A Mommy Blog Post and a Potentially Touchy Subject

A Mom's Thoughts

Baby smiles and tight little hugs
A little boy’s joy for collecting bugs
A 6-year-old’s chatter sitting in the back seat
A bedroom that probably never will stay neat

Looking at the world through fingerprinted windows
Wiping tear-stained face and runny nose
Listening to all their dreams and fears
Cleaning up peanut butter and jelly smears

Rejoicing with them when they succeed
Crying with them when they bleed
Questions, questions ‘til I can’t think straight
Remember, Mom, he’s only eight

Caught in the moment I forget how time flies
One day they’ll be grown and I’ll miss their cries
Help me to cherish them today, in this hour
Jesus, grant me the wisdom to parent through Your power

Lord, I fall so short each day
Help us in this task, I pray
In all the little things we do
Help us to point them straight to You


Deuteronomy 6:6-8
“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”

I know that my husband and I are primarily responsible for training our children spiritually. I also know that I, as the one who is home with them most during the day, fall very short at times in this. I love my children. I want desperately to teach them about the Lord. I also am not a “kid person” by nature. I have a short patience level for childishness. I have to constantly remind myself to try to see things through their eyes and to remember that they are not little adults and they are still learning to think rationally. This can make living with three little people difficult if I walk in the flesh. That’s one vital reason it is important not to walk in the flesh and to daily deny myself and live for Christ. I can honestly say that He has granted me patience for things I never would have thought possible. But I have a long way to grow, too.

My husband and I struggled a lot with the decision about schooling our children. There was a lot of pressure from Christian friends to homeschool. At this time, we do not feel the calling to do so. Can I just tell you that I have experienced such guilt over this issue? I have really felt that maybe I just don’t love my kids as much as my homeschooling friends do. I finally realized that’s not true. I do love them. I also know that for now, in the situation we find ourselves in at this moment, homeschooling is not the best option for our family. I respect very much those who do homeschool and do it well, and there are very, very many like that. But we’ve really been made to feel that we somehow are sinning to not do so at this time. Now, I want to hasten to add that we are watching, paying attention, getting to know their teachers, and should a time ever come that we believe that having them in public school is harmful where we are, we need to be willing to pull them out, and I pray we will be.

We are aware of the many excellent reasons for homeschooling, and I’m not going into all the whys and why nots of our decision - we considered many things - for they are our situation, not anyone else’s. This is an issue each family has to decide for themselves with much prayer. And I hope that each of us who are part of the family of Christ will love each other enough to respect the choice each family makes in this issue and be kind to each other. No matter how convinced we are that our decision is right, we need to respect that each family faces its own circumstances in approaching the issue of how to educate their children.

One thing I am greatly aware of, however, is that with our decision to have our children in the public school at this time, we need to be even more diligent and purposeful in training them spiritually. We’ve got to really be listening to them, talking to them and teaching them our worldview, because I know that they are surrounded daily by people who hold a vastly different worldview from ours. We’ve got to make sure we address things as they come up, not letting things slide or glossing over worldly attitudes, and teach them to think biblically. So, we are looking at ways to do that more effectively. I am constantly searching my own heart with regard to my lack of patience. I do not want my selfishness to hinder how I interact with my kids. They are too important for me to neglect teaching them what really matters.

We also believe that God is sovereign. We have dedicated these children to Him, and we intend to teach them about His grace. I hope that we are making the right decisions in all areas of parenting. I hope that when we look back over the years we will be able to rest in knowing we did our best with His leadership and that we sought His way not our own. But I’ll be having those same hopes no matter whether we keep them in school or pull them out to homeschool. Every choice we make has consequences, and I do not know the future for my kids. But God does know. I trust Him to hold them and draw them to Himself and grant them saving faith. That does not mean that I let my guard down and become lazy. On the contrary, because I know these things matter deeply, I want to be faithful and intentional in teaching them and in who I allow to teach them. And I trust Him to lead us to make the right choices for them along the way and to forgive us and protect them when we err. That’s the best any of us can do. And our God is faithful. He chose to give us these children, and we have to trust Him to be good all the time and to lead us in how to parent them.

So, whether we homeschool or not, we parents do need to make sure we are talking with our kids, spending real one-on-one time with them and hearing and listening to them in such a way that we can discern how they are thinking through things. This is our calling as parents – to train them up in the Lord. I pray that we will do it well and that we will obey our Lord to be faithful in this task.