When Homeschooling Is Hard

December 4, 2013 Leave a Comment

The school year is half way through. We are done with our second quarter and will be going for our portfolio review soon. This school year hasn’t been an easy one for us. There are days that I really want to stop homeschooling and enroll my kids in a  school. I thought that as the years go on, it would be easier to homeschool but I am learning that is not necessarily true.

Homeschooling for four years now, I probably expect to see more development of character like discipline and diligence but sometimes, it is not easy to see these in your children. As I consulted with other homeschool families, those who have been homeschooling longer than I have, you will not see the good results immediately in your children. It takes time to mold a character.

I also realized that as I homeschool my children, my own character is being shaped and changed by the Lord. Am I being faithful in what the Lord has tasked me to do? Or am I being irritable because of inconveniences that I experience? Am I diligently praying for them? Or am I spending too much time online?

When I calm down, and think the situation through, I know that God has not called us to stop homeschooling now. In fact, he wants us to persevere and continue on this path less traveled. It is certainly a harder route to take but as I have learned through the years, the harder route makes us rely more on Christ and less on ourself.

When homeschooling is hard, don’t just give up. Pray and reflect. Seek the Lord and listen to His instructions. Most often than not, God is talking to you about your own character. Persevere and depend on the Lord to help you fulfill the task He has called you to do.

Filed Under: reflections

Looking Back

November 28, 2013 2 Comments

The last month of the year is almost here. It is time to reflect back and see how the year went for us. Before this year started, I created a list of personal goals. It reflected what I believe God has called me to do this year.

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As I am looking at my list, I am thankful that most of my goals have been met. I have been able to serve the Lord in whatever capacity I can through leading small groups, helping out in the children’s ministry and to be diligent in all that I do. I was able to be more consistent in reading the Bible daily and spending quality time with the Lord in prayer. I have tried my best to honor others by my speech, thoughts and actions, sending encouragement and giving gifts to friends.

Of course, there are also some things that I wasn’t able to do especially in the area of my financial goals. And there were hard homeschooling days as well. And days when I really felt that down and uncertain about where our life was heading.

But God did have some surprises along the way too. The clavicle injury and  the tooth surgery of my diabetic hubby were definitely not in our plans.  The vacation in Singapore was truly a blessing I wasn’t expecting.

Throughout the whole year, I saw how God supplied our needs and gave us blessings, most of them intagible. The love, the sacrifices and the unity we have in our family is a blessing that can often be taken for granted, but something that I witnessed the whole year through.

Looking back, I see how blessed I have been. It has  truly been a privilege and a joy to serve the Lord.

 

 

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Discontentment to Joy

November 26, 2013 2 Comments

joyHave you been discontented lately? Wanting more and becoming restless? I have. Life has been overwhelming lately with all the bills and financial obligations. It has really made me uneasy and I feel like I need to do more. I have been thinking about possibilities and most of the time, I end up feeling anxious and trapped.

I realize that I have been focusing too much on my problems and forgetting how big and great my God is. As soon as I refocused my thinking on Him, the anxious feeling and the uncertainty of our future didn’t seem to matter as much as it did.

As I have been meditating on Psalms lately and Psalm 23 “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want” has touched my heart. I just need to see that the Lord is leading us where we would grow, providing for our daily needs, protecting us from harm and that He is with us every step of the way. I remembered that God has called me to be faithful in fulfilling my roles – as a wife, a mom, sister, daughter, friend and disciple of Christ. And lift everything to Him. I just need to trust in His goodness and in His love. The discontentment has now  been replaced with thankfulness and abounding joy.

If you are feeling discontented and anxious:

Take a step back. Refocus your thoughts on God’s faithfulness. God has provided for everything you needed before, He will surely help you through your current situation.

Trust in God. God knows what is best for us and He will lead us there. Surrender your worries and let God be God in your situation.

Thank God. The antidote for discontentment is to be thankful and grateful. Reflect on all the blessings God has given you and reflect on God’s character. This will definitely give you peace and joy, no matter what circumstances you are facing. Let us not allow our selves to wallow in discontentment, but seek God to find lasting joy.

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Reflections of A Stay At Home Mom

November 22, 2013 6 Comments

After being a full time stay at home mom for almost  10 years, I can honestly say that managing the household is much like running your own corporation. You need to have good managerial skills to ensure that the family’s schedule don’t get too busy or overlap with one another. Financial skills is needed to ensure that you don’t go over the budget and that money is being used properly. Good decision making is crucial to make sure that wise decisions are made every day in every area of life so that the family operates the best possible way.

As a homemaker, there are days that I find my work tedious and repetitive. Cleaning the house, cooking the meals, washing the dishes, doing the laundry and fixing the mess around is not as glamorous as working in an air conditioned office or consolidating reports for your boss. In fact, there are days that I also have to clean the toilets, the garden and make sure that no pests are lurking around the house. If needed and if finances allow, I get extra help to make sure I cover the things that I can not do like calling extermination dorval to help me elimiante pests. On top of all these, I also homeschool and spend time with my children.

As I look back at the past years, I realized I have no awards to show. I don’t have any achievements that I can boast about. But by the grace of God, I look at our family and these are the people who I have invested my energy, my time and my passion. I see how the children have grown over the years and how my husband has been able to pursue his calling in his life. All of life’s milestones, the answered prayers, the struggles and trials we had to face each day together and the Lord’s faithfulness are what kept me going all these years.

The tedious and repetitive tasks that I do are all done out of love and service to my family. During tough days, I know that I have fulfilled what God has tasked me to do and that is enough to encourage me to go on. That decision to become a stay at home mom several years ago has allowed me to grow in ways I couldn’t have imagined, probably even more than when I was still working my way up on the corporate ladder.

I do not know what our future may bring but today, as I look back at the choice I made almost 10 years ago, I am blessed by where God has led my family. My heart is full.

Filed Under: motherhood, reflections Tagged With: , ,

You Can Homeschool Conference

November 20, 2013 1 Comment

Last Saturday, I attended You Can Homeschool conference of Manila Workshops and The Learning Basket at Ortigas from 10am to 4pm. I was invited as one of the break out group facilitators.

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I was happy to see many parents so enthusiastic about homeschooling.

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Three guest speakers gave inspiring and informative talks the whole morning. Thammie Sy spoke about the heart of homeschooling,  Frannie Daez spoke about the myths of homeschooling while Edric Mendoza spoke about homeschooling in the Philippines.

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There were several Dep Ed accredited Home Education Providers (HEP) present like VCIS, CFA and TMA.
It was a good forum as parents were able to inquire and compare the top HEP in the country.

There were also different booths where parents can see and buy different curriculum, tutorial centers, educational games, museums and books.
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Afterwards, the parents were divided into several groups and each group had a homeschooling mom who shared about their personal homeschool journey.

It was a well spent afternoon for me as I got to share our homeschool experience with interested parents, and I was encouraged myself as I listened to the testimonies of the different homeschool graduates.

As I said to the group I handled, homeschooling  is difficult but at the end of the journey, it will be all worth it.

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