Staying Home 101

Good morning! My friend Dawn wrote this excellent note and gave me permission to share. It's a short but powerful read. Many similar thoughts have been swirling in my head recently but I never had the chance to do anything with them. And Dawn did this so beautifully I won't try to re-do it.

However, I will add one more point. This from Ruth, not Dawn. Give yourself the gift of QUIET at some point. For 20 years I've homeschooled, and our blessed but loud home can be exhausting. That hour (half hour? two hours?) of quiet every afternoon is so important for me to rest, pray, read, meditate, put my head back together, refill my fuel tank, remind myself of these other ten points, etc. Maybe others don't need this, but I always have and still do. If my tank is empty, I have nothing for anyone else.

Understand here, I don't have this mastered, rather I'm far from it; but, I would have to say that #10 CHOOSE JOY is the most important.
God bless each of you as you invest in your kids!


This from Dawn:  Staying Home 101

Many of you have been abruptly thrown into a new role of homeschooling your children with no chance to pray, plan, or prepare in advance. This is definitely a sink or swim situation!  I’ve compiled a few tips that have been helpful to me during my years of being at home with my children.

1. This is hard. But hard is good because it stretches us, and we grow in ways that aren’t possible when life is easy and predictable. Pray for grace.  You don’t have to do this in your own strength.

2. There’s nothing like having everyone home for an extended period to flush out heart issues in our children and ourