These last two months or so I have really been considering homeschooling the girls. I have mentioned homeschooling a few times to Dustin before, and he kind of shrugged it off, saying we need two incomes, the girls are excited to go to school... and I just let it drop. Well, I really felt that the Lord is leading me in this direction... it keeps popping up in my mind and in my life around me. Everywhere I go I meet someone who homeschools. I'm addicted to reading online blogs and have a few bookmarked, and I'll see something regarding homeschool somewhere online (not a site for homeschooling).

So the last two weeks I have really been praying that if this is what God wants me to do, he has to hit me over the head. I've been struggling with not being good enough, not being patient enough, the girls getting behind or not rising to their full potential, etc. So I did some Bible study and lots of praying! Dustin and I go to Couple's Bible Study on Sunday Night and I have been attending a Women's Bible Study on Thursdays regarding Discerning the Voice of God in your life. So after our Sunday night class last week I mentioned homeschooling to Dustin again. To my surprise he came home and started researching curricula and said that he thinks this would be an awesome thing to do for our girls. WOW!!! That surprised me... Dustin hadn't been too open to homeschooling before, and I felt that God was working in my husband because He wanted me to do this!! So we started researching curricula together and asking questions of my friends who homeschool. We were still researching and going back and forth as to how it will all turn out. I was still praying that if God really wanted me to do this, He needs to give me a clear sign so I don't make a mistake.

Monday I was posting on one of my message boards, and a lady just posted, oh, I homeschool, and now I'm homeschooling my grandson too - its the best thing I've ever done! Okay... coincidence, or God's leading... Tuesday, I was reading The Pioneer Woman and she mentions something about a printer that prints great photos and homeschool projects... so I snoop around some more, and she homeschools as well. WOW!!! Okay, I didn't know that about her, and I had been reading her blog for quite some time now... Later that day I was struggling with "Will I be able to do this" My Bible study that day was about tearing down strongholds in our life... here is the direct quote from Discerning the Voice of God (which BTW is an AWESOME book that I totally recommend!) p.114 "When your stronghold says, "You'll never be able to do that," you say "I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need" (Philippians 4:13)." Talk about the Lord speaking to my heart!

I was still struggling with the decision, like I said, I wanted to be sure this was God's leading and not my own. I prayed that I wanted to homeschool because this is what God wants for my life and for my children, not just because I want to do it. And I also was struggling with, well, I want my free time, I don't want to be tied to the house, etc. So I continued my daily Bible study... Wednesday I was studying in the Discerning the Voice of God workbook. The assignment was to look up verses and see how they could apply to your relationships in your life. A few stood out, but one that really spoke to me was 1 Corinthians 10:33 "I, too, try to please everyone in everything I do. I don't just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved..." Um, okay, that put my selfishness 'I want my free time' into check!

One last question I had been struggling with was if homeschooling is so great and God wants me to do this, why doesn't He want everyone to do this. Many people go to public or private school and turn out just fine, why should I mess with that and homeschool my girls. I was again working in my Discerning the Voice of God workbook Wednesday night. The lesson was God is a personal God and has personal goals for everyone. A direct quote from that section was "The Holy Spirit may guide the woman God leads to homeschool to avoid other educational options. All of these promptings by God are specifically designed to foster the needs of each woman and the needs of her loved ones."

MY WHOLE BODY TINGLED AND I STARTED CRYING!!!! I literally waved my white flag and prayed "I SURRENDER!!! I will do this, I give up, you don't have to hit me over the head anymore!!" It's funny, and I don't know about you, but that's just too many 'coincidences' for me! I truely believe that God REALLY! wants me to homeschool, and He is a persistent Lord! I am also learning that he is not so mysterious after all. He wants you to love Him and follow Him and He will let you know what He wants you to do!!!

So we have been researching curricula. We have looked at Abeka, Sonlight, Five in a Row, Christian Cottages, and the Weaver curriculum. We decided on using The Weaver Interlock program. The reason we like Weaver so much is that it starts with a lesson in the Bible and then gears that lesson toward History, Science, Social Studies, Language Arts, Vocabulary, Health, Field Trips, Observation Projects, and Memory Verses. We feel that the pros of homeschooling are that:
- We can devote more one on one time with the girls than they would get in a traditional classroom environment.
- We can incorporate the Bible and learning about God that they wouldn't be able to get in a Public school.
We can teach them the values we want them to learn without a lot of outside peer pressure put on them by others.
- We can have a more flexible schedule with the girls and incorporate things like family field trips science projects together, etc.

We asked Sierra if next year she wants to go Kindergarten at school or if she wants to have Mommy be her teacher. She asked what we would do if Mommy was her teacher. I told her we would learn to read, math, about the Bible and science, and then maybe have some field trips and other projects. To which she asked two questions: "Can I have a backpack, and can Daddy go on the field trips?" I said yes, you can have a backpack, and we can plan the field trips so Daddy can come too. "Okay," she said, "I want Mommy to be my teacher!" And Ruby is excited too. I told her I'm going to teach her how to read and do math too, and she said, but I don't know how... and I reassured her that we will be able to do this together. She is really smart, but I think sometimes she gets down that she doesn't know as much stuff as Sierra. But that's okay, she's a year and a half younger!! She's still ahead of the rest of the kiddos her age (and she memorizes memory verses, and can remember directions and songs better than Sierra).

So, we've ordered all the curricula and are excited for next year. I ordered Hooked on Phonics too and am going to try to teach Sierra and Ruby how to read before we leave Germany. Sierra's already sounding out words and reading small sight words, so I figured we'll just get that out of the way and lay the basis for Ruby. I will be starting Sierra and Ruby in the Interlock program next fall with Karis 'attending' as well, but she's not going to be really required to do anything. I think I'll be lucky if I get her to sit for the Bible story! LOL!

We are asking for your prayers and support in this decision. God Bless!