Even though it appears here that I haven't posted for ages, I've moved my blog–or rather I'm doing double-duty at a different site. You'll find my current stuff at The Accidental Homeschooler at blogger.
My brother gave my son a cowboy costume…handcuffs, spurs, badge, but
no gun. I'm guessing that cowboys are becoming more politically correct
these days. That did not stop my son–he quickly procured one from his
personal arsenal.
He ran downstairs the morning after receiving
this gift (having slept with all of those cuddly items in his bed) and
asked, “DO YOU WANT TO BE ARRESTED OR SHOTTEN?” No “dood morning,
mommy!” no hugs or kisses…just wanted to know which of these miseries
I would prefer.
Yesterday he received a Darth Vader Transformer
and asked, wielding a light saber, if I would prefer to be “shotten or
cut in half.” I chose to get “shotten” because I thought I'd have a
better chance of survival.
Makes you think about the choices
we're given in life. Sometimes the decisions we make seem just like
that–a choice between two bad things, so we choose the least bad thing
that we can, or at least the one that will be less painful. It seems to
me that many people are doing this with their lives, their health, and
their children's education. They look around them at the options they
are given by society, the government, and their surroundings and choose
the lesser of two evils in any given situation. It's like being at
McDonald's and choosing a chicken sandwich instead of a burger because
supposedly it's healthier, but you're STILL at McDonald's.
When
my son gave me the option to be “arrested or shotten” I politely said,
“neither, thank you. I'm feeding your sister right now.” That's my
point. Stop choosing the least bad thing and make the decision to avoid
them altogether and make a new way. It's why we got rid of our t.v.
service. It's why we are focusing on our family's nutrition and health,
and it's why I breastfeed my baby and homeschool my son.
May you be encouraged to make the best choice…not the least bad choice today…for your family and always.
I have to say that yesterday, I almost caved into Ms. Hirshman's all women must work and have only one child policy. I threatened to put my child into daycare. I was sure that at the end of the day I would march him down to the local public school office and enroll him in public school.
It was one of those days that I wouldn't want Ms. Hirshman to read about on my blog, because certainly I would have seemed as low as Lowly Worm (read any good Richard Scarry books lately?). It was certainly boring. The kids have had colds that rendered them unfit for society, and the weather was dreary and threatening rain. Little Missy is cutting teeth in addition to her cold, and so was feeling crabby and needy. Little Man was following me around, getting into stuff, asking far too many “why” questions, and making incessant boy noises when he wasn't asking questions.
I made a point to reserve a few hairs on my head for the next day, but most of the good ones no longer reside there.
But isn't this is the test? Can we handle the dailiness of life with grace and contentment? I believe this is the point that people are missing–those that insist that one cannot live a fulfilled existence as a stay at home mom. It is on days like yesterday that I take comfort in this passage from Proverbs 31:25-27:
She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue,
She watches over the affairs of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
Yesterday I did not feel strong or dignified. I felt tired and low. I was not laughing at the days to come, I was questioning my sanity. I didn't feel wise or particularly informative. I was watching over my household, but I felt despondent.
Even so, God was faithful to speak to my heart that in fact, every day in the life of my children is part of their journey toward eternity. I cannot grow weary in doing good for them. I am entrusted with a beautiful treasure, so I will embrace my life in this place and laugh at the days to come…
If you asked me who finally tipped the scales for me in the decision to homeschool my children, I'd have to say that “Sally made me do it.” If you haven't heard of Sally Clarkson, it's time you familiarized yourself with her work and ministry. Here, don't read the rest of this blog post…go buy some of her books, then come back and finish reading…
The reason I say this is because I was first introduced to her through her book The Ministry of Motherhood. It examined the job that we do as mothers as compared to the ministry of Jesus and the relationship he had with his disciples. I would call it a very inspirational handbook on what it means to raise disciples, and I plan to read it again…something I rarely do.
However it is her book The Mission of Motherhood that I am currently re-reading because this book inspires me, encourages me and brings me to tears. Very gently and with a warmth that springs from her own contentment as a wife and mother, she unfolds the biblical design and purpose to which mothers are called, and the incredible responsibilites with which they have been entrusted.
Even though Sally Clarkson is a homeschooling mother, she never mentions this as something one must do in order to fulfill the biblical design of motherhood. Nevertheless, when I was finished reading these books, I walked away feeling a certain conviction that I could more certainly build the kind of home that she talks about by homeschooling my children rather than sending them out to be taught by others.
She writes about one rough day that brought about an epiphany:
“I needed to accept days like this–my children's neediness, the myriad mindless tasks, and even my own occasional discomfort–as part of my partnering with my husband toward our mutual goal of building a godly heritage for Christ. I needed to nurture my children with my songs, my words, and my physical labor, treating each day as sacred in ther development toward becoming healthy, mature adults. I needed to face the reality that all of the “important stuff” I was longing to do had far less eternal significance than what I was involved in doing. If I didn't commit myself wholeheartedly to the demands of motherhood, I would never be able to do my best, because my heart would always be somewhere else.”
And this, dear homeschooling mommies, is what many of us struggle with on a day-in-day-out basis. It is so difficult to infuse our homes with kindness, bless our children when they spill their milk at dinner or throw up in our beds, realize that the gentleness with which we love and nurture them is what softens and prepares little hearts to receive the message of the gospel and receive the Lord into their lives. Keeping the eternal perspective daily and understanding that if we do not, we tear down our homes with our own hands is the task before us. Let us not grow weary…
If you are needing refreshment and some encouragement for the road you journey, read The Mission of Motherhood. I guarantee a blessing will come of it!
Proverbs 14:1
“The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands.”
Kelly