Four reasons I love homeschooling.

(As a second generation homeschooler.)

• Christian Instruction
• Academic Rigor
• Family Connection
• Flexible Lifestyle

NOTE: Every family is different. Homeschooling isn’t right for everyone!! What’s good for one family might not be the best for another!! It is so sweet to enjoy the freedom to seek the Lord for guidance in what in each specific circumstance. <3

Christian Instruction:

I want to pass down to my children the faith that dwells in me.

“ I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.” -2 Timothy 1:5

We cannot save our kids, but we can teach them what is true. Homeschooling gives me an additional 1,200 hours a year to declare to them the good news.

"How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!'" (Romans 10:14–15)

Academic Rigor

God spoke and it came to be, described himself as the word made flesh, and has preserved his holy word through sacred writings (the Bible.) He is an orderly and faithful God who does not change. (2+2=4 anyone?)

When we train our minds to make sense of words and language, of order and logic, we enable ourselves to make sense of his world and more fully participate in the great, glorious, and holy conversation of knowing Him and making him known.

As a homeschooler, I can be a student of children and determine the best materials to begin them on a lifelong pursuit of learning.

“ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” - Deuteronomy 6:5

Family Connection

I want my kids home with me. I also want them to be home with each other. I can’t force my kids to be friends. Sometimes kids will grow to be best friends and sometimes they won’t. But I can seek to order our time in ways that foster sibling friendships.

Flexible Lifestyle

Homeschooling means we get to (mostly) determine our schedule based on what is most lifegiving for our particular family. As a kid, I grew up riding horses and climbing mountains. I wasn’t hustled off to school. Instead, I spent hours upon hours playing outside.

Harvard Medical School writes that free play shapes a child's brain — and bestows a lifetime of benefits. Research reveals the role of unstructured play in learning, self-regulation, and creativity.

If my kids are in school –even a lovely Christian school –they are by necessity going to have less time at home to play and a more rigid schedule.

Memorizing Scripture is something our kids often do at Sunday school and VBS, but is it something we should do too?

Although memorization is more challenging for adults, our hearts and brains are far more capable than we realize.

Have you ever felt like you just don’t have the right words to say to a friend who is struggling? Or don’t know how to respond when your child acts out?

Listen in for an encouraging and highly practical conversation with Jess Travis, mom to two and pediatric nurse practitioner, about the value of hiding God’s word in our hearts every day.

As mothers, we are all called to teach the Word of God faithfully and handle Scripture rightly. Sometimes that teaching will be informal, and other times it will be more structured. It may look like applying biblical truth in everyday moments, leading family devotions, teaching a Sunday school lesson, or facilitating a Bible study.

In any context, teachers are held to a high standard. The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It is powerful and effective. Just as we would handle a weapon with caution, we should handle Scripture with care. Many—both children and adults—have been led astray when teachers mishandled or twisted a passage to suit their own purposes.

Today, we are going to talk about how to equip ourselves to teach the Bible faithfully by understanding context, staying tethered to the text, and preparing appropriately.

We likely will not have time to study Scripture this way every day, though we should be reading it devotionally each day. Still, we probably have more time than we think to devote to serious study.

I do not think it is an accident that God describes Himself as the Word and has revealed Himself through a collection of divinely inspired books. He has made us in His image. We are thinking people, and it is good and right to stretch our minds as we learn to handle the Word of God faithfully.

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Shelly Pelletier has been married for 32 years, has three grown children and five grandchildren. She's a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center and has been teaching kids in church in various roles since she was 16 years old and has been leading formal women's groups for over 25 years.

She's an expert in helping people of all ages understand and apply the Word of God and today she will walk us through the basics of preparing to teach the Bible faithfully.

Several weeks ago I to watch my almost 9-year-old and almost 7-year-old ascended a 50 foot rock wall and it was equip. I was so proud of them for working so hard and having the courage to keep on going even when it was scary!!

But what I’m most especially thankful for is that harness! Because my kids were wearing the right equipment, they were protected during the activity. Even though it was objectively a very scary, they were quite safe. If they slipped or fell their very capable Uncle Kyle or Aunite Yuvika would catch them.

Similarly, as Christians, God calls us to put on the armor of God so that we will be protected.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.“ -Ephesians 6:10-13

Each day as we read the Word of God we are putting on our armor so we will be protected as we scale our mountains. Today I am joined by Katie Faris who will be walking us through the importance of devotional Bible study and quick strategies for doing it well.

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Katie Faris is a pastor’s wife and mother to five children. She is the author of multiple books, including Every Hour I Need You: 30 Meditations for Moms on the Character of God and God Is Still Good: Gospel Hope and Comfort for the Unexpected Sorrows of Motherhood. She worships at Sovereign Grace Church in Marlton, New Jersey. Learn more at her website or follow her on Facebook or Instagram.

Going to church with my five little kids can sometimes feel like wrangling monkeys –very dear little monkeys –but little monkeys that have been known to spill the coffee all over the pew in front of us and then shriek in terror at the act. (Nothing to see here, people. Normal Sunday.)

Matt Merker in his book Corporate Worship argues, “A church service is one of the primary settings in which believers speak the truth to one another. When we recite a creed or read a scripture aloud together, or sing a song or vocalize amen after a prayer, we’re not just following the service leaders directions we are disciplining one another in building up the body to maturity.”

My biggest and strongest piece of advice is simply to go to church. Just go! In every season of motherhood (and every season of life) there will be conflicts with attending church. If you have little babies there is a very good chance your service will happen during naptime. If you have kids in sports it is extremely likely there will be games that conflict with your ability to attend the service. If you have family from out of town staying with you there is a reasonable chance they may pressure you to stay home from church so you have more time with them.

But, Jesus didn’t think attending church was just causally important. He considered it vital and organized the christian life around it. When we place our church attendnece first we are saying that our spiritual condition is more important than naps, sports, or family relationships. If others don’t understand that, it is a chance for us to teach them.

In honor of Father's Day, listen in for a slightly exaggerated but hilarious story about the Magic of Sleepy Ridge.

When a disgruntled doorknob decides he's done being taken for granted, Mom and the kids are trapped outside. There's only one person who can rescue them: Dad.

This story is my reflection of the everyday faithfulness of my dear husband. Often, I can get caught up with everything I'm doing and forget the quiet ways James serves, leads, protects and provides for our family.

"Sometimes the things and the people that matter most to us we can simply take for granted. Like having a Dad who is funny and kind, adventurous and responsible, and who is willing to stop what he is doing in the middle of a busy fall workday to trudge up the stairs and free his family from exile from the Sunroom. So the next time you turn a doorknob, move freely throughout the country without fear of execution or arrest, or walk into your Dad’s basement office, remember that these are some pretty remarkable things. True gifts from God.

Doorknobs.

Democracy.

Dad.

So don’t take them for granted."

Practically, how do we carve out time, in the midst of hectic mothering, to seek the Lord in prayer?

Susanna Wesley, mother of evangelists John and Charles Wesley, had sixteen kids. She was certainly busy, but she taught her kids that if they saw her with an apron over her head, they were not to bother her because that meant that she was in prayer or in the Word.

That’s a woman committed to depending on the Father. I want to be a mother like that. I love this anecdote because it shows creativity and determination.

If I really want to do something, I tend to find a way to do it. The most important practical step to praying more is being convinced we need to pray more. But once we are relatively convinced, we need to ask God’s help to find creative and life-giving ways to make it happen.

Let’s think through two categories of prayer – private prayer and prayer on the go – and a few routines that might be helpful in making them happen.