Do you ever find yourself talking to others about your problems. Hoping somehow they will have the solution… sometimes just needing to be heard… sometimes really wanting them to solve it. I find myself doing this and waiting for an answer, yet at the same time I know that others can NOT provide the answer. Their lives are different than mine. In this I do sometimes gain some better perception and it is often helpful, but wouldn’t it be so much wiser if I just took it to God!?
And it got me thinking… I was thinking that the problem lies in that I was not taught to bring it to God!! Not so astounding really… I mean, we tend to do things the way we have learned to and the old saying that “bad habits are hard to break is true”. It takes careful TRAINING to change our ways!! TRAINING!!!
And that got me thinking… How important it is to provide proper TRAINING of our little ones. I am soooo failing in this area. And my focus has been soooo wrong! I have started the character training techniques, but I push them aside for the academics or even other Bible studies. I still think I am putting God first because it all Biblically based, but the reality is I may need take my focus off the curriculum and pick up our Bibles (along with a character study for guidance). The attitudes in our home are so far off right now (maybe not by the world‘s standards, but by mine). Chaos and confusion abound. Inconsistency. Lack of self-control. Lack of patience and kindness. The focus has been off! Home SCHOOLING has been the focus. Home SCHEDULING has been the focus! It has been a juggling act and I don’t want an “act”. I want to prepare my children for their lives. I want their character to guide them… and in the end if they are dumb as a rock I know that they will have good Christian character! And you know what, if we get it right they won’t be dumb as a rock because they will learn character qualities that will guide them to desire and achieve knowledge and wisdom, such as, perseverance, diligence, responsibility, thoroughness, etc..
So, once again I am changing my attitude…. Setting on a bit of different course… breaking away from what “I” have in plan for us. I don’t want to be guided by our schedule, our curriculum choice, or anything else BUT GOD !!!
In his book, When You Rise Up, RC Sproul said (paraphrasing) that he didn't care if his son grew up to be a garbage collector as long as he was a Christian garbage collector leading his family and training his children after God's ways.
ReplyDeleteThat really struck me and I thought of it again as I read your post.
It will come...they absorb it, and along the way they provide many opportunities for you to reinforce Godly behavior. It's an ongoing process, but the learning comes most easily when you can grasp those opportunities where learning can apply. It's so much easier to do this as a homeschooler, isn't it!
ReplyDeleteThe absolute best advice I got when I was beginning to homeschool was that I should concentrate on character development when they are young. The academic learning will happen, but as homeschoolers we don't have to rush the little ones to meet some standard.
About the olive oil...I use whichever is on sale, but I don't notice any strong unpleasant smells. Perhaps I'm just used to it now. I do notice some olive oil smell, but it disappears after it absorbs into the skin. You can always add a little natural essential oil - just a little becasue some oils can cause rashes.
Hope this helps. God bless. :)
I used to do this A LOT! Then the Lord took all of my friends away! For years it was just me and him! I love an example someone gave me years ago.
ReplyDeleteShe said "if we were driving cross country in the same car and never spoke to each other the whole way...would that be weird???" The same is true with the Lord. He is by our sides on the "road trip" of life. ISn't it weird to think we may be "ignoring" him? You are doing a great job!!!