Three Rs Thursday - my journey to homeschooling

Well, if you had asked me several years ago if I would ever be homeschooling I would have said "NO WAY". We had Moriah and everything changed. I fell in love like I've never been in love before. She was my miracle child after being told it would be a miracle if we got pregnant. The month before getting pregnant with her I was on a women's retreat with my church and Linda Dillow was our speaker. The last day on Sunday morning we had an amazing worship service. Her message was on Genesis 22, the story of Abraham and Isaac going up to Mt. Moriah to sacrifice Isaac. It was then that I realized that I wasn't trusting God the way that I was supposed to. I'm an artist and see things very vividly. I had realized that I needed to put my womb on the altar and give it back to God. I literally closed my eyes and pictured myself giving him everything. I even pictured, as I was hesitating to let go, having a tug-a-war with my fallopian tube. Yes, that vivid... Linda had a little altar up front and she asked us to right down what it was that we needed to give completely to God. My girlfriend turned to me and said not to right down "babies"... she said I needed to write their names on the paper. I looked back down at my Bible through tear blurred eyes and wrote down Moriah and Isaac on my piece of paper and put it on the altar. From that moment I had complete peace like I've never had before. I knew that God was going to give me those children and I was going to hand them right back to Him.

The summer after having Moriah we were on our way to Michigan to vacation at my parents house. The only station that would come in was a Christian station that was having a "message" about homeschooling. It was then that I felt an overwhelming feeling that this was God's calling us to homeschool our children. We had given Moriah back to God and He was showing us how to raise her. Every scripture passage read just confirmed it more and more. By the end of the message we couldn't get the radio station anymore, coincidence? Maybe it was, but I couldn't get it out of my head that it was God's calling.

One month later Rob Rienow, family pastor at WBC had a message that once again spoke to us personally that we were to homeschool our children. But, then we got a little side tracked, really it was fear that pushed it all aside. I was scared to teach my child... how could I, someone who only has a high school diploma, teach my child everything she needs to know? Then I remember her name and what it means. Moriah means God is my teacher. Ooooooh, now I get it... I'm not her teacher, God is. I'm just the one who gets to share in the joy of seeing her learn. It's God working through me to teach her.

Umm...OK, so where do I begin? I quickly get a bunch of books from the library... WOW, I had no idea all the different styles of homeschooling from curriculum based to "unschooling". Then looking at curriculum, WOW, there is just sooooo much out there. I finally figured out that Moriah learns best by experience. We're already unschooling her by reading to her and telling her about everything around her. She's so smart already. All we do is answer her questions and share in her interests. OK, so fear sets in again... how do I know she'll learn everything if I don't use a curriculum? I found another book at the library, "Christian Unschooling: Growing Your Children in the Freedom of Christ". WOW, that was a real eye-opener. It really truly is all about putting your faith in Christ to teach your children. I may still use curriculum for certain things and may eventually use curriculum for everything but this is where my journey is getting started and can't wait to see what God has in store for me and my family.

I am really enjoying this journey now and letting the fears drift away, obeying God like Abraham did and putting my children on the altar trusting far greater than I've ever trusted in anyone or anything before.


btw, I have my Isaac too after another rough road of suffering and then putting all my trust in God to let me meet that Isaac I had laid on the altar years before.