And everything, whatever ye may do in word or in deed, do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father by him.
Col 3:17

There are scheduled times that I clean the house, mop and vacuum the floors and other jobs that need doing on a regular basis. However, if these were to be the only times that I cleaned or tidied, my house would be near uninhabitable! I’ve learned that while it is good and necessary to have these cleaning times, if I don’t tidy or pick things up at other times the scheduled cleaning time is staring at me like Mt. Kosciusko!

We’ve developed a motto from a book that I read, of which I cannot remember the title or author. This motto is something that I repeat several times a week, in a sweet voice and slowly, the children are beginning to get the idea.

“Always try to leave a room in a better way than you found it.”

It might be that I rearrange the pillows in the lounge-room or put the TV guide back where it belongs. It might be cleaning the kitchen cupboard door fronts while I have the sponge in my hand, rather than wait until Monday- my cleaning day. Whatever it is that I do, it all makes tackling Mt. Kosciusko on the cleaning days that little bit more achievable and less daunting.

My homeschooling efforts used to be a little the same: I felt like the task was of mammoth proportion! To only fit all of ones academia into certain hours is daunting! But since I’ve come to see that academics and education is much like my housecleaning routine it is so much more achievable. Here a little, there a little… Sure, we have set scheduled times where we focus on an area (like we do with housework) but it was when I saw that it is more about cultivating a lifestyle that more learning could actually take place! Here a little, there a little…

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatever ye do, do all things to God’s glory.
1Cor 10:31

Motivation

The other thing I have noticed about myself is motivation. I enjoy having visitors as it requires me to do a certain amount of cleaning. Years ago, I used to use visitors as a motivation for cleaning the house! I don’t need that anymore, thankfully. It’s good to not be motivated by fear. However, I wondered about my motivation for my children’s education: why did I want them to read this book and that book? Why was it important to me that they have done this, that and the other? Was it again, similar to my housework in that a fear of some kind was my motivation? As I was able to release these concerns and fears to God, I started to live in freedom. Which I then took, as one often does when on a learning curve, to the extreme. Over time and circumstance, God brought me to a place of healing and restoration in the area of “education”, I can now set about my day and goal with a clearer motivation…one that is not based on fear.

~ What if my child doesn’t know everything he/she needs to?
~ What about the other children his/her age? They can all spell,write, do trigonometry, etc.
~ What will my neighbour/friend/Ed.Dept. think about my child not learning a foreign language?
~ Accck, do they need a foreign language?

Sure, all these things are concerns and ones that may need to be considered but the point isn’t the concerns themselves rather the motivation behind them.

Lord, help me to truly understand my imperfection and to know that I have not attained nor will not attain here on earth the state of perfection that I so often seem to desire. If the apostle Paul had not attained perfection on earth, then I know that I won’t either. Help me Lord to press on, toward the goal, to actively pursue your grace through Christ- not in and of myself – but knowing that Jesus has taken hold of me. Help me to keep my eyes upon heaven and your kingdom… that everything I do be for your glory.

but one thing–forgetting the things behind, and stretching out to the things before, I pursue, looking towards the goal, for the prize of the calling on high of God in Christ Jesus.
Phillipians 3:13-14