Fruit of the Spirit

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Back ~ To ~ School

I started a new bible study this morning ((Thank you sweet Amy!!!)) & since then, this entire post has changed. Last night, the post was basically, "Yay for a new school year ~ Everything is prepared ~ Look at what God is working for you!" Then the bible study introduction happened & I was broken to my knees.

You are homeschooling for a reason!

Reread that & soak it in: YOU ARE HOMESCHOOLING FOR. A. REASON! Somewhere between the reason & today though, has it been watered down? Out of your obedience to His plan, will HIS blessings flow.

Deuteronomy 28:1-14 speaks to the blessings of our obedience. In major contrast, v. 15-68 (yea, that's over TRIPLE the amount of warning he gives!) tells us what we can expect our consequences to be if we choose to disobey. Allow me to succinctly phrase what He says: Obey me & follow my commands & I've got things in store for you which you cannot imagine! But if you disobey me, you will be cursed.

(L O N G pause of silence ..... look around ..... make sure no one saw you cringe!)

God hasn't brought you here for you to say to Him, "Thank you, God, for getting me to this point. I got it from here!" Quite the contrary. The things you teach this year are crucial & only when we are listening to Him lead us, will we see the blessings of His guidance. Jesus talks a lot about our hearts bearing witness as we act & speak. In Matthew 12 He says, "For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks."

How can you teach your sweet cherubs about salvation, forgiveness, obedience, taming your tongue, kindness, being faithful, honesty, ....If you aren't IN God's Word learning more about these things? If you aren't hiding His truth in your heart so that from your mouth pours the love of Christ, why do you expect your children will be any different? If your focus is always "getting through the lessons of the day" & you aren't seeking what God has intended for you & your child, why would you think your child would search for God's hand in the day-to-day activities of life?

Are you silent again? I was. I sat there for about 15 minutes nearly in tears as I thought of the things to which I am obedient & disobedient. God isn't to be used today for one purpose but discarded the next as things get rolling along. Yes, each day is filled with ever-fresh & radiant possibilities & every moment can be transformed into something new but out of my obedience can come many blessings & from my disobedience can come numerous curses. I'd like to be the obedient one.

Can I encourage you to read Deuteronomy 28 today & ask God to show you where you are being obedient & disobedient? Can I also suggest this not only applies to home schooling but to our every day life? Our friendships ~ Our marriage ~ Our relationship with our parents and/or in-laws ~ Our life's example to our neighbors or doctor's office. It might make you cringe ... but remembering our purpose is to serve Him, honor Him, & glorify Him, all through obeying Him, will make it all worth your while.


Shannan

Promoting Good Instruction

While there are many ways to say, "Great job" or "Well done" and even more ways to correct, I thought we could all use some fresh phrases to praise our children, even when correcting, especially in these first few weeks of getting back into the routine of school.

~ You did a lot of work today!

~ You really outdid yourself!

~ That's a neat idea!

~ You're really getting the hang of it now!

~ Wow, that's incredible!

~ You make it look so easy!

~ You're improving every day!

~ Nothing can stop you NOW!

~ You are doing a terrific job trying ~ Keep it up!

~ I'm proud of the way you worked so hard today.

~ You're really learning a lot.

~ Quite the improvement, sir or ma'am!

~ You have made my day!

~ You've got your brain in high gear today!

~ I see such an improvement in your work.

~ Tremendous job!

~ I couldn't have done it better myself!

~ You make teaching such a pleasure!

~ That was first-class!

~ You're getting better each & every day.

~ Super, groovy, hard work, my love!

~ God knew just what He was doing when he made you my son (or daughter).


Proverbs 16:21, "The wise in heart are called discerning, and pleasant words promote instruction."

Promoting Good Instruction alongside you ~

Shannan

Words Are Everywhere

I start out each school year reading 2 books. One: Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor. Clearly, this book (as well as the others in the "series") is chocked full of new words. The other: Donavan's Word Jar by MonaLisa DeGross.

Both encourage new vocabulary. Fancy Nancy finds words she likes that "sound" fancy. For example, her favorite color is fuchsia...which is a fancy way of saying purple. And Bonjour! is a fancy way to say hello. Donavan wakes up one morning and notices a word on a cereal box. It fascinates him and so he sets out to find all kinds of new words. He writes them down and...you guessed it...puts them in a collection jar!

I first read the Fancy Nancy book and my kids spend the entire day putting into practice some of her helpful suggestions. Then, I read the first two chapters of Donavan's Word Jar to my students and we start in on making our very own word jars (although, in classrooms, we usually do envelopes...sadly...not jars, due to lack of space). We cut strips of fancy papers and we start adding words!

Giggle. (You know you want to now!)

Bizarre. (It's way more fun to say than 'weird')

Quizzical. (Just makes me feel smart.)

Zany. (It's one of Fancy Nancy's favorite words, too!)

The words my kids come up with which fascinate them are hysterical. I always enjoy reading through them after a tough week. It helps me realize that they, in fact, weren't making paper fortune tellers, they were writing down new words. Phew! At times I wondered!

I've been thinking of the words we say to our children for a while now. I knew basically we should think carefully about them but did you know that He references either our spoken words or His words over 400 times in the bible? Our tongue is referenced another 130+ times. They must be important if He gave us such wisdom!

The scripture that echoed in my mind as I drove today: "Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who builds his house on the sand." Matthew 7:26.

What if you encouraged your children to put specific words into their vocabulary to build their small houses ... exchanging them for words you do not want in their house?

Forgiveness. Instead of bitterness.

Gladness. Instead of happiness.

Self-control. Instead of self-indulgence.

Obedience. Instead of rules.

The words we speak, He says, will either bring forth life or death. Walking out our faith in front of our children, is beyond important! They listen to everything we say...and don't. In 1 Corinthians, we are instructed to take every thought captive and in Matthew 12, we look at the things which bring forth good and those which do not. We should think first...not react...because ... "But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

You are a success.

You are beautiful.

You are intelligent.

You are valuable.

You can make good choices.

So grab the old spaghetti jar or pickle jar or purchase a plastic jar from a craft store and start decorating! Teach your children the words you want written on their hearts.

Because in them, is life.

"Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads." Deut. 11:18.

Shannan