Be Yourself (And the World Will Be a More Beautiful Place)

Today’s letter focus is B and I want to share with you how I am learning to be myself when it comes to homeschooling.

I have been homeschooling for the past 5 years and it has been such a learning experience. I’m not referring exclusively to academics, but also the fine tuning of the goals and ideals I have for my family, discovering who God created us to be and most importantly, how He wants us to impact this world for His glory.

Looking back over the past five years of homeschooling, I feel that the overarching truth that has worked its way to the surface is one that now guides my decisions as a homeschooling mother. It’s simple, yet profound: be myself.

I don’t know about you, but it’s easy for me to be drawn towards this way of homeschooling or that way of homeschooling and in the meantime, forget to look within myself to see what God already predetermined when it comes to my personality, learning styles, preferences and interests.

In fact, when I’m so busy scouring Pinterest trying to figure out the “best way to homeschool” it can be easy for me to focus my attention on what I can’t do well, rather than on what I can do well.

The truth is, I have always been my biggest critic.

I often sell myself short on the talents that God has given me and focus on what other people are good at and compare their strengths to my weaknesses. I have to remind myself that that kind of thinking isn’t fair to me, nor is it a good use of the time and talents that God has given to me.

Satan would love nothing more than to distract me from my gifts so that I don’t use them the way God intended me to in our homeschooling. He has come to steal and destroy, but Christ came to give us abundant life.

How about you?

Do you feel discouraged in your homeschooling style? Maybe it’s because you’ve been trying to do it the way someone else does and it really doesn’t fit you or your children. Instead, spend some time studying your children’s interests and learning styles as well as your own natural preferences to see if another way might be a better fit.

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Perhaps you’re like me and find it easy to compare your weaknesses to the strengths of others. But the old saying, “apples to apples” applies to this situation, too because it’s not fair to compare our weaknesses to others’ strengths.

Spend some quiet time jotting down the unique strengths and talents that God has equipped you with and capitalize on those in your homeschooling.

There will always be areas that we need to improve in, but we certainly don’t let them become the driving force that drag us down and take our attention and energy away from the wonderful opportunity to homeschool our precious children.

It’s easy to burden ourselves with other’s expectations of how we should “do school” with our children. That is a burden that we were not meant to bear because it is not of God. When we align ourselves with God’s truth and ways we will find that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. (Matthew 11:30)

The beautiful truth that we all should embrace is that God created each of us with unique talents, personalities and interests. They were sovereignly chosen by an all-knowing Designer to fit with the unique talents, personalities and interests He gifted our children with.

When we embrace God’s design for our homeschool there will be a sense of peace that comes from following His path for our life and not someone else’s.

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We will realize it’s okay to be ourself when it comes to homeschooling and it will help bring the joy back into our homeschool days because there will be a more natural flow to our daily rhythm.

For example, if you and your kids aren’t morning people, there’s no hard and fast rule that says school must start by 8, 9 or even 10 a.m! Or, if you would rather focus on certain subjects in the morning and do math in the afternoon even though the “experts” say it should be done in the morning, that’s okay! If you feel more comfortable using a box curriculum, so be it. If you have a more eclectic personality that doesn’t do well with the confines of a predetermined curriculum, you can piece your own together.

One of the things I love most about homeschooling is that it gives my children and me the freedom to discover who we are and what we enjoy. Most likely, our homeschool rhythm will look different than your homeschool rhythm and that’s okay.

If you’ve been feeling like you just can’t get a handle on this “homeschooling thing” I hope you can take some time to step back and discover what your natural interests and preferences are and then implement those into your own personal homeschool rhythm. When you do, I think you’ll find the joy that comes from focusing on your strengths and using them to best serve your family.

Click the image below to see all the posts in The ABCs of Homeschooling Series

Becky is wife to her incredible husband, Adam, and mother to four young children here on earth and one who is with her Savior.  She realizes that having a husband and children are a blessing and wants to be intentional in making life beautiful for them.

She is the author behind the website Purposeful Homemaking where her commitment is to encourage and equip women in their role as homemaker.

She is especially passionate about teaching her children about the greatness and relevancy of God,finding the passion God has placed within each of her children and fanning that flame,making her home a refuge for her husband and children, homeschooling,and learning to be transparent and encouraging in the lives of others.

Because of her desire to encourage and help equip others in the ministry of Christian homemaking, she blogs at Purposeful Homemaking. You can also find her on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and Google+. She has written three eBooks: Early Potty Teaching: A natural and gentle way to potty train your little one, Topical Devotions for Pregnancy and A Wife’s Guide to Studying Proverbs.