Disciple

You may have noticed that I am posting more than normal lately but I just can't contain myself. God has been speaking so clearly and so often that I have to put it somewhere besides my journal. I need to share it!  My latest jewel from the Word is Isaiah 50:4. God has been re-directing my heart in the area of homeschool all summer. It is not just about academics or from some idea that I must protect the kids from the evil public school. It has really been a matter of what is best for our kids. Most of you may not remember that Josiah began Kindergarten in our public school but it was a difficult road to walk with his special needs and it was disheartening to watch our sweet boy turn into a ball of nerves and anger. So when he came home for Spring Break and began to become his normal sweet self, we never let him go back.  As noble as that rescue may have been, the truth is homeschooling is not for the faint of heart and probably should not be done unless the Lord has specifically called you to it.  There is no way you can succeed without being totally reliant upon Him day to day.


But this summer God has been stirring my heart regarding discipleship and the need for me to disciple my kids and be purposeful about it within their school time.  I just finished a study on Joseph's life and it was amazing for me to learn that 90+ of his 110 years of life were spent in slavery. Yet Joseph knew the God of Jacob. He understood His Holiness and His Sovereignty enough to remain an upright man despite his circumstances. And I wondered- If my kids were torn from me like Daniel or Joseph and taken to their own Babylon or Egypt would they remain faithful to the God of their forefathers? Would they know enough of God's character and His promises to stand firm in the midst of chaos and trouble? 


So I began studying discipleship. The first verse I came to is Isaiah 50:4.  
Holman Christian Standard reads:

The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are instructed 

to know how to sustain the weary with a word. He awakens me each morning. 

He awakens my ear to listen like those being instructed.

New American Standard reads:

The Lord God has given me the tongue of disciples.

that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. 

He awakens me morning by morning.

 He awakens my ear to listen like those being instructed.

New Living reads:

The Sovereign Lord has given me His words of wisdom,
      so that I know how to comfort the weary.
   Morning by morning He wakens me
      and opens my understanding to His will.

As I began to look up key words, I was awed by their meaning.  

Disciple: at its root means to goad, to teach, instruct.

Know: to ascertain by seeing, used in a great variety of senses.

Sustain: to hasten, succor, speak in season

Word: a matter, spoken of, to speak in a sense subdue, answer

ear: hear, broaden at ear with hand

listen: to hear intelligently, witness, discern, be obedient

As I continue to ponder this I see my personal need to broaden my ear with my hand to the promptings of the Holy Spirit as well as a need for me to speak with wisdom to my kids in all matters.  But I cannot speak with such wisdom if I am not listening to the Sovereign Lord myself. So the beginning of this road to disciple the kids begins with me and my relationship with the Lord in hope that the kids will one day remember the God of their father Dustin which is the God of Jacob, Abraham and Isaac.

This year's school verse..... (drum roll please)

"He will teach us how we should live.  

Then we will live the way He wants us to."

Isaiah 2:3b (NIRV)

Creekside Learning Center Year 4

My mind has been on overdrive as we get ready for another year of homeschooling. Tomorrow is the big day! We begin our 4th year of Creekside Learning Center, our homeschool.  Over the summer God has been reminding me that it is not curriculum that makes our school unique. Nor is it the worksheets we complete or the concepts learned. Rather it is the opportunity to disciple my kids.  Am I more concerned with the heart or their academics? Am I mindful that school is more than a checklist of subjects completed? It is also about character, family and faith.  It is about investing into my children.  This path we have chosen is not for the faint of heart. And it is not to be taken lightly. Nor should I even think I could do this without the Providential hand of God guiding me every step of the way. I am feeling very somber about the beginning of our school year.  I desperately want to be purposeful in our daily class time.  Purposeful to point to the many ways God is in each subject. To live before the kids a life dependent upon the Holy Spirit and to examine the heart of the issue not just gloss over the subject.


Josiah will begin third grade, Naomi second. We have the literature. We have the paper and pencils. And now we invite God to lead us in this adventure. To teach us, humble us and make known His Name for His Name's sake.