image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici/freedigitalphotos.net

Just when I have a good day or two of obedient children it never fails that they will get a wild hair and start acting crazy. This can be so frustrating. When one issue is settling another is bubbling getting ready to spew when you least expect it. Yesterday, the disrespect has been one of my greater challenges to deal with.

It’s not only the disobedience. It’s them talking back and trying to explain themselves is what keeps them in trouble. I am choosing to have faith that I can persevere and discipline God’s way to overcome these darn obstacles.

I have been praying for some wisdom on the best way to approach their discipline. Over the past couple of days it has become so obvious to me that we are all born rebellious and mean. God has to work it out of us, and He uses me to work it out of our children. Its a constant. The thing is, we will never be done just as God is never done with us. It’s much like a revolving door or dance with our children that God is in the center of. He is continuously teaching and molding us.

For example, when the kids are being exceptional I hop on my high horse and think to myself it must be this awesome discipline, man I’m good! Then before you know it one of them has shoved the other then screamed at me and ran off. This is where He is teaching HUMILITY.  Their good behavior is not a reflection of me but of His goodness and grace on my family.

In an effort to discipline appropriately (and not loose my mind) I call on the name of the Lord. -This just HAS to be apart of His plan! Our children watch us asking for help. What an amazing example we can set for them. As all this is going on He is also teaching me to RELY on Him, and to PERSEVERE when things are tough. As I pray I am asking for patience and wisdom which He says He gives freely to those who ask.

Once God has corrected my heart I am then able to correct my children’s heart. I am able to discipline with love just as Jesus does for us. I am able to exemplify forgiveness to them because I am forgiven. I am able once again to lead them because I am following the one true leader. God is revealing to me day after day that my children are one of my greatest blessings because they are what brings me closer to Him. Thank you Lord for the change in perspective.

This is to all those hardworking Mommas out there feeling the pressure.

This is what true feminism SHOULD be. Us women holding each other up and keeping each other accountable to the calling of caring for our families. Instead of being anti feminist we can be…pro feminist for God. Reminding each other that the freedom isn’t in leaving our God given duties but in caring for the little ones He places at our feet. The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.

Okay so im still very excited about our Classical Conversation practicum and I Am having a great time. On the other hand, I am feeling very overwhelmed. This will be my second year homeschooling and first year tutoring. I’m still just trying to figure the basics out and wrap my head around homeschooling in general.

I was sitting there in the tutor training almost laughing out loud. Why on earth did I feel like God wanted me to do this? At times I feel so incapable. They were using examples through history to show us how to present it and I didn’t even know half of the examples!

As I was sharing all of this with Tim I realized that I am in fact the perfect candidate. God doesn’t use the people who think they have it all together. Nope, he uses the people who feel like they are falling apart and don’t have a lick of sense! If I thought I knew it all then I wouldn’t need God. He causes the humble to rise. My confidence will come from Him if I ask, and it’s much more reliable than my own.

Just typing this our gets me all pumped up and ready:) Tomorrow I have to stand in front of everyone and do a short 3 minute lesson. Yes! The girl who stutters and face turns bright red when she is nervous! This will be interesting…bring it on!

Lately willow has been going through a stage of wanting to grow up. It is all she talks about. Obviously I make it look like a lot of fun:) She says things like, “I can’t wait till I’m a mommy so I can clean and cook and take care of my baby!” As we were walking to the swing set today she said, “No mommy I can’t race you because I’m a grown up.”

The kids and I went to meet with one of our home school groups yesterday at our church, CHSG. The benefits of meeting with them, even for an hour, are immeasurable.  In Hebrews 10 the Bible tells us to not give up on meeting with each other to encourage one another. Yesterday, I was able to see why this is so significant.

The wisdom of other experienced women who have been there and done that is from God. They shared many tips, tricks, and talked of many tools to help persevere. Some brought their favorite curriculum so you can actually thumb through the pages to see if it is something your interested in. The user of that curriculum is the perfect person to ask questions about how helpful it is.

Another reason it is so valuable is that you have the chance to be around like minded people. The pressures and oppositions of the world at times can leave you exhausted, but meeting there was like a breath of fresh air. Together with God we can accomplish this great task of educating them according to His will.

The third benefit is resources. Most of the other women know people on the education board for our state as well as more experienced moms. The more resources and info you can gather the more helpful it is when you have those days you feel like your a failure and your kids are gonna turn out dumb:)

My hope is that the kids and I to also gain friendships  that will last a lifetime while we are on this crazy journey together. Hopefully one day I can be one of those relaxed mommas telling the other ones to enjoy every minute!