We have had a great start to a new year, so I am not complaining. Its actually what I believe God has called for our family. What I have to be careful about though, is saying "yes" to everything, trying out too many activities, and slowing our pace down, so that we can not only enjoy the freedoms of homeschooling, but also the benefits of homeschooling.
This month(Sept.) we are going to do a family project together. We are going to make an "Our Family Blessings" book. I am really excited about it, even though I got the usual groans and moans of the kids,"another thing to do?", "really, I don't want to!" Let me call the Whambulance!!!!! Yes, we are creating this wonderful home made family book, and You All will thank me later, maybe much later, way down the road later, but you will thank me.
This month(Sept.) we are going to do a family project together. We are going to make an "Our Family Blessings" book. I am really excited about it, even though I got the usual groans and moans of the kids,"another thing to do?", "really, I don't want to!" Let me call the Whambulance!!!!! Yes, we are creating this wonderful home made family book, and You All will thank me later, maybe much later, way down the road later, but you will thank me.
The idea came to me because, lately on my heart, I feel that we as a society are so consumed with what everyone else has,or does and are so thorough in counting up everyone else's blessings, that we forget to count our own. Then at church on Sunday, I heard about a woman making a blessings diary, and it hit me, we are going to do that as a family. I want my family,I am including myself here, to realize how much we actually have,and how blessed we are on a daily,weekly, monthly and yearly basis. Its a simple idea, we have a book that we design and decorate, and every day each of us will write one thing that blessed us that day, and one thing we did to bless someone else.I want to teach my children, and remind myself, its not just about receiving the blessing,but more importantly.. its about being a blessing.
In this day and age, too many young people are growing up with the concept of "its all about me", and instant gratification. I want my children to grow up, knowing how blessed they are,and to stop comparing what they have or don't have as the measure of success. I want them to know how to live in contentment in the place they are right now, NOT, to be confused with complacence.
There is a difference: contentment is being at peace, and knowing that God has you EXACTLY where he wants you, however, you continue to strive towards your goals, and successes. Complacent is the opposite, where you are so comfortable being in a place, you do not grow or move, and that is not what God calls us to do. If you are not growing, spiritually, mentally, physically, emotionally,or even successfully, you are dead.
There is a difference: contentment is being at peace, and knowing that God has you EXACTLY where he wants you, however, you continue to strive towards your goals, and successes. Complacent is the opposite, where you are so comfortable being in a place, you do not grow or move, and that is not what God calls us to do. If you are not growing, spiritually, mentally, physically, emotionally,or even successfully, you are dead.
I want to teach my children that our blessings, their blessings, will look completely different than any one else's, and why wouldn't it? We are all uniquely made, and our creator knows what is the best for each of us.I also want this to help them become more aware of the small daily blessings, instead of always looking for the huge,miraculous, ones.I still believe in those, don't get me wrong, however, I don't want them to miss out on the daily ones. I also want to instill in them a desire to give back, to be a blessing to someone else. In this world, we are so programmed be takers,however, there is a need for each of us to give also. We tend to push that unselfish part of our being down so deep that we can ignore it, and forget about it. But,we were created to give back to our community, our family, the poor, the widowed and the children.When we satisfy that need to give from within, we not only become a blessing to another, the giving act itself, becomes the blessing. In this monthly blessing book, I pray that we each grow more towards a thankful heart. I hope that we each become more aware of our surroundings, that we each can go out of our own comfort zones to help someone else, listen to, care for,and encourage. I want us to grow closer as a family, and learn to put the needs of each other above the needs of ourselves. And I want us to sit back and just watch how amazing our Heavenly Father really is! I can not wait to see how this month goes and I can not wait to share how our lives and hearts are changed:)
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