It’s not always beautiful…

I recently read the book “Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit” by Teri Maxwell.  Very convicting.  I strive to have a meek and quiet spirit.  Yet there are so many times I fail.

Most of the time this blog is about all the good things going on in our homeschooling world.  Yet, there are so many times when it is not so beautiful…

As I look back over our year, there are many highlights to remember, and I am thankful that I blogged about them.  The not so pretty moments, I would rather forget…yet I would be doing you,  the reader, a disservice not to mention them.  It’s so easy as homeschoolers to think we are not doing a good job, question our days when things fail, or just be critical if we are doing things right.  Afterall, we already are under a microscope by society, so I think it can make us feel extra sensitive about our shortcomings.

So I have decided to make a list of the not so “bloggable” moments.  The moments where I have failed.  Because even though I have failed at times, just as we all do, I am blessed to know Jesus as my Lord and Savior who is always there willing to pick me back up again.

1.  There was a day this year when I had one child sick with a stomach virus  and he  threw up on the floor.  Ethan was still crawling at the time, and crawled right through it…as this happend the phone rang and it was my husband.  He and the other 2 children had gotten into a small car accident.  At this moment, I was anything but meek or quiet 🙂

2.  Having a napping baby is difficult in a home with three other children.  I can’t count the number if times I have said  screamed,  “BE QUIET! THE BABY IS SLEEPING!” ~talk about contradicting myself~

3.  When things get messy, I get stressed. I don’t like clutter or messes around, as it reminds me that I have more work to do…there have been countelss messes around my house this year…crafts, spilled drinks, glue spilled in the carpet, oh, and the coffee can that dumped out on the kitchen floor when it was FULL! ~ I can tell you these were all times I was NOT meek and quiet.

4.  I have not always had patience when listening to a first grader read aloud, slowly, very slowly…the same books I have heard already when my daughter read them two years ago…I can only hear “Frog and Toad” so many times, and at such a slow pace… 😉

5.  There are have been countless arguments amongst brothers and sisters over silly things…yes, we are still reading “Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends.” 😉

So this is just a short list, but a list to show that even though I have written about all of our best moments…and they do definitely outnumber the worst….they do exist.  And I can not even imagine getting through any of them without the grace of God.  He sustains me, He strengthens me, and He has delivered me.  Praise God!

Psalm 28:7
The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,And with my song I will praise Him.