I think every homeschooler to some degree or another struggles with the constant question, "Am I doing enough?  Are my kids learning enough?  Am I spending enough hands-on time with them?  Maybe I should be doing more......etc, etc."

I think one of the biggest fringe benefits of homeschooling is the time in prayer that I spend with God.  It seems I'm always praying and asking God, "Should I be doing more?  How do I handle this situation?, etc."  This past week I was reading in Psalms and came to Ps. 62.  I was reading in the Message Bible and this is what it reads:  "My help and glory are in God - granite strength and safe-harbor God - So trust Him absolutely, people; lay your lives on the line for Him.  God is a safe place to be.  Man as such is smoke, woman as such, a mirage.  Put them together, they're nothing; two times nothing is nothing."

Basically, to me it says that if I'm trusting in man for something, I'm trusting in nothing.  I need to be trusting God for everything! 

So I prayed and I asked God to show me where I was trusting man instead of Him and immediately the thought came, "In schooling your kids."  I knew what He was talking about because I'm always looking to the school system thinking, "Ok, kids in grade one are doing this....reading at this level, adding/subtracting at this level, etc."  So I'm looking to man's standards of education and judging my kids' education according to that standard.

I thought about it and said, "But I want to be sure that my kids are well-prepared for adulthood so that whatever they want to be, they won't be limited because of their education.  I don't want them to be lacking in anything."

God immediately replied once again and said, "If you trust in ME and place your standards according to MY standards, your children will lack NOTHING.  In fact, they will be so much further ahead than they ever could be if you measure their success according to my standards and put Me first."

How cool is that?  I find it SO amazing when God speaks.  How amazing is it that the Creator of the entire universe - a universe that the greatest scientist can't even comprehend or find the end of - this amazing God speaks to ME.

I've been studying into the teaching/understanding of spiritual authority.  It seems (in my life anyways) that satan is trying to get people to believe that they shouldn't have to submit to or obey spiritual leaders that God has put over them.  The argument that comes up varies in different ways from "I don't have to submit to that person because they've done *this* and that's not Godly!" to "I don't have to let someone else tell me how to run my life" or "I follow God, not man", etc, etc. 

The thing is, I almost got sucked in to this lie of satan's as well.  It actually surprised me how cunning he was at doing it, too.  It's so amazing how he can wrap the lie all up with a lot of truth.  Underneath it's still a lie, though kinda' like a fish hook wrapped up in a worm. 

God clearly says in Heb. 13:17 "Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you." 

What is does NOT say is "Obey those who rule over you as long as they do all the right things, say all the right things and are sinless."  Pastors are not put in their position because they're sinless.  Rather, they're there because GOD put them there.  Therefore, we are to obey them and submit to them.

Notice when we don't submit and obey the end of the scripture says, "...that would be unprofitable for you."  How so?  Let's turn to Isaiah 1:19-20.  "If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword."

Let's note the beginning of the first sentence.  'If you are willing and obedient..."  Willingness deals with attitude.  If your attitude stinks, you're going to be devoured by the sword!  That's what God's word says!

Some people may ask, "Where do you draw the line, though?" 

Only If your Pastor is telling you to do something that goes against God's word, you are not to obey BUT you are still to submit.  Can you submit without obeying?  I believe, yes. Off the top of my head, obedience is an action that you carry out.  Submission, on the other hand, is an attitude of the heart.  So if my Pastor was requiring something of me that went against God's word,  I wouldn't obey meaning I wouldn't do the action he was asking of me BUT I would still 'honor' him as my Pastor by not speaking out publicly against him, not slandering him, etc. etc.  Take for example Shadrach, Meshach and Abednigo.  Nebuchadnezzar make the decree for everyone to bow down to an idol but the three men knew that went against God's word so they refused to do it.  However, they still showed a submissive attitude when confronted by the King.  (Dan. 3:16-18)They referred to Nebuchadnezzar as "O King" or as NLT states, "Your Majesty." 

They didn't go behind the King's back and try to talk others into why the decree was wrong and why they shouldn't follow the King's orders.  They didn't speak out against the King whatsoever.  When they were confronted, they politely and respectfully stated to the King why they weren't going to obey. 

The reason why I'm writing this is because I've learned such a valuable lesson in regards to this very issue and it's so heavy on my heart right now.  It's so easy to get sucked in to satan's lies that say we have rights, opinions, rights to choose, etc.  I now know how church splits happen.  It's so amazing to me because not so long ago I would hear of stories where people got together behind the scenes and started talking about the leadership of their church and their Pastor and how 'such and such' wasn't right and should be changed, etc. and the church ended up splitting because of it.  I would look at those people and think, "How in the world could they do that and call themselves a Christian?"   I now know how easy it is to be sucked into that trap.  You may have the best reasons in the world why things need to be changed in your church but that doesn't make it right for you to have a bad attitude or disobedience towards leadership or the Pastor of your church!  It will NOT go well with you.....

