Life as a Lifeschooler

It’s easy to slip into the thinking that if we just homeschool, all will turn out fine. Our children will grow up to love God; they will be well-educated and spiritually mature, always following the Lord and living godly lives.

Wrong.

A quick search of the internet will prove this is simply not the case. I loved the blog post Israel Wayne posted not too long ago addressing the current trend of homeschoolers who are rejecting their parents’ faith and basically dishonoring them.

(Can I just say that I literally laughed out loud when I read this line: “I just want to say to everyone who wishes that I was writing blogs about how badly my life sucks lollipops…I’m sorry I’ve disappointed you by having a happy and satisfied life.”).

And then, of course, there’s the story of Josh Harris, who grew up a zealot of homeschooling, courtship, and so many good things, only to recently divorce his wife and leave his faith, rejecting all he supposedly once held important. What a sad time for his parents.

Oh, dear homeschoolers. Once again, we have to be reminded that life is not about a checklist. We so easily forget, don’t we? There are no secret formulas, no magic bullets. You can’t manufacture a genuine relationship. There is no amount of work you can invest that will guarantee your children will turn out fine.

Homeschooling is great. I personally think it’s the obvious best option for educating and investing time into one’s children to build strong relationships. But it’s not the secret formula and relying on that alone will only bring frustration and disappointment.

But fret not. God doesn’t want us to just throw up our hands and sing Que Sera, Sera. We can look to Scripture and look to godly examples around us to learn some ideas for helping our children grow into spiritually mature adults who love God. We cannot force them to love the Lord, but we can entice them towards a deep relationship by showing them how precious it is!

Here are some ideas:

1. Make your relationship with the Lord your top priority.

How can you expect your children to love God if you don’t love Him with all of your heart? The very best thing you can do is lead by example. Spend time with Him daily and share what He is teaching you. When your children see that God is a priority and when they hear you speak about Him, they will be drawn towards Him.

I could probably end this entire blog post with this first point because it is just that important and impactful! But I won’t…

2. Start early encouraging your children to spend time with the Lord daily.

We have always made daily devotions a part of our children’s required “daily chores.” That might sound terrible, but the Bible does talk about “disciplining ourselves unto godliness.” Part of the Christian walk is self-discipline and if we want them to truly love God, then we must teach our children to be self-disciplined early. They need to learn how to “own” their faith.

When they were young, they read this Learn to Read Bible, among other Bible story books. They also enjoyed these inductive Bible studies by Kay Arthur. Korban also really loves these books. They are short and address specific sins through the eyes of a child, with Scripture references to go along with them.

Something else we did was to encourage them to pray for wisdom like Solomon did. I remember specifically having this conversation with our oldest son, Konur, and seeing the impact it made on him to think that he could have as much wisdom as he wanted simply by asking in faith!

We watched him grow spiritually even as a young child and we didn’t even have to ask how it happened. We knew he was praying for wisdom. Today, that boy spends hours in prayer and Bible reading daily and has a close walk with the Lord.

3. Have daily devotions time as a family.

Fathers are called to be the “priests of their homes,” but many households do not have regular family devotions. It is not always easy and grace is sometimes needed for difficult schedules, but it’s important to make a commitment to do something! Martin Luther is famously quoted as saying, “Work, work from early until late. In fact, I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.”

There is always time! Even if it just starts with just one song, reading a couple verses, and praying through a prayer list, if it’s a daily time together as a family, God will honor the effort and increase the desire. It is very impactful for your children to see their father leading spiritually and worshiping the God he loves.

I think it’s so important to focus on reading the Bible, but stories can also be helpful, especially for younger children. These books are a current favorite of my seven-year-old’s.

4. Make the Lord a part of everyday life, not a separate subject.

Talk about Him as you go through your day. Remember all the things He has done for you and your family and recount them to your children. (Hmmm… this sounds strangely similar to Deuteronomy 6:4-9, doesn’t it? )

In our family, we often talk about how good God has been to us by providing our homestead to us for $40,000. It’s an incredible story! We also recount other specific answers to prayer, like the time I cried out in desperation for my husband to get a different job and that very day he was let go. It might not sound like an answer, but we knew it was! And God provided a better job a short time later.

Encourage them to pray specifically and point out the times when God has answered their requests, too. God is a good Father and loves to give good gifts to His children. Once, Korban prayed for 6 inches of snow. God answered that prayer and actually gave him an inch more! We made sure to tell him what a special answer to prayer that was and how much God loves him, and he continues to bring that story up. God didn’t have to answer the request, but He delighted to do so!

