"The righteous will never be uprooted, but the wicked will not remain in the land." Proverbs 10:30
These stumps in a pile were once growing, thriving trees. They've been cut down and uprooted to make space for a new house in our neighborhood. As I've watched the process unfolding during my morning walks, I can't help but wonder: are my roots strong enough, are my children's roots strong enough, to withstand the cultural upheaval working so hard to make space for a "new" world order which is actually based on the most ancient of lies?
Dear homeschool mama, the enemy will do anything to uproot you and your children. You MUST be deeply rooted in God's truth. You must know the truth about who God is and about who you are. When we know we can trust God's character, we know we can trust His calling.
Are you standing firmly on truth today? Are your children?
God, may we be faithful to stand on truth no matter the consequences. Grow our roots so strong and deep that the lies swirling around us will never uproot us or our children. Your Word says, "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives." Make Proverbs 13:12 a reality in our generation in Jesus's name. Amen.
Love what you're reading? Subscribe here for updates!
The last month has been full: I had the privilege of being one of the workshop speakers at the Teach Them Diligently homeschool convention in Round Rock, Texas, where I presented a session with the following title:
Be Rooted in Your Homeschool:
Survive, Sustain, & Succeed for the Long Haul!
What a joy to meet and fellowship with like-minded homeschool moms and dads, who are educating their children not simply for all of the wonderful FRUITS homeschooling can provide, but also because they desire to help ROOT their children in the love and truth of God.
My convention session provided an opportunity to share our testimony. And God used it to confirm a calling that He put on my heart to speak to and mentor Christian homeschool mamas. Two weeks after the conference I offered a free virtual webinar (still available to view) to dive a little deeper into the 3Ps of the homeschool seed:
Purpose
Possibilities
Passions
I'm so excited to launch the BE ROOTED program, a 6-week discipleship and coaching program specifically for Christian homeschool mamas who desire to raise kingdom-minded disciples of Jesus. You can learn more about the program here!
I know there may be questions...feel free to contact me and we can set up a time for a quick chat to see if this is the next right step for YOU in your homeschool journey.
Love what you're reading? Subscribe here for updates!
Let's be real...FRUITS are way more exciting than ROOTS!
They're more pleasing visually.
They taste yummy.
They are refreshing, satisfying.
They energize our bodies.
Roots, on the other hand, are frankly rather ugly.
They don't really DO anything tangible for us, only the tree.
But without the roots, the fruits wouldn't have a chance!
When it comes to homeschooling (or parenting in general), it is VITAL that we have deep roots. All too often, we get fixated on whether or not we see fruits from our efforts. And while fruit is important, and we certainly pray the Lord will bring about fruit in our lives and in our children's lives, when this becomes the focus, it also becomes the measure of whether or not we are "successful."
That, my friends, is a recipe for doubt, disappointment, and discouragement!
It can lead to burnout.
Wanting to quit.
Looking for other materials, methods, motivations.
But...when we attend to our roots, we rest in Jesus and trust that GOD will bring about the growth in His own way and in His own timing.
How are your roots?
Love what you're reading? Subscribe here for updates!
Have you ever watched wistfully as the big yellow school bus picks up kids in your neighborhood?! Wondered what it would be like to wave goodbye to your children, turn around, and go back inside your house to be alone (or maybe with “only” one or two kiddos) for a few hours?
True story: We once lived in a house right at the corner of a school pick-up. I heard and saw the bus roll in every morning and pull to a stop where the neighborhood kids and their moms stood in clusters along the edge of the cul-de-sac. Usually I felt thankful for the opportunity to keep my children home with me. Doing life and school together has always been an incredible blessing. But I do confess that the year my husband was deployed to Afghanistan, there were days when I wished I felt the freedom to send the kids to the public school! With 5 kids ages 10 and under and one growing in my belly, I was one tired mama!
That was a difficult season of life, to be sure. And when life feels hard, homeschool feels extra hard. As the years have come and gone, as we’ve experienced our ups and downs, I’ve learned that the times when I feel frustrated, exhausted, and burned out as a homeschool mom are the times when I’ve unwittingly been focusing on the FRUITS of homeschooling rather than the ROOTS.
This is something I’ve been pondering for awhile, and I’m excited to share more about what God has laid on my heart as I prepare to speak at a couple of upcoming homeschool conventions! If you’re near Round Rock, TX, or Wasilla, AK, I’d love to meet up with you! And if you aren’t but you have homeschooling friends who are, pass along this message and help us get connected! 😀
I’ll share more next week about this idea of fruits and roots. Meanwhile…I’d love to hear your thoughts about the fruits and roots of homeschooling! What does that mean to you?
Love what you're reading? Subscribe here for updates!
***I did not write this...if you know who the original author is, please let me know!***
Though I teach my children how to multiply, divide, and diagram a sentence, but fail to show them LOVE, I have taught them nothing!
And though I take them on numerous field trips, to swim practice and flute lessons; and though I involve them in every church activity, but fail to give them LOVE, I profit nothing!
And though I scrub my house relentlessly, run countless errands, and serve three nutritious meals every day but fail to be an example of LOVE, I have done nothing!
LOVE is patient with misspelled words and is kind to young interrupters.
LOVE does not envy the high SAT scores of other Homeschool families. LOVE does not claim to have better teaching methods than anyone else, is not rude to the fourth telephone caller during a science lesson, does not seek perfectly behaved geniuses, does not turn into a drill sergeant, thinks no evil about friends’ educational choices!
LOVE bears all my children’s challenges, believes all my children are God’s precious gifts, hopes all my children establish permanent relationships with Christ, and endures all things to demonstrate God’s love!
LOVE never fails!
Where there are college degrees, they will fail; where there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
For we know in part and we teach in part. But when the trials of life come to our children, the history, math, and science will be done away and faith, hope, and love will remain;
BUT THE GREATEST OF THESE IS LOVE!
– Author unknown
Love what you're reading? Subscribe here for updates!
