Worry

                 By Julie Danielson

   Testing can be stressful.  Mostly it’s stressful for the homeschooling Mom.  I know because I’m writing this while my children are taking an achievement test with other home school students. I worry that I haven’t taught them everything they need to know for their grade level. I worry that they will panic in the testing room and not do well even though they know the subject.  I worry that they won’t care enough to really try hard to do well on the test.  Worry, worry, worry.

     Jesus said some really profound things about worrying.  Let me clarify this last statement before going on . . . Jesus said profound things about everything!  However, about worry, He said this: “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; not about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap not gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add on cubit to his stature?”  Matthew 6:25-27 (NKJV)

     This is amazing!  The Lord takes care of all his creatures and He loves us most, so why wouldn’t He take care of us even more so?  This scripture also reminds me that I need to give my worries and burdens to the Lord, including the children doing well on their achievement tests. The Lord also wants them to do well, so He will guide them and give them wisdom, if I ask!! This is the whole key. Am I giving my children to the Lord?

     The next part is probably the most important of all.  Am I teaching my children to call out to the Lord and to put their trust and faith in Him?  If they don’t understand that God is there for them and that they can rely on Him, I have not taught them the things that they really need to know.  Here in an “achievement test” that is mot important for my children.  Am I spending as much effort teaching them God’s Word as I am Algebra and Science? Yes, it’s important for them to know the “three R’s”, but the most important thing is to know God’s Word and to be proficient in His ways. 

     You probably all ready know this scripture. “Train up a child in the way he should go. And when he is old he will not depart from it”.  Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV) This is truly vital because when our children have forgotten how to diagram a sentence, we don’t want them forgetting what the Lord says regarding His will for their life. Not knowing how to diagram a sentence will not be life threatening, however, not walking in the ways of the Lord. is.

     I know that I can be lax at times about making sure that we spend time in the Word and praying every day as a part of our every day existence. It’s so easy to put off talking with our Savior and reading our Bibles - especially if we get a late start to the day.  I’ve noticed especially this last year with being sick that I have sometimes been panicking because I feel that my children haven’t done enough schooling and we need to do more.  The easiest, but not smartest thing, to “put off”, is our time with God because we don’t have a measuring stick to se what we are doing with the Lord. By this I mean, when we are doing a set curriculum with so many pages in the book and a teacher plan, we know immediately when we fall behind in our schooling. We know that on May 6th, we are still doing work that should have been completed April 4th. This is where the panic sets in. We don’t really have a measuring stick like this for our time with God so it’s so easy to put Him off and get back to Him later. This is not good.  We know it’s not good, but it’s so easy to do! 

     Here are a few things that I’ve decided to implement into our daily lives and I’m hoping it will guide me and help me to make sure my children are keeping “on schedule” in their spiritual life.

     A.  A daily bible reading schedule. There are many available from churches and online. There are even bibles that you can buy that are set up to read certain passages for each day of the year. My favorite plan is one Cindy Rushton has on her “Brain in a Binder” CD. It is made up of blocks that you can mark out when you are done reading certain scripture passages.  It allows you to read and start where you want to in the bible, and it’s very satisfying to mark out the little blocks when you are done.  It’s give you a “Measuring stick” of what you have read in the bible.

     B.  Prayer time as a family.  I have had my children start making a prayer list of those they would like to pray for. During our prayer time, we talk about people or concerns we have in our own lives.  We pray for our family, friends and for each other.  It’s a sweet time we share together with the Lord.

     I hope I have inspired you, as you begin your new school year, to have peace in the Lord an to spend time with your children, “choosing that good part, which will not be taken away”. Luke 10:42 (NKJV)

  ©2006 Julie Danielson