I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I would share some of what we are doing for school ( I am so excited about some of the resources that can be used whether you homes school or not!). But truth is, there have been a few too many days where it has not gone exactly as I have planned or that I have not used all the resources I have intended. If I was primarily concerned about keeping our daily "schedule" I would be a basket case right now. Okay...so, maybe I am a little bit of a basket case...I do love schedules!:)
It seems that, each week, something comes up that is unavoidable and leaves us scrambling or trying to get more work done in a day because we either need to make up time or get ahead of schedule...and that just throws my hour by hour plans out the window! And, if I am being really honest, there are times when I am just a poor manager of our school time and I become part of the problem! So, with all that said, some of the things I want to share with you may not happen every day or in the exact way I want it to happen...but they are always the goal and a big priority!:)
You'll have to wait for a couple of days (or it may be a few more days away...my dear mom, sister and niece are arriving tomorrow for a visit!!!!), though, to hear about the resources...because the Lord helped me see something today that really affects the foundation of all that we do each day.
I have already shared before how it is so easy for me to, in my mind, be on to the next thing that I truly don't enjoy what I am doing right now or glorify Him with my whole heart. I do not live Jim Elliot's principle of "Wherever you are, be all there." The Lord has been working on my heart in that area...and today I realized how much my kids fall into the same trap and how sinful their attitudes often are because of it.
They will sit there with frustration written all over their faces...but often, it has nothing to do with the fact that they can't figure out what they are working on...it's that they are already thinking about wanting to play or the chores they have to do when they get done with school...and it is causing them to grumble and complain over what they are doing right at the moment. Instead of "being all there" and faithfully working through their assignments, they are already wishing for something different and seeing school as an obstacle in the way of what will bring them "happiness" instead of as the job God has called them to do for His glory.
It has huge ramifications for how long it takes them to complete their work, the quality of their work, how much they retain, and, of course, their attitude. (This could obviously apply to any area of all our kids' lives, not just school.)
Yes, we all need plans and schedules...but once we have sought to do the best we can to walk wisely by making the most use of our time, we need to "be all there" in whatever we are doing...as 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks...". We need to instill in our kids a thankful heart for RIGHT NOW (as we first seek to have that heart ourselves). As I told my kids at lunch today, "We have no idea when God might choose to end our lives...this moment may be our last...what does this moment look like in your life?"
I need to ask myself the same question constantly as I seek to examine my own life, my priorities, my pursuits and my passions...what am I doing with the life God has given me RIGHT NOW? How am I seeking to obey and honor Him above all things in my thoughts and actions RIGHT NOW?
How we think about the "here and now" has great ramifications for how we live this vapor of a life!
It seems that, each week, something comes up that is unavoidable and leaves us scrambling or trying to get more work done in a day because we either need to make up time or get ahead of schedule...and that just throws my hour by hour plans out the window! And, if I am being really honest, there are times when I am just a poor manager of our school time and I become part of the problem! So, with all that said, some of the things I want to share with you may not happen every day or in the exact way I want it to happen...but they are always the goal and a big priority!:)
You'll have to wait for a couple of days (or it may be a few more days away...my dear mom, sister and niece are arriving tomorrow for a visit!!!!), though, to hear about the resources...because the Lord helped me see something today that really affects the foundation of all that we do each day.
I have already shared before how it is so easy for me to, in my mind, be on to the next thing that I truly don't enjoy what I am doing right now or glorify Him with my whole heart. I do not live Jim Elliot's principle of "Wherever you are, be all there." The Lord has been working on my heart in that area...and today I realized how much my kids fall into the same trap and how sinful their attitudes often are because of it.
They will sit there with frustration written all over their faces...but often, it has nothing to do with the fact that they can't figure out what they are working on...it's that they are already thinking about wanting to play or the chores they have to do when they get done with school...and it is causing them to grumble and complain over what they are doing right at the moment. Instead of "being all there" and faithfully working through their assignments, they are already wishing for something different and seeing school as an obstacle in the way of what will bring them "happiness" instead of as the job God has called them to do for His glory.
It has huge ramifications for how long it takes them to complete their work, the quality of their work, how much they retain, and, of course, their attitude. (This could obviously apply to any area of all our kids' lives, not just school.)
Yes, we all need plans and schedules...but once we have sought to do the best we can to walk wisely by making the most use of our time, we need to "be all there" in whatever we are doing...as 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks...". We need to instill in our kids a thankful heart for RIGHT NOW (as we first seek to have that heart ourselves). As I told my kids at lunch today, "We have no idea when God might choose to end our lives...this moment may be our last...what does this moment look like in your life?"
I need to ask myself the same question constantly as I seek to examine my own life, my priorities, my pursuits and my passions...what am I doing with the life God has given me RIGHT NOW? How am I seeking to obey and honor Him above all things in my thoughts and actions RIGHT NOW?
How we think about the "here and now" has great ramifications for how we live this vapor of a life!
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