November 3, 2021 – A Virtual Hug in All the Homeschool Chaos

Mercy Every Minute

Deborah Wuehler, TOS Senior Editor

I Thought Homeschooling Would Be Easy!

Homeschooling has been the most daunting, humbling, tiring, all-consuming, patience-garnering, character-building, prayer-inducing, and extremely blessed endeavor in my entire life.

I Thought Homeschooling Would Be Easy!

Each child of mine (and yours!) has the unique fingerprints of God, and therefore, they all have unique learning styles and struggles. I often felt like I had no clue what I was doing. Additionally, every year had its hardships to overcome. I don’t like uncertainty and hard times, but these things have created patience and perseverance and wisdom. The good things that came from them felt like God’s hug in the trials.

What Makes It Hard?

I make it hard. I expect to know everything and teach with ease. I forget to ask for wisdom. I forget that I am called to walk in faith that the wisdom He gives me for each child will produce His fruit. I forget to do the hard thing of daily focused prayer and following through with God’s priorities.

You Have What It Takes

There will always be feelings of overwhelm, daily obstacles to overcome, fear of failure to battle, and purposes to fulfill. We need a vision of victory. In 2 Kings, Elijah prayed that the eyes of his servant would be opened to see that there were more mighty men in number surrounding them than the enemy facing them. Ask that same God to open your own eyes of faith to see that if God is for you, and around you, He is mightier than what faces you.

Give all that you have (your small strength) to Jesus. He will bless and multiply your efforts. The Lord your God is with you wherever you go (Joshua 1:6-9) which means you have what it takes! You have more than enough. You have Him.

Grief and tears will come. But you will overcome by the Word of God and the Spirit of God. Remember from where you have come and keep walking in that same faith, in that same Savior who rescued you and redeemed you for His own. His grace is sufficient!

Homeschooling might be easy now, but there will come a time that will require extreme faith because you will have nothing left to lean on. Get in the habit of leaning on and seeking Him now. You will stand and not fall. You will be certain and not doubt. You will continue to walk this journey in faith. Not faith in your own ability, but faith in Christ Who is with you and understands you and is praying for you (Hebrews 7:25).

Feel His hug around you today.

~Deborah

Try out the Homeschooling Moms Teach the Psalms Bible plans!

Check out these articles for more encouragement:

Kids Can Grow by Laura Hooks 
Homeschooling with Little Ones; There’s More To It Than Just Keeping Them Quiet by Janelle Knutson
Bible Study in the Busyness by Kendra Fletcher 

Have fun and boost your child’s learning. Massive discounts for The Old Schoolhouse readers: Math, Word Skills, Typing and Reading for learners aged 5 – 15+ www.edalive.com

Todd Wilson

Familyman Ministries

The Gift of Homeschooling

Mom, in all the craziness, I’m afraid you’ve forgotten about the gift you’ve been given—the gift of homeschooling.

You may not think of homeschooling as a gift from God. You see it as a duty you must perform, a service you offer to your children, a sacrifice of yourself, your last option in the school barrel, or a choice you made when you didn’t know any better.

Don’t feel bad; almost all homeschooling moms feel that way at some time. I don’t blame you . . . it’s easy to lose sight in the midst of the chaos. Why wouldn’t you? The kids are hard; they don’t want to do school. You could be doing something productive with your time instead of banging your head on the wall day after day. You could get a lot done—have lunch with your friends, clean your house, go shopping without being in a rush, or minister to others.

BUT here’s what you would miss if your kids were in school: you’d miss those hours that you are forced to be together. You’d miss those precious times of laughter that come not nearly frequently enough. You’d miss sitting on the couch together caught up in a good read. You’d miss the arguing, the bickering, the closeness that comes from being placed in the same ten square feet of space because you HAVE to be. Because you homeschool.

So take a few minutes right now to close your eyes, listen to the noise in the background, and thank your loving Father for giving you a gift of such eternal value . . . the gift of homeschooling.

Be Real,
Todd

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Jodi Riddle

Pillar of Faith
Jodi Riddle – His Embrace

In the cyber world in which we live, and especially with the craziness in the world today, so many of us turn to communicating through text, social media, video chat, and other non-person-to-person contact methods. Many times, it becomes the comfort that is needed when the loneliness sets in.

I’m so thankful that every day we can get that same comfort from our Heavenly Father. We never lack if we know Him as our Lord. He tells us in His Word, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” Hebrews 13:5. Knowing that He is always near brings such comfort not just in the chaos, but all the time.

He is faithful, and we do not need fear in the chaos. “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness,” Lamentations 3:22-23 tells us. Get your hugs from your family however you can, but open His Word and receive His embrace just as often.

About the author

Jodi started her journey with TOS in April 2016 and serves as the Operations Manager. She and her husband, Duane, have been married over 30 years and have spent over 20 years in the ministry. Along with being a pastor’s wife, she homeschooled her 3 (now grown) sons for 18 years and also taught in the private and public-school settings. Jodi enjoys teaching, playing the piano, and making cards. Her heart’s desire is to serve others and use her gifts to glorify the Lord.