That shouldn’t surprise me, should it?
I had the opportunity to go to a Catholic Homeschooling conference outside of Atlanta this past weekend. It was small, but still I had the opportunity to listen to some good speakers. That is helpful, of course, but I knew that the real reason I went to the conference was when I heard Laura Berquist remind us all that:
“Jesus loves your children more than you do, and wants you to succeed at homeschooling more than you do. So if you are not doing this already, I urge you to take your planners and make a Holy Hour each week. Sit in front of the Blessed Sacrament, pour out your troubles and concerns to Him, and then sit back and listen to what He would want you to do.”
That went straight into my spirit, and I knew immediately that’s what I needed to hear.
Not that I didn’t already know that I needed to rely on Him, or that I needed His guidance, it was just that I had somehow… forgotten… pushed it aside… and through laziness and neglect, had found myself more often than not forgetting to pray for grace before I started our homeschooling day, and the results? Well, let’s just say that they had gotten uglier and uglier.
Now, our parish is not set up so that we can stop in and spend time before the Lord at any hour of the day (sad, but true), so I have not yet been able to make it there; however, I was able to get on my knees yesterday morning and present all my failures and questions to Him, and ask Him to lead us during homeschooling.
And He did. He most definitely did.
Our catechism session that morning could only be described as Holy Spirit led. The conversations we had, the understanding, and the very real tears in the eyes of my kids (and me, too!) as we realized all that we had been given in the Holy Eucharist was nothing short of miraculous.
On a further miraculous note, I was able to get through the entire day WITHOUT getting frustrated. When teaching five children on different levels, as well as dealing with younger ones who need me as well, this is pretty near impossible… but not with Him. I found myself giving kind answers, and being able to answer questions, without resorting to sarcasm or just plain irritation. This is SO miraculous I can’t even begin to describe it. I could no more claim credit for it than I can my eye color or my height. It was a sheer gift of God, given because He truly DOES care what goes on in our little homeschool, right here on my dining room table.
I’m so thankful for the reminder!
Oh Ouiz – I almost went to that conference too!!! But we ended up having Buddy’s birthday party Sunday so I couldn’t go. But that would have been an awesome surprise to see you there 😉
Oh my goodness! Were you REALLY going to drive all the way down here for that? That would have been a HUGE surprise! (Although I think your son’s birthday party trumps all!)
Any chance you’re planning on going to the National one in VA in June?
Well you never know! Send me some info! JP and I were going to fly down.. we fly for free! I think ill hit the one in Indy in may. I could get you a cheap plane ticket….. 😉
Hi, I’ve been stopping by your blog on occasion for a while (can’t remember how I stumbled upon it) and thought I should say hello and let you know that I think your family is lovely. We are in GA, but I grew up in midlands SC. Anyway, I have three children three and under and would like to homeschool in the future. I was curious about the cath. homesc. conference you mentioned in Atlanta; we are in NE GA. I might like to attend in the future. Thanks for any info. 🙂
Diana
Hi, Diana!
Thank you for stopping by and saying hello! I really appreciate it!
The conference was in Ackworth, GA… here is the website for it: http://www.chsconferencega.com/
The conference is rather small, but it would give you a chance to
get an idea of what’s out there. The conference I’m REALLY excited about is the national one in June:
http://www.ihmconference.org/national/
I was able to go last year and it was well worth the trip!
I hope you will be able to attend a homeschooling conference in the future — I have found them to be very inspirational, and often serve to recharge my batteries when I don’t think I can do this another year! *grin*
Thanks again for your comment!
The national one, you mean? Yes, dh and I are tentatively planning on going. I’m be travelling while 8 months pregnant, so I’ve got that to think about… however, as long as everything is OK, we’re going!