My Faith, My Homeschool

Twenty years ago, when my husband and I began homeschooling, we had a vision. It was simple and clear. It was our desire to raise our children to think, to act, and to see the world with a Christian perspective. In order to do that, we knew that our children needed to be taken seriously, and with that in mind, we set out to seriously educate our children through our homeschool.

Along the way, there have been plenty of challenges, but one thing has remained true. It is our faith in Christ that keeps us going. We have changed curriculum, homes, cities, methods, and strategies, but we have never changed our faith. It is the foundation of our homeschool, and it's the foundation of why we homeschool.

That is not to say that every college we have used has had a Christian authorship, nor has every activity that we've engaged in being exclusively with other Christians. We have consistently strived to teach our children how to interact with others, regardless of their faith, with the presence of Christ in their actions. That has meant that we have taught them how to act with integrity, how to speak in love, how to look for the best in others, how to forgive, how to exhort, how to do, whatever they are doing, "as unto the Lord, and not into men. " (Colossians 3:23)

It has also meant that we have taught them to study this way too. We want them to learn and grow in such a way that they can contribute in meaningful ways to those around them as future adults. We want them to be taken seriously, and have there before them to take their education seriously. They understand that what they can articulate is only half of the witness they have. The other part is whether or not they live what they have been taught.

That is the part of homeschooling that can be daunting for us. They will have to take the education they have been given, the tools for learning that they have been taught to utilize, and the knowledge base we have built and continue on independently. It will have to become their faith, and their future through homeschooling that they take ownership of. My husband and I can only do so much for them. The rest is up to them.

Sometimes as I reflect on the mistakes made along the way, by me, my husband, or my children, I am prompted to remind myself why I do what I do, why it matters , and why I keep doing what I do. Every homeschool family needs to take some time to do this regularly. There will always be mistakes or missed opportunities, but there is always purpose. There is always a vision. And, by the grace of God, there is always a future in which mistakes can be reconciled to vision and purpose with God's leading. That is why I do what I do with my faith and my homeschool.

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