Hi, friends! As I am taking some time off from writing here at the blog, I am prayerfully considering al lot of things regarding well everything! ha!
UPDATE: It seems that I have worded things badly according to some of the comments I’m receiving. 🙂 First of all – if you haven’t been around long, last year we did NOT homeschool, our kids were in private school for the first time. The only reason I am considering homeschooling again is because I’m wondering if that is best, not because I WANT to. 🙂 If I find another great option for their schooling I will grab it. 🙂 Putting my kids in school was actually VERY good for our relationships. I wrote more about this transition from homeschool to private school here. I am NOT considering blogging INSTEAD OF homeschooling. I am just reevaluating it ALL and wondering what I can keep doing. For me and the personality God has given me, I don’t handle much stress well at all, I also need down time, blogging is therapy as well as ministry. I don’t feel like God requires us to give up all the things we love and that “feed our souls” to homeschool or mother. At least for me, I need both in my life. I need things that fill me up so that I can keep going…I am learning that this is not selfish, but glorifying to God who made ME a person as well as my children. I am not “JUST a mom.” Anyway, sorry for the novel…I feel like I didn’t explain myself very well and for that I am sorry!)Â
We are prayerfully considering our schooling options for fall – including the possibility of homeschooling again. I am wondering how I can homeschool, blog AND teach piano. I am reevaluating a lot of things!
So, I want to hear from YOU, too! In order for this little space on the web to be all that God wants it to be, I want it to be a place of ENCOURAGEMENT for each person that stops by. But in order to encourage and meet the needs of those that stop by, I would love to know what encourages you! What do you love most? What would you like to see more of?
This survey will take you LESS than 5 minutes! Maybe less than 2. ha!Â
If you have other comments, please feel free to leave them in the comment section of this blog post!
Sweet friends, as always, I appreciate your readership and your friendship and your encouragement!
Can’t seem to get the poll to work. Not sure what I am doing wrong. But if you are feeling that homeschool would be best for your children, do it! Let the blog go, let the piano lessons go, let anything else go if needed, to give your children what you are being called by God to give. We have one a senior in college, and one we are still homeschooling. The days are long, but the years are short. From this perspective I do not regret one day I stayed home and homeschooled our son!
I want to hear practical ways people are dealing with the struggles of living a righteous Christian life.
Thanks Mary Lou! I love this! Thank you for sharing…I want to be more practical in my posts as well!
Please do not stop homeschooling. Home is where you pour your heart into your children. Your blog is wonderful, full of encouragement, etc. But not a necessity. Pouring your heart into your children is what our Master wants.
Read my updated post above. 🙂 We did not homeschool last year for the first time, actually it was very good for our family!! 🙂
I have to agree with the other comments. My children are all young adults now and I continually wonder where all the time went.
I put aside my writing for several years in order to be available to teach and train them and I don’t have any regrets.
They are all walking with the Lord and serving Him in their daily lives. What a blessing. They are my life’s work. My writing is all going to burn someday, but I’ll spend eternity with my children.
I love your posts and always enjoy reading them.
Hi Phyllis, thank you for chiming in! I updated my post above a little if you’d like to read it. We didn’t homeschool last year and it actually ended up being VERY good for our family relationships. Anyway, I think I didn’t word things very well, so I hope you’ll read the update and maybe it makes more sense.
I have to agree, our children come first. I do however enjoy all that you offer. It just seems you stetch yourself thin as it is. Home school your children, the time that you would spend blogging use it for piano lessons. Spend time with your children, we come last:)
Lisa, thanks for chiming in. I updated my post and hope I’m a little more clear. I’m not thinking of giving up homeschooling to blog. I maybe worded things badly. 🙂 We did not homeschool last year and actually I feel like it was very good for all of us!
Listen to God. If He’s calling you to homeschool, there must be a reason. If your curriculum is too overwhelming, switch curriculums (we did & are all now happy to homeschool). If you need piano or blogging for financial reasons, stick with them, but adjust (# of lessons/posts, time spent per day/week, etc.). Otherwise, drop them. Not all good things are good for us at every step in our lives. Some are there for a season to guide us to different good things.
Although children are young, you are, ultimately, raising adults, not children. I suspect that you won’t want your 22yo to have the same mindset as when s/he was a 10yo. Follow God’s leading, simplify, and pour into your kids. Your readers will be here when you get the chance to blog, whether it’s once a month or not for another 5+ years. Just think how much you’ll have to share! Plus, God may lead you to something bigger and even more satisfying. You won’t know until you trust & leap. And don’t worry if you leap and ‘drop’ for a bit. That dropping (“What have I done?!”) feeling is Satan’s way of getting you to second guess God’s plans. Give yourself, and your family, time (& grace) to find your wings and then you can soar.
I home schooled my children thru 6th grade, then switched to virtual school. I don’t know what your options are in Tennessee. I home schooled in 2 different states and the rules were different in each one. When my husband and I retired from the Navy we moved to Wisconsin. There were at that time 14 options for virtual school. The one we picked was part of a public school. They supplied everything and I paid $30,00 per child. Even though we lived almost 2 hours away, they graduated from the same school as their father. They were still home and learning. It freed up my time, but I was still listening and involved.
If you do decide to homeschool again, don’t forget self-care. It is so important.
I read your update after I commented and want to say that there is no perfect school option, which I’m sure you no, but God works in all situations. I think it is so important to want to homeschool, not just to do it because of guilt, fear, pride, or whatever. I homeschooled for several years because of all of those reasons.