5. Get to their hearts with Scripture.

When you train them, God’s Word should always be what you use to exhort and encourage. So often we focus on changing their behavior so that we can be more comfortable or so that we don’t look like bad parents. But if we want our children to love God, our focus should always be on Christ. How does their behavior make Him look?

We need to get to their hearts and focus on their motivations for doing right. What does the Bible say about their behavior? Do they truly love God and want to please Him? Do they remember all the Jesus did to pay for those sins they are committing? Do they know how much He loves them and longs to have a relationship with them?

We must always bring it back to the Gospel.

One of our favorite resources for doing this was a book called Parenting with Scripture. It’s a topical book that helps us address different kinds of behavior issues using Scripture and activities to go along with it. We also tried to have clear expectations and swift consequences for disobedience. Allowing things to slide leads to anger and nothing will harden a child quicker than parents disciplining in anger.

6. Be open and real about your faith.

Kids are perceptive. They know when you are not being real with them and teens, especially, can smell hypocrisy a mile away. When they are young, they may let it slide because you are still their hero. But when they get older, they have no qualms about calling you out on all the inconsistencies they have seen for years.

You have two choices: You can respond in humility or you can respond in pride. Pride says, “I am the parent and I am in charge. I have my reasons. Do as I say, not as I do.” Trust me, you won’t get very far with that approach and it will not draw your teens closer to Christ.

Humility, on the other hand, says, “You are right. I didn’t see that, but I need to change and I will work on it. (And, by the way, I love you, but you need to work on how you confront authority.)” That last part may or may not be necessary. But the point is, don’t let their own spiritual immaturity and hypocrisy blind you from the sin they are pointing out.

When you are humble enough to admit wrongs and share your heart about how God is teaching you, they will let down their own defenses and share their own struggles. This brings us right back around to the first point. Again, it’s about modeling what you want to see and leading by example.

Of course, when it gets right down to it, prayer is the number one, most powerful tool we have to ensure that our children grow up to love God and serve Him!

All of these practical ideas are just empty works without the power of the Holy Spirit to work in their hearts. We must always be seeking Him and asking Him to reveal to us the specific ways that we can encourage our children’s relationship with the Lord.

I hope this encourages you and gives you some practical help in raising up children who love God with all of their hearts, souls, and minds! We can’t control their hearts, but we can make a big impact if we follow the Lord’s leading and humbly walk along side them.

Also, if you’d like to actually be able to see me while you listen to this episode, be sure to watch it on my new YouTube channel!

The post How to Raise Children Who Love God appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

I always love sitting down and having a good chat with my son, Konur. I feel blessed that we connect so easily on so many topics and this boy is wise beyond his years! On this episode, I wanted to talk with him about his lifeschooling journey in general, and then specifically talk about what books he feels have been most beneficial in his learning.

Part of my goal was to encourage moms of high schoolers to consider all that can be done through a lifeschooling approach, and that even kids who are headed toward college don’t necessarily need to have their high school years look “traditional.” I promised to put a link to this book, College Without High School: A Teenager’s Guide to Skipping High School and Going to College, in these show notes, so there you go! (Disclaimer: I am still reading this one, but so far I think it’s brilliant!)

One of the ironies about this interview is that even though our topic of discussion was books, we forgot to even mention that he and his friend, Emma Grace, are actually in the process of writing a book together! I guess that means we’ll just have to set up another interview when it finally comes out! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!

Here are some of the questions we discussed:

The post Lifeschooling and Books – Konur Papageorgiou appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

Have you ever wondered why we don’t take the Bible more seriously when it comes to the topic of blessing our children and what it might look like on a practical level? What a fun talk I had about this topic with Pat Fenner, author of Blessing the Next Generation, on this week’s episode! 

Pat Fenner loves talking and writing about the topics closest to her heart: parenting and homeschooling. Her books, Blessing the Next Generation and Celebrating the Feast: A Christian Guide to Passover —evolved from family traditions she and her husband Paul have enjoyed in their 30+ years of marriage. Another e-book: Homeschooling Outside the Box, originally published by The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, describes some of the real-life activities she incorporated over the years in their own homeschool. She writes regularly at her blog breakthroughhomeschooling.com, where she shares parenting and homeschooling encouragement and tools and is a regular contributor to various other faith, parenting and homeschool blogs.

Here are some of the questions that we chatted about:

If you want to learn more from Pat and purchase any of her books, be sure to visit her at patfenner.me. You can also visit her author page on Amazon.