It's interesting to read the account of Moses when God appears to him in the burning bush.  This is the most dynamic meeting recorded in the bible and yet it wasn't 'real' to Moses.  Moses comes up with excuse after excuse as to why he can't do what God's asking of him.  Take Noah, on the other hand.  That was a very small encounter between God and Noah that was recorded in the bible and yet it was VERY real to Noah.  God told Noah to build an ark and then God disappeared for 100 years and Noah built the ark while putting up with abuse, insult, condemnation, etc. from people around him!  Now THAT meeting was very real to Noah.

Moses's problem was that his sins from his past life were more real to him than all of God's powerful demonstrations.  His self-doubt was stronger and more real to him than what God was telling him.  His stumbling block was that he knew himself too well to think he could be used by God.

The same goes for us, I believe.  Our greatest stumbling block to serving God and fulfilling his call on our lives is what we know about ourselves.  God is not asking us to do superhuman things.  He's only asking us to do what is humanly possible and He will do the rest.  I need to remember to keep my eyes on God whenever I feel 'out of my league' or not capable of doing what He's asking of me.  That's all He asks.

Ethan & Jaeden noticed that Dad's truck was really dirty and so they thought, "It would be great to wash Dad's truck for him!"  So they found a pail of water in the garage and a couple of sponges and away they went happily washing Dad's truck.  Well....you can imagine what the truck looked like after a 6 and a 4 year old 'washed' Dad's truck.  There were streaks of mud down the sides and handprints all over the side of the truck including the fenders!  They probably even scratched the paint up using the dirty water and rubbing the mud around.  Keep in mind this is our company truck which has lettering and phone number decals on it.

Randy got home and saw the truck and thought, "Oh man.....my truck!"  He could've gave the kids heck for it or pointed out to the kids all the spots they missed or even gotten out the sponge himself and cleaned it up but he didn't.  He knew that they were so happy and excited to be 'blessing' Dad by washing his dirty truck and making it so 'shiny' for him that he left it just the way it was.  See, to Randy it's not about how good a job they do;  It's about where their heart is while they're doing it. 

How much so is it with God?  When we do something for God He's looking at our heart.  He doesn't care how shiny or how perfect you execute your act of worship or prayer or whatever you're doing for God because He sees your heart.  How awful it would be if He expected us to do it perfect before He would accept our praise or worship or prayers!

Ps. 18:1-19  What an AMAZING picture of God as a warrior!

The picture of a mother grizzly bear ran through my mind as I read this.  I'm sure you've seen a nature clip where the bear cub has somehow gotten away away from the mother and runs into something that is coming after it or is trying to hurt it.  As soon as the bear cub starts bawling, you hear the mother bear roaring and out she comes crashing from the bushes at full speed ready to pummel whatever it is that's attacking her baby.  This scripture characterizes God the same way. 

Daughter crying, Father hearing

Earth shaking, mountains quaking

smoke pouring, flames leaping,

Storm clouds brewing, angel soaring

Darkness veiling rain clouds brewing

Presence coming, Brilliance shining

Hail raining, coals burning

The Lord thundering, The Most High shouting

Arrows scattering, lightning flashing

My Savior rescuing, My God reaching

My Lord upholding,  My Father delighting

Interesting.  I've never been one for poems as I've never really understood them but this one came to me after I read the verses and was trying to describe the feeling of awe, the amazing understanding of God's response when one of His children call out to Him. 

Awesome.

God's word is so amazing.  No matter what you're going through God's word has some piece of information, wisdom or tool to help you get through it. 

There's a situation in my life that I would really like to see changed but something that I have absolutely no control over.  (That's a growing experience for me!)  I've been battling with the thoughts that say, "God really can't do anything because He's given us free will so unless the person or persons choose the right action, God's hands are tied."  The thing is, I believe that statement is true to a certain degree because the fact is, God is not going to force His will over ours. 

However, God has given us His word that gives us insight and understanding and faith to believe God for the impossible.  It says in Rom. 8:28 that God will work all things together for good to those who love God and called according to His purpose.  This was one of the first scriptures I memorized and it is one that I often direct back to God saying, "OK, God.  You said that all things work together for my good so work good out of this situation!"   2 Cor. 9:8 is a good one. "God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."  This is another one that I bring to God's attention on a regular basis. 

So no matter what your situation is, you can build your faith to believe God for a change if you're basing it on His word.  After all, God's word is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow.  '"Is not my word like fire," declares the Lord, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?'

Rom. 12:2  "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of t his world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will."

This scripture has been rolling around in my head for a week now.  I've been challenged with the thought that I'm conforming to the patterns of this world by worrying more about whether my kids can read, write and do math more than I 'worry' about whether they're following God and have a heart to serve and worship Him. 

The truth is, my kid's hearts must FIRST be turned towards God if I want to be an effective teacher to them.  "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge...." (Prov. 1:7)

It's such a challenging thought!  How can I put aside the pressures/demands of the world that says my kids have to be learning at 'such and such' rate or I'm not doing a good job and instead put God's command first which says to "Impress them (his commands) on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates." (Deut. 6)

"In view of eternity, it is FAR more important that your children become wholehearted disciples of Jesus Christ than it is they become 'well educated'."  (Educating the wholehearted child - Clay Clarkson)