Regroup

     I love homeschooling.  I am fortunate that I have a wonderful support network.  I have my friends from co-op, church, Community Bible Study, family and  friends from my homeschool mom's group.  I also have the support of my incredible husband.  This support system is important.  These people keep me grounded.  Help me to stay the course and throw me a life preserver on days I feel like I am drowning. 
     I love the curriculum that I have chosen.  I blogged about exactly what I am using and why.  However, when it came down to me deciding what to do next year I started to doubt my choices.  Maybe there is something better.  Maybe I am pushing big sister too much.  Maybe I should try x.  While I was in the throws of this doubt my homeschool mom's group had our monthly night out.  The women there listened to me.  They asked questions.  They encouraged me and helped me to realize that I should stick with my plan.  We all have those times of doubt.  We are fortunate that today homeschoolers have so many choices.  You can really find materials that will fit your child.  You don't have to settle.  However, all those choices can get overwhelming and cause you to start doubting.  I think re-evaluating is a good thing.  I can now order next year's curriculum with confidence.
     There are so many things that homeschoolers can do throughout the week.  So many really good things that would be fun learning experiences.  Art classes, gym classes, science day programs...You could be out every day at a different activity.  At the beginning of this school year I had a pretty full schedule.  By Christmas I realized it was too much.  I felt God was telling me to slow down.  So I dropped something I was enjoying and it helped.  As the months have passed I still fell over scheduled.

     Traditionally Monday has been a down day for the girls & me.  It set the tone for the week.  This year I planned activities for Monday.  Well as of today Monday's activities are gone.  It wasn't working.  We need that day.  Big sister is disappointed.  She enjoyed her Monday gym class.  But as the mom I have to make those tough decisions.  I know it is the right decision.  We need to slow down.
     It is so hard when you have to choose between good things and figure out which good thing is right for you and your family.  The homeschool community offers so many good things and as a parent it is my job to sift through and pick what activities are best for us.  It isn't easy.  Sometimes I feel like we are missing out.  But I know that over scheduling is not good and I have to be vigilant about not letting it happen.  I have to be the adult in the situation and sometimes say we need to stop x because it is not working for us.  This isn't always easy, but I have found in life that the right choice is rarely the easy choice.

Submit

     In Ephesians 5 wives are told to submit to their husbands as to the Lord.  Many people read this one verse & get angry.  However, if you read the rest of this chapter you will find that the man is given the harder job.  He is told to love his wife as Christ loved the church.  Christ was crucified, a horrible painful way to die, for the sake of the church.
     God is not anti-woman.  The bible has many women in it that did incredible things.  Women were some of the leaders of the early church.  When God tells a woman to submit He is not implying she is a second -class citizen.  The new testament has several instances documented that shows Jesus was extremely respectful of women and reached out to them just as he reached out to minister to men. 
     Submission does not imply you are to be a doormat or that your opinion & feelings do not matter.    It means that when it comes down to the final decision it is the husband's call.  And he is accountable to God for his decision. 
     In today's day and age I now how hard it is for a woman to be told she has to release control.  It is especially hard for me since I got married in my 30's.  I can say that submission is much easier if you marry a Godly man that you love and respect.  We have had several times in our 10 years of marriage when I have had to say to my husband this is how I feel, but the final decision is yours.  I don't envy his position.  Because if his decision is wrong he answers to God and has to deal with me.  Not really sure which is worse.  No no no, part of submission is not saying, "I told you so." 
     Now if there is an abusive relationship or the man is telling the woman to do things that are against God's commands that is an entirely different matter.  I don't want anyone to think I am saying they should allow someone to abuse them or force them to do things that are wrong.
     I know submission goes against everything the woman's lib movement wants us to believe.  However, I think not submitting is much more difficult.  God made us and knows us intimately.  He knows what is best for us and knows how we are wired.  Quite honestly a woman trying to take on a man's role is not natural and it is hard.  Woman's lib has told us we can have it all.  We can have a successful career, a successful marriage, and raise children.  Talk to women trying to do it all and they'll tell you how incredibly difficult that can be.  Talk to women that are trying to raise children on their own. 
     I am not implying the woman's place is barefoot & pregnant in the kitchen.  I am just saying we shouldn't be so quick to embrace Satan's lies.  He is out to destroy us.  He wants us to think God is old-fashioned and biblical ideas are oppressive.  Maybe we should look a little closer at what God really says and embrace what is being said to us by our loving heavenly father.