My first year was a rough first year of homeschooling. I made some bad life choices and decided to start college for myself the second semester of our first year. To say it was hard was an understatement. As I prayed, I felt guided to take a different path and stop college. Yet, all of this stress from trying to figure out how to do college again after 10 years and how to be a teacher was taking an unbelievable toll on me. I got spiritually, physically, and emotionally drained. To add to all this I also decided that I need a milk cow. I love my milk cow but the process also takes anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour. As I was talking to me grandma I told her the Lord can give us the strength to do everything on her plate. She said that we have to have the wisdom to know what we can and can’t handle. She also told me she prays for me every night that I will have the strength to be able to do everything I’m doing. With all of this in mind, there’s several things I learned that I hope you can learn from me and save yourself the hard lessons.
Let the Holy Spirit Guide
My grandmother continued to tell me that I remind her so much of her own self. She always tried to take on way more than she could handle. Isn’t that so common of us mothers. We are so good at staying busy. We feel like life needs to be busy to be meaningful. I have come to realize that my life is so much more joyful when I have time to rest. If I give myself time to rest physically, rest emotionally, and rest spiritually in the Lord my life goes so much smoother. In the KJV of the Bible it says in Matthew 11: 28-30 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Often times this means saying no to things that are of lesser value. There is a wonderful talk given by Dallin H. Oaks in October 2007 called Good, Better, Best. He says, “We should begin by recognizing the reality that just because something is good is not a sufficient reason for doing it. The number of good things we can do far exceeds the time available to accomplish them. Some things are better than good, and these are the things that should command priority attention in our lives.” This wisdom includes things we add to our homeschool schedule, personal expectations we give ourselves, and things we sign our kids up for.
Limit Sports and Extra Curricular Activities
Every season of the year different sport registrations come up. I struggle like others to say no, yet being overly involved doesn’t work for us. Our family lives 45 minutes away from town. Not only is it hard financially to let our kids do lots of sports, but it is also a significant time dedication. What takes some families one hour for soccer practice is often a 3-4 hour ordeal for us. Don’t get me wrong I like my kids to be involved. However, I like to have a close knit family where we can make sure we save time to do those most essential things like family prayers, family scripture study, and family dinner together more than doing the popular thing. In Dallin H. Oaks talk I mentioned above he goes on to say exactly how I feel about families being involved in many sports. “The amount of children-and-parent time absorbed in the good activities of private lessons, team sports, and other school and club activities also needs to be carefully regulated. Otherwise, children will be overscheduled, and parents will be frazzled and frustrated. Parents should act to preserve time for family prayer, family scripture study, family home evening, and the other precious togetherness and individual one-on-one time that binds a family together and fixes children’s values on things of eternal worth. Parents should teach gospel priorities through what they do with their children.” One lady at church told me that her daughter and son-in-law pray about every single thing they are choosing whether or not to put their kids in. I was amazed to hear that and think it’s something I should also be doing. Our Father knows we are frazzled. He knows how busy our schedules are and what the rest of the week looks like. He knows if we want more time with Him. It is such beautiful wisdom to involve Him in all choices of what to do with our time. Let us know for sure though that if we do not have time with our creator each day, then something else in our life needs to go.
What things are we involved in?
My family has really limited the things we are involved in. We have done different things throughout the years. We have done swim lessons, dance, baseball, karate,4H, soccer, and different camps. Right now I really try to limit our sports to soccer in the fall and swim lessons in the summer. We also do 4H which mostly consists of one meeting a month. To get us out during the school year we also go to Wednesday night church activities, a weekly co op, and occasionally a once a month co op in a different nearby town. These things are plenty to keep us social, but they also allow us time to spend as a family and with Heavenly Father.
Filling Mamas Bucket
I also don’t spend a lot of time outside of our home. I am currently renewing my license as an EMT although I don’t plan to work again anytime soon. I occasionally go to church activities. However, most of my time for me is either spent on my blog usually on Saturdays, a bath early in the morning or late at night, reading a book occasionally, and a daily 30 minute walk. When the kids are going to bed, my husband and I spend time in the scriptures. It’s just the time that seems to work best for us. During my 30 minute walk or when I’m milking my cow I really like to listen to podcasts. They feel up my bucket. I also make sure to take naps when I’m way to tired to stay awake and read my scriptures daily. I’m not perfect, but I really do try. Occasionally, I also work on different other hobbies I have.
Exercise and sunshine
As you can see in another part of my blog anxiety is something I struggle with along with depression. Being inside with my children all day especially on crying and contentious days is especially difficult for me. I used to try to jog for 20 minutes with a 10 minute cool down before I brought all my kids home. When they were in school I truly had endless hours to just decide what I wanted to do. Now I feel like I’m constantly battling the endless list of things I don’t have time to do. It became really overwhelming for me to think of jogging when I have very limited time during the day. If I went jogging, I’d also have to shower. If I showered, I’d also have to get dressed and then my hair would be a mess. It just seemed to add way too long of a list of things that I didn’t have time for. With Heavenly Father’s help I’ve realized that walking is a beautiful balance for me. My body is in better shape. I don’t have to shower after, and I get sunshine. It doesn’t stress me out like jogging did.
I hope that when it comes to exercise, you will realize as I have that it is extremely important. It will help you feel up your bucket and keep your body in shape. In time, Heavenly Father will also help you know what particular exercise routine is best for your if you ask for His guidance.
He is good
Through all of the many life lessons I have learned in this homeschooling journey, the biggest is God’s grace is good. He gives us the strength to do all things that He has called us to do. He has called me to homeschool, and He will make me equal to the task in everyway. As I pray and you pray to Him each day, He listens to our heartfelt prayers. He cares deeply about you and your children and your husband. He cares that you are able to balance relationships, housework, church responsibilities, and your emotional will being. Mama let Him be your guide in this most important work He has called you to.
Thank you for checking out my post. I will continue to provide beneficial information to help make your life more peaceful and joyful. These might include homeschool curriculum, homeschool schedules, homeschool routines, homeschool rooms, and other helpful tips.
Sources
The King James Version of The Holy Bible, New Testament, Matthew 11: 28-30 https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt?lang=eng
Dallin H. Oaks, October 2007, Good Better Best