I started this blog three months ago with  “My Current Challenge as a Homeschooler” and this is what I said….

I am challenged by the concept to disciple my children rather than to educate them.  This is a challenge because I automatically think of academic areas when I think of my children’s needs but in my heart I know the relational, character and life skills are so much what I want to pass onto my children.

Though I have been working on those things for years over the last few months I have found a confidence in what I am doing.  Having this blog has been instrumental in that new felt confidence.

One of the things I have often felt was that I had my ideals and I had my actions and then I had my words.  If I was honest about it I knew that my actions were in keeping with my ideals but my words, were not.  That is to say, that my words were still expressing thoughts that were based on a “school” model for a day regardless of what actually did happen in that day.   It was as if my heart (ideals) and my mind (actions) were renewed but it hadn’t changed my words – especially as I assessed the success of our days. 

This blog has made me see the words.  As I have blogged everyday about what we have done in our home I can see my ideals in action in front of my very eyes! 

I now know that we focus on relational issues (horizontal relationships as well as vertical), character issues, and life skills.  I also know that we hold high the education of the mind though it has its place in our whole life.  I also now hear myself say things that reflect this way of life. 

So now I feel as if I am ready to focus on a new challenge.  Of course the challenge to disciple my children in the ways of God, and in the ways He would have for them is always at the fore of my mind.  But…. In order to grow we need to be stretched!  So I am going to set myself a new challenge.