Homeschoolin' It Up

I have finally gotten my girls ready for school!
Well pretty much.
Most of the curriculum is gathered and the last big order is on the way. I just have one more thing to order... the Geography w/ missions.
Our schedule this year... Bible Study, World History, Zoology, Writing, Math, Grammer, Spelling, Geography w/ Missions, and Reading.  
Our first field trip will be to The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament as we study Europe in the Middle Ages and take a look at where the monastary began :-)

I love, love, teaching my girls!

"Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD."

Psalm 34:11

This is only our second year to homeschool. Last year I was so nervous that I would fail at this.
Then again this year comes the underlying fear that I won't be able to pull it off.
But just like last year all the pieces fell together in one day and I was reminded that I am perfectly able to take on this year of teaching my children and training them up.

I always first fear that I won't have enough for them, then I overplan and realize that I am overwhelming them (and myself) and then I have to back track. Of course that's after I have shoved it to the deal with later side of life.

Today, I dealt with it and now I am excited to get started! So are the girls :-)

I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to not only be a "housewife" and "stay-at-home mom" but also a "homeschool mom". I prayed that God would open this door for years.

I spent a many arguements with my husband repeating over and over again all the pro's of homeschooling. I was actually quite irritated and hurt with him because his oldest was homeschooled, and I helped with that when she was here visiting... yet here he was not allowing this for our own. It was quite hard to swallow for me. Then finally God told me to shut up.

I had to surrender the situation to God and trust that if it was His will that we homeschool our girls, He would turn my husband's heart. I would never be able to "nag" my husband into my will. And truthfully, I only wanted to homeschool if it was indeed God's will for us and I knew in my heart that if it was indeed God's will my husband would be in agreeance. God was not going to do anything that would divide our marriage. It would be a three cord strand decision if it was God's will.

So as hard as it was for me, I shut up.
I prayed and I shut up.
I prayed that God would help me shut up, He already knew my thoughts on the rest.

Two years ago our youngest became so ill that we had to pull her out of school before she began the second semester of her kindergarten year so that her body would have the opportunity to heal. We discovered she had hypogammaglobulanemia after years of fighting illnesses and tests after tests.
After her being home and my husband also substitute teaching in the local high schools... well, we pulled our oldest out also and she started her 4th grade year with me as her full-time teacher.

Three years of praying and probably at least almost two years of "shuting up" God answered my prayer.

This is an answered prayer and a huge committment and a scary one.
There is always the lie of the enemy that whispers, "you will fail them"

Then I have my days like today when the pieces all fall into place and I see the excitement in my girls' faces as we get the schedule lined out and the first weeks lesson plans in order...

God reminds me that He qualifies the called.
Success is His (not mine) and He cannot fail.

So we are ready for 2011-2012.
We will be homeschoolin' it up at the Vaughn Elementary Academy and we are looking forward to a fun year filled with all the fullness of God as we teach all things in accordance with His Word and His will and His ways.

"These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 

You shall teach them diligently to your sons

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 up. 

You shall bind them as a sign on your hand

and they shall be as frontals on your forehead."

Deuteronomy 6:6-8

I cherish each year that I am allowed this great honor because I do not know what tomorrow may bring. I know my plans are to teach my children into college, but I know that I may plan my path but God directs my steps...

So this year I will cherish the joy of teaching my children at home from a Biblical Christ Exalting worldview. I will teach, not hiding the issues of life or ignoring them, but simply teaching the truth and calling a truth- truth, a lie- a lie, good- good, evil- evil, and sin- sin.

This is the no spin zone... :-)