Life in the country sure does keep me busy. Since moving into our Acadian Cottage style home we’ve battled exhaustion, mice, snakes, bugs, puppy training, kitty corralling, thunderstorms with hail, anxiety from lack of a schedule/routine, leaking faucets, wild grass, bumps and bruises, endless cleaning and sweeping…are you exhausted already from reading that list? I know I am!
Yesterday was one of the roughest days for me, both spiritually and emotionally. I’m still working through boxes to get unpacked and organized. Laundry keeps piling up around my eye balls. The lack of a predictable routine has caused so much drama among my little ones – this momma has had enough! So, today I am getting it all under control – specifically my attitude!
I’ve lost sight of the goal. I’ve lost focus. I’ve nearly just about lost my mind! During devotions today I read to the girls from “Leading Little Ones to God” about Jesus being a Teacher. As I read aloud and they sat quietly listening, I read something so simple yet profound:
“Jesus did not teach people how to read and write. He taught something much more important than that – the most important thing in all the world – to know God.” (p.117)
WHAM! Right to the gut!
In all the planning and moving and unpacking and mice chasing and snake fleeing, I forgot something very important – the most important thing – teaching my children about God so that they know Him!
Yes, I homeschool my children. Yes, I teach them to read and write. Yes, I teach them to brush their teeth, be polite and respectful – but above all else my number one goal – my life’s investment into them should be to teach them about God!
It is so very easy to get bumped off course when we lose sight of our mission – discipling our children for the glory of the Lord. Raising a generation who will exalt the name of the Lord and obey His commandments is far more important than all of the other peripheral things that eventually – if our children are trained up well – will naturally fall into place.
In all of my fumbling and frustration I shamefully admit I’ve lost my temper with my children. I’ve yelled and fussed and whined – probably more than they have. I’ve made a horrible spectacle of myself and in the process failed to do that which my heart longs to do – be a Christ-like example to my children.
Praise the Lord for His mercies are made new every morning! Praise the Lord for godly women in my life that I can seek out for wisdom and counsel – and sometimes a good swift kick in the pants! Praise the Lord for He chastises those whom He loves! Praise God my children are not completely lost in the depths of despair and hopelessness just because I’ve had a few bad days. Praise God that He protects my children’s hearts and minds – even when they need to be guarded against my stupid antics of ridiculousness! Oh and praise God for sweet hugs and unconditional love from my children when I’ve confessed my sin before them and asked for their forgiveness.
Above all else, praise God for sending His only Son to teach us the most important thing – to know God!
I’d like to share a few resources that have been helpful and encouraging to me over the past few days. I do pray that these resources bless and encourage you as well!
Managing Blog Time and A Blogging Tip: 4 Moms – I enjoyed reading this today. In working to create a new schedule for me and my daughters, my time online will definitely need to decrease during the day. Now that we live out in the country I have to be up no later than 5am in order to have breakfast made for my husband before he makes his morning commute. It also means that I am not able to stay up as late in the evenings as I once did – so managing my priorities in regards to blogging is a must!
Child Training Bible - This looks like a very neat and helpful resource for training our children according to God’s word. I’m looking into ordering this soon!
Parenting Essentials Package from Doorposts – A very close and dear friend recommended this resource to me yesterday. I have two daughters who, while they are best friends are also each others worst enemies. At times I feel at a loss for how to biblically deal with their bickering and endless tattling. I’m hoping to order this soon too as I have heard great things about it!
Making Relationships with Your Children a Priority (Doorposts) – I found this to be very helpful and encouraging (and convicting!). When we get our printer set up I plan to print this out and refer to it daily as a reminder of just how important it is to cultivate close relationships with my children.
Confessions of a Homeschooler – This blog was recommended to me to help with ideas for things to do with the girls throughout the day. Homeschooling lessons only last for 30 minutes or so – this site will definitely come in handy for extra activity ideas!
Some Healthy Food Advice – Another dear friend of mine shared this link with me and it encouraged me as I try very hard to feed my family “real food”. I buy organic as much as possible. We eat healthy snacks (fruit and veggies) and drink water if we’re thirsty (other than orange juice in the morning with breakfast). I make just about everything from scratch and we eat in season. I’m going to start my own garden and in a few weeks, Lord willing, we’ll have chickens for fresh eggs! This of course doesn’t mean that I am opposed to cutting corners when necessary, so long as I don’t compromise my first commitment to only feeding my family “real food” (no preservatives, artificial colors or dyes, etc).
Serving God and My Family,
Crystal <><
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