Tots and Me... Growing Up Together: 5 Days of Homeschool Encouragement: Motivation Monday

Motivation Monday

Welcome to the 5 Days of Homeschool Encouragement Back to School Blog Hop from the Homeschool Review Crew. I am so glad you are here. My fellow Crew Mates and I are hoping you will find encouragement through these posts this week.

Sometimes homeschooling can feel like quite the lonely path. All around us families are sending (or getting ready to send) their children off to school. You may be wondering, "Am I making the right decision?" Especially if this is a new venture for you. Or perhaps you are concerned your children are not learning what they should be learning, and are thinking of sending them to school instead of continuing with homeschooling. Maybe you are burning out and are so tempted by that school bus as it passes by your home. Let me just reassure you by saying, "You can do this mama! You are not alone! You are doing what is best for your children! And you are most definitely NOT the only one who ever has doubts."

Here is what helps me to stay motivated.

First, I remember what led me to homeschool in the first place. I always wanted to homeschool our younger children. In fact, I wanted to homeschool my older children, but their dad (my ex) wouldn't let me. When I look back now though, I have to admit, I didn't quite have the same reasoning as I do now. Half of families in my Conservative Mennonite church homeschooled their children. Granted, that was two families, as there were only four families with children in our small church. But as they were large families, that was a lot of children being homeschooled. I figured that was what God wanted for our families, but couldn't really explain my reasoning. I won't go into all the craziness of my relationship with my ex, but yes, he won that fight, and the children and I had to suffer through public school.

After I remarried, and we had our first child, Tabitha, I approached my husband about homeschooling. He was hesitant at first, but he knew the struggles the older children had dealt with, in addition to his own problems in school, so he was onboard, at least for a trial run. We knew we didn't want to deal with bullying. We wanted our children brought up in the Lord, without having to deal with doubts thrown at them through the indoctrination of the public school system. I didn't want my children being taught that the lie of evolution was real. I wanted to make sure they had solid reading skills, which my older children did not, which caused them to struggle with comprehension in all their subjects. And more than anything, I wanted to be with my children, to be the one who saw that glimmer of understanding, to partake in their excitement when they learned something new.

The fact that I am still homeschooling tells you that the "trial run" was a success. Hubby saw the benefits and saw the children learning. Tabitha is now going into sixth grade, and we have no plans to send any of the four children to public school at any time.

Are there times I doubt myself? Oh yes. Many. Are there times I am tempted to send them to school? Yes, but they are brief flickers that are quickly extinguished. Because I remember what the public school was like for my older children. I see what the public schools are becoming, so much worse than they were. I mean, I loved school as a child. I always wanted to be a teacher. But now that I am an adult and can see them as the indoctrination institutions that they are, that is almost all the motivation I need to stay firm on this path the Lord has set before me.

However, my top motivator is knowing that this is where the Lord wants me to be. His Holy Word tells parents that we are to be the ones training our children. In fact, I've had a "Scripture Tag" of Proverbs 22:6 on my blog since just about the beginning of this journey.

Here are some other verses that have helped to keep fellow homeschool mom's I've asked motivated.

Deuteronomy 6:7

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.

Proverbs 31:17, 27

She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Colossians 3:23

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.

Colossians 1:9-14

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

I know that it is the Lord's will that I be home with my children, teaching them, not just the academic subjects, but the truths found in the Bible. My husband and I desire to raise children who will grow up loving and living for the Lord.

And when I need that bit of a nudge to remind me that I can do this, I have my husband who will keep me focused on my path.

I have the Lord, through whose power I can do all things. See, he promises me that very thing:

The full verse states:

Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

If the Lord could strengthen Paul who was thrown into jail, faced hunger, and trials, and other needs, if He could strengthen many throughout the ages who were persecuted for their faith, why should I not be able to trust in Him to strengthen me in this simple (in comparison) path of homeschooling my children. And hey, at least we are living in a time when it is legal to do so, right?

So, yes, I have my struggles as you do. But I will continue to look to the Lord to strengthen me, because these kiddos are so important to me, and I want what is best for them.