I believe that God is doing a wonderful work in homeschool families. Society has failed families in many ways. The world has led women to believe their value is in the workplace, rather than in the home. It has led parents to believe that children will be behind if they don't go to preschool to prepare for public school. Society has led people to think only professional teachers with education degrees are capable of teaching children.  Those misconceptions have sent families in all different directions with very little time together. Our time with our children is a precious gift. God's word emphasizes the importance of quantity time, as well as quality time with our children. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says, "And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." Notice that God says YOU shall teach them diligently to YOUR children. It's not the job of either the government or the Christian school to teach our children His word. God gives that responsibility to parents, and homeschooling is the best opportunity for discipling our children. God affirms homeschooling.

I am so encouraged by talking with other homeschool parents about how their families are growing closer together and towards the Lord. Long before I ever considered homeschooling, a woman talked about how God is continually growing us as we are growing our children. While homeschooling can be very rewarding and enjoyable, it can also be very humbling and demanding at times. Homeschooling pushes us towards God as we pray for guidance about character issues, curriculum choices, and His will. I believe that God can use other homeschool families to encourage us and affirm homeschooling. Many times an encouraging word has been just what I needed to hear to fight off discouragement. It takes time to cultivate friendships, but the encouragement and affirmation that my family and I receive from other homeschool families makes it worth the effort.

Time and time again God affirms His will for us to homeschool through the rich relationships He's developing among my family. I am so blessed to witness how my boys love and care for each other, their father and me. When you spend as much time together as we do, you learn to get along. It isn't always easy, and I know that we all have bad days, but I can't imagine how different our family would be if we were all apart from each other for 8 hours a day! I was raised pretty much as an only child and I can remember dreaming of someday having a house full of children. I thought my friends with siblings were so lucky to always have someone to play with and talk to, but they usually thought I was the lucky one! Most of them didn't really enjoy their time with their siblings and always wanted to get a break from them. While I know everyone needs time alone occasionally, I love watching siblings choose to play and work together.