Originally posted on The Forum on August 13th, 2007

I am not, for the first time in 22 years, starting school with K-12 this year. [sniff*]

However, I well remember almost every one of the 22 times that I did. I likened the week before to warming up the jets before lumbering down a LONG runway to finally take off and achieve lift-off into that smooth flow that generally characterized my homeschooling year.

Some years, that lumbering, straining, ramping-up to take-off speed lasted for WEEKS; other years, we were soaring after the first week or two. If it was the former, I certainly was tempted to stress out, get my eyes off of God, and attempt to get everyone INTO LINE via my own efforts. I easily relied on myself and lost sight of God, His purposes in me and my kids, and His grace for homeschooling. (Sad to say, the reverse was equally true: all too often, when we soared early, I gave myself a pat on the back AND the glory. )

I wanted to say a few words to the TOG moms who are just starting with a brand new program. Please remember, as you approach the runway, that TOG is going to look different in all families because it's designed for many different KINDS of families to easily adapt it. That's what we mean when we attempt to warn new moms of the "four-week fog." You may feel that you are "missing it" or "aren't getting it" but try rather to think, "I am coming up to speed with a brand new skill."

Here's another helpful (I hope) analogy: it takes more time for a new bride to cook her first Thanksgiving dinner for all the relatives than it does for a mother of five who has been having the relatives over for 15 years, right? Why should learning a whole new system for teaching all kids simultaneously be any different? Give yourself grace and space and realize that this is a GREAT time to rely on the grace of God.

Let me take this opportunity to preach a little truth to all new TOG moms from a Titus 2 platform:
1. He is with you, and nothing you "drop" in your homeschooling journey will truly HARM you or your kids. If we are doing our level best, it just humbles us and should make us turn to Him to make it all ok.

2. He is NOT surprised at any obstacle you face. Obstacles test us to see if we will try to muddle through on our own, or turn to God in faith and trust and watch Him make our paths straight.

3. He loves it when we are weak, for then His strength is displayed and perfected in our weakness.

As I often remind moms in my teaching sessions, homeschool is as much about OUR sanctification and growth in God as it is about our kids'. Big Grin I pray for all of us in starting school this year that Satan will gain no foothold in the fertile soil of our self-sufficiency, but rather that we will ALL cast our cares on Him, because He cares for us! Here are some verses for us to all meditate on as we start our year:

Proverbs 3:5-8 (ESV)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
[6] In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
[7] Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
[8] It will be healing to your flesh
and refreshment to your bones.

Psalm 37:3-8 (ESV)
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
[4] Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
[5] Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
[6] He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.
[7] Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
[8] Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

2 Cor. 11:30 (ESV)
If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

2 Cor. 12:9-10 (ESV)
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. [10] For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Cor. 13:4 (ESV)
For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God.

James 4:6 (ESV)
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

James 4:10 (ESV)
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

1 Peter 5:6-7 (ESV)
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, [7] casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.


*I DO however have two girls starting fresh at two different college campuses!