Homeschooling

        So today's topic? Home-schooling. Many people that I know tend to give our family the side eye because we homeschool our daughter and will homeschool our son when its his time. 

         So why do we home-school? Well for two reasons, its what works best for our daughter and more importantly we believe it is what God has led our family into doing. I'll be honest I like having a job and being able to soundly contribute to our family financially however since our daughter turned five, working outside the home has NOT been an option for me. And Lord knows that I have tried.

         When it comes to following the prompts God gives us, we try to always adhere to what God tells us. So one thing that has definitely been on that list is me being home. Taking care of our family, our home, and home-schooling our children. I am quite aware that this arrangement cannot work for every family, I'm just thankful that it does work for our family. I'm aware of the families that need both mom and dad to work so the family stays afloat. I write this to the families who CAN afford to homeschool or have thought about it. I promise you, it is WORTH the headache, the constant answering of questions and becoming your children's teacher.

         Now the great part about home-schooling is the fact that when my daughter excels, guess who is front row and center to see and cheer her on? ME. And that is an awesome feeling to know that I am the person who got to help her learn to read, add and subtract. I enjoy watching my daughter flourish. I also homeschool her because there was a time when we suspected that she have ADHD/ADD because of how hyperactive she could be but instead of going off the deep end, we just endeavored to really learn her and what works best for her. One thing we have done is cut down on sugar drastically which has helped with how hyper she is. We've also given her a daily routine where she knows what's coming next so she doesn't put up too much of a fuss.

          The program we use with home-schooling Kaylee is Florida Virtual School Full Time. Its probably not your "traditional" method of homeschooling but it works for us. It allows us to keep Kaylee on track with state standards and still allows me to have an active hand in her education. I am able to add in bible devotion every morning and I try to do a person profile or family profile at least once a month. For example last month we learned about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob's family. I have heard of programs like Abeka, Charlotte Mason, etc.. and I think they are probably really nice. I just know those can be expensive and when you don't particularly have a lot of money to shell out on a curriculum it doesn't hurt to check and see if your state has a K-12 virtual online school since its FREE and they send out ALL of the materials your child will need...including a computer if you qualify.

       Now if you choose to come up with your own curriculum or want to do it at your own pace picking what curriculum you use, I can definitely recommend a couple different websites in which you can find free worksheets and workbooks, you of course will need to print them out but other than that they're FREE. 

• CurrClick 
• Education.com 
• KISS Grammar 

The Crafty Classroom 

Spanish Lessons 

Free Homeschool Deals 

I hope this helps you if you are thinking of homeschooling. And helps you understand if you ever wondered about homeschooling.

~Love to you ALL

Kris Bush

        

The Ministry in Marriage and Motherhood

Ministry/Minister: one who serves or assists someone else; an exercise of one’s gifts and resources (Dictionary of the Life Application Study Bible, NIV). This is the biblical definition of ministry and what a minister literally does. Would you believe we minister every day?

As a wife and mother of two, I’d never really thought of ministry, I always viewed it as having to do with preaching and teaching of the Word. Then between reading Desperate by Sally Clarkson & Sarah Mae AND talking with my husband one morning. I REALLY realized that even though I don’t particularly serve in a “ministry” I actually do. What I mean is that in serving my husband and children, I am in ministry. There is ministry in marriage and motherhood.

As a wife, we are called and created to be a helpmeet. Eve, the first woman/wife/mother, was created to be a helpmeet. She was created to serve and glorify God. When you help a person, you aren't taking charge and leading them, no you quietly help them as they need it, as they request it, in essence you serve their needs. As a mom, the entire first few years of your child(ren)’s life is spent in servitude. You’re fixing bottles, changing diapers, wiping up drool, etc… You are literally serving your child(ren). Even as they get older you are still serving them in making sure they eat, have clean clothes, and learn.

I honestly believe (I have my moments) that in life we all have our ministries. We want to see them thrive and excel, we want to see them glorify God. Marriage and motherhood is no different. As a wife I want to see my marriage thrive and glorify God, I want it to become a legacy of love and commitment not only to ourselves and our family but also to the Lord. As a mom, I want to see my children thrive, excel, and glorify God with their lives. I want to see my children grow and mature. My home I want to nurture it so that it becomes and remains a safe haven for my family, where they feel comfortable and secure. Isn't that what you essentially do in ministry? You attend the Lord’s sheep, nurturing and protecting them so that they can mature and glorify God with their lives. Even if you aren't pastoring a church but in missions, you still want to nurture the people you come across, pointing them to Christ, helping them mature along the way, all for the Lord’s glory.

I write this for wives and mothers, husbands and fathers. You are in ministry in your marriage, in your family. Use your marriage not only for personal pleasure, but make sure God gets the glory. Your children raise them, but make sure you instill knowledge of who God is in them. And by all means don’t ever underestimate what you do and what you are responsible for. Paul reminds us that BEFORE a person can even serve in the church, they had to have served in their family and have served well. It should be visible for all to see. (Check out 1 Timothy 3 & Titus 1:5-9) Something that I've learned in the past couple years is that what works well for one family may not necessarily work for yours. You MUST do what's best for your family, not what you see on a blog or twitter, because YOU have to live with the results.

Colossians 4:17 “Tell Archippus: See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.” I think this charge is to every husband, wife, father, and mother. We have been entrusted with the ministry of our marriages, of our families and we are charged with seeing it through. I was once told, there are no days off in motherhood and I can attest to their being no days off in both marriage and motherhood. Everyday you've got to put your best foot forward and thank God in everything.

Couples/parents there will be some hard days. There will be some storms. There will be the tough days when you want to throw in the towel. I encourage you through Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 4:1, “therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.” I encourage you not to lose heart but be thankful that you have your spouse and children to serve and minister to.

~Love to you all

Kris Bush