www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
to teach our children to do the same. This
cannot;be;done;merely;by;our;Christian
words;or;thoughts,;but;by;how;we;live;out
our;entire;Christ-centered;life;and;by;every
choice we make concerning that life.
If our children are watching us retreat into bad habits instead of retreating
to;our;prayer;closets,;or;going;to;social
media instead of socializing with God
Himself, or making food our comfort
mechanism instead of craving the Word
of;God,;which;is;our;very;food;for;life—
then every schedule or plan or curriculum will fail us in the end; and we may
fail all other goals we set out to accom-plish.;Even;if;we;gain;the;world,;and;lose
our;souls,;what;gain;do;we;really;have?
So,;how;do;we;love;God;throughout;our
homeschool day?
•;By;giving;him;the;first;and;the;best;of
our time, talents, and treasures (not
our;last;and;our;leftovers).
•;By;using;whatever;time;it;takes;to;get;to
know this One God we say we worship.
•;By;understanding;that;it;is;not;that;we
are;obligated;or;required;to;love;Him,
but;that;it;is;His;faithful,;overflowing
love;towards;these;dusty,;lazy,;sinful,
deceitful, prone-to-wander hearts of
ours that propels us to love Him.
• By obeying His commands to teach
our children to love Him with everything they are and have. Leading by ex-ample,;our;children;can;see;and;learn
from us what it means to love the Lord.
This understanding will link us to where
we are giving joyfully of ourselves in love
for;Him,;even;if;that;means;sacrificing
what we think is best for the moment or
the day. It’s when love becomes two-way
instead of one-way that we find fulfill-
ment and completeness. It is our enthu-
siasm and open worship that creates a
desire in our children to want that same
relationship with God that we have.
My friends . . . love your God. A person in love thinks about Whom they
love; communicates with Him; reads His
letters; does whatever it takes to get to
know Him; obeys His instructions out
of love and not out of compulsion; listens to Him speak; spends the majority
of their time in His presence by walking
with Him throughout the entire day. My
friends,;let;me;say;again,;love;your;God.
2 - I Will Love Others
The second greatest commandment
is like the first. Love God; love others.
It’s a natural outflowing of our love for
God;that;allows;us;the;patience,;kind-
ness and perseverance to love others. To
know God and love Him is to know and
love those He has placed in our lives. As
homeschool;moms,;we;have;been;given
husbands and children to know and love.
We know them best and we love them
most. No one else could take our place in
that department.
Loving your Husband
He irritates me. He doesn’t understand
me. He neglects me. He doesn’t listen
to me. The common denominator in all
those;phrases;is;“me.”;It’s;our;love;of;self
that blinds us to our duty of loving our
husband. Obedience doesn’t wait for the
other to move first. Obedience to God’s
command;to;love,;honor,;and;respect;our
husband is a command without other
conditions that must apply first. In other
words, we are responsible before God
to love them; we are not responsible for
their behavior toward us.
But when we learn to love the unlov-able,;to;serve;the;selfish,;to;heal;those
who;hurt;us,;to;feed;the;ungrateful,;then
we;have;learned;the;love;of;Christ.;When
we;learn;to;die;to;self;and;the;“me”;syn-drome,;we;can;rise;in;life;and;learn;to
love.;Death;to;self;is;painful;and;hard,;but
there is life at the end of it.
Rise up in newness of life and love that
husband. Learn to give honor to God’s
chosen authority in your life. It might
just change your husband and your mar-riage;;but;if;not,;I;guarantee;it;will;change
you. Love that husband as if he was Jesus
Himself and it will change your children.
They will grow up in security and peace.
You will show the world what the love
between Christ and His church looks
The things God
wants us to teach
and impress upon
our children are far
different than our
normal mindset of
curriculum first.