The post Blessing the Next Generation – Pat Fenner appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

For this episode, I enjoyed talking with Julie Polanco about lifeschooling and how beautifully it has fit with her unique family situation of dealing not only with multiple food allergies, but also special needs!

Julie Polanco loves Jesus and leads worship for the women’s ministry at her local church. But, her job is a 16+-year veteran homeschooling mom of four children, all of whom have food allergies and special needs, including ADHD, Asperger’s, gifted, sensory/regulation issues, and anxiety disorder.

Over the years, she has served on her support group’s board and founded and led a new support group for relaxed homeschoolers. She also teaches middle school science workshops for a homeschool co-op. She has graduated two from homeschool and recently became a grandma. Julie is also a trained Master Herbalist in western herbal practice and is completing formal training in aromatherapy. She has managed her family’s health, food and environmental allergies, and her own chronic illness for more than twenty years using a natural and integrative approach. She loves fermenting food, urban gardening, finding ways to practice better stewardship, and all things that align with God’s gifts to us through nature.

Here are some of the questions we discussed on the show:

If you would like to order a copy of Julie’s book, God-Schooling, you can find it on Amazon. Be sure to visit Julie’s site at JulieNaturally.com.

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to check out one of our most popular episodes, The Joy of Relationship Homeschooling with Karen Campbell.

Opening nationwide on August 23, OVERCOMER dares to leave you filled with hope, inspired to dream, and asks the question: what do you allow to define you?

The post Special Needs and Lifeschooling – Julie Polanco appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

We hope you are enjoying your summer break!  Here’s one of our best episodes to brighten your summer day:  For this episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with Durenda Wilson, author of The Unhurried Homeschooler, a mercifully short book on homeschooling, and Unhurried Grace for a Mom’s Heart. I just love Durenda’s heart for unhurried homeschooling and her passion for helping moms learn to trust fully in the Lord with their children’s education. I know you will be blessed, too!

Durenda is a homeschooling mom of eight (born 1991-2004), five of whom have graduated. She has been married for 28 years to Darryl and they have 4 grandchildren. Durenda has written The Unhurried Homeschooler-a simple, mercifully short book on homeschooling and Unhurried Grace for a Mom’s Heart. She is the owner/writer/host of her blog and podcast, Durenda Wilson. She is called to a ministry of encouragement and has a very special place in her heart for moms and homeschooling moms because she believes, for many reasons, that motherhood is not only a gift, but often the unseen place where God moves in very powerful ways. This is why she is convinced that Christian moms must have a working knowledge of the Word that will give them the courage to raise their children as faithful followers of Christ above all else.

Here is what I asked Durenda on the show:

And that’s Life as a Lifeschooler! Subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode. Hope you’ll join us next time!

Opening nationwide on August 23, OVERCOMER dares to leave you filled with hope, inspired to dream, and asks the question: what do you allow to define you?

The post Best of Life as a Lifeschooler: Unhurried Homeschooling with Durenda Wilson appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

We hope you are enjoying your summer break!  Here’s one of our best episodes to brighten your summer day: What makes homeschool co-ops good? And what makes them bad or downright ugly? Are there certain things that we should look for when we try to find a co-op?

On this episode, veteran homeschooler Christi Deason and I tackle the issue of homeschool co-ops and try to answer these questions. When Christi was homeschooling her children, the landscape of homeschooling and co-ops looked different than it does now. We talk about what has changed and where we see problems developing.

It seems everyone these days who homeschools is involved in a homeschool co-op of some sort. In fact, in the survey we conducted before this interview, all the respondents except one indicated that they had been involved in a co-op at some point in their homeschooling. But is it truly necessary for all families to even be involved in a co-op?

Our opinion is, simply, no. What works for some, may not work for your family. And there is nothing wrong with being your child’s sole teacher! For the homeschool pioneers, this was normal. Remember, homeschooling is about freedom, and your children will be successful if you follow the Lord’s leading.

So how do you know if a co-op is right for your family? We give some suggestions to help you determine if a homeschool co-op is right for you and some ideas of what to look for. Here are a few tips:

Here are some other things to remember:

There are some great co-ops out there! Just be careful to pray first and be discerning during the vetting process. Know what you want and don’t settle for any homeschool co-op simply because you think you need to. At the end of the journey, YOU are the teacher and you and your spouse are the ones responsible for your children’s education. God will show you what is best if you trust Him.

As part of our commitment to personalized homeschooling, we are proud to offer both secular and Christian options for homeschool families, charter schools, state organizations, co-ops, athletic organizations, arts schools, and others who seek flexible education options for their families.

The post Best of Life as a Lifeschooler: Co-ops: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

We hope you are enjoying your summer break!  Here’s one of our best episodes to brighten your summer day:  On this episode, I talk to one of my new favorite pioneer homeschoolers, Karen Campbell, about relationship homeschooling! Interestingly, I went to college with Karen’s daughter, Mollie, but didn’t know her very well and had no idea she had even been homeschooled. After connecting with Mollie on Instagram recently, I saw a few of her mother’s posts and was delighted to discover that she had homeschooled back in the early days, and that we were kindred spirits in our philosophies.

This interview did not disappoint! I enjoyed listening to it again myself, and I know it is going to bless you to hear Karen’s wisdom as she shares some of her experiences from the “pioneer days.” Here are some of the questions and topics we discussed:

Be sure to check out Karen’s excellent book, “The Joy of Relationship Homeschooling: When the One Anothers Come Home.” And also take some time to visit her site, ThatMom.com, where you will find many insightful blog posts and podcast episodes.

The post Best of Life as a Lifeschooler: The Joy of Relationship Homeschooling with Karen Campbell appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

We hope you are enjoying your summer break!  Here’s one of our best episodes to brighten your summer day:  What a joy to chat again with my friend, Ana Willis! Ana calls herself an “unhurried homeschooler,” giving a nod to one of her (and my) homeschool mentors, Durenda Wislon. (Both Durenda and Ana will be speaking at this year’s Lifeschooling Conference!)

Ana is the unhurried homeschool mom of 3, wife, health coach, social media and online marketing strategist, and blogger. She loves to encourage, inspire and empower moms to go from stressed to blessed by providing them with the tips, strategies, and resources they need to succeed.

Ana is the founder of They Call Me Blessed and Hebrew for Homeschoolers, and the creator of 5 Days to Your Best Homeschool Years, Grow Your Blog Partying in 30 Days, and the Beyond Blessed Life Planners. She also leads a vibrant online community for moms on Facebook.

Here are some of the questions I asked Ana on the show:

And don’t forget, you can hear more from Ana this July at our virtual Lifeschooling Conference! Tickets go on sale in June, but you can sign up to be notified at www.LifeschoolConference.om by clicking “Grab my Free Ticket.”

The post Best of Life as a Lifeschooler: Unhurried Homeschooling with Ana Willis appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

On this episode, I talk with Jamie Erickson about her book, Homeschool Bravely, and how moms can learn to overcome their fear in homeschooling, trusting that God will complete a good work in their children.

Jamie Erickson taught elementary school before becoming a mother. When her first child turned five she made the decision to homeschool her daughter. Four more children followed and she homeschools all five. Jamie is the founder of The Unlikely Homeschool and a popular education blogger. Her website, social media channels, and blog encourage and equip a growing tribe of more than 50,000 homeschooling mothers around the world. She has written for a number of homeschool publications and is also a co-host of the Mom to Mom Podcast.

Here are some of the questions I asked:

If you’d like to learn more about Jamie, visit her website at www.theunlikelyhomeschool.com. To read a free sample of her book, Homeschool Bravely, visit www.homeschoolbravely.com.

The post Homeschool Bravely – Jamie Erickson appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.

What a joy to chat again with my friend, Ana Willis! Ana calls herself an “unhurried homeschooler,” giving a nod to one of her (and my) homeschool mentors, Durenda Wislon. (Both Durenda and Ana will be speaking at this year’s Lifeschooling Conference!)

Ana is the unhurried homeschool mom of 3, wife, health coach, social media and online marketing strategist, and blogger. She loves to encourage, inspire and empower moms to go from stressed to blessed by providing them with the tips, strategies, and resources they need to succeed.

Ana is the founder of They Call Me Blessed and Hebrew for Homeschoolers, and the creator of 5 Days to Your Best Homeschool Years, Grow Your Blog Partying in 30 Days, and the Beyond Blessed Life Planners. She also leads a vibrant online community for moms on Facebook.

Here are some of the questions I asked Ana on the show:

And don’t forget, you can hear more from Ana this July at our virtual Lifeschooling Conference! Tickets go on sale in June, but you can sign up to be notified at www.LifeschoolConference.om by clicking “Grab my Free Ticket.”

The post Unhurried Homeschooling – Ana Willis appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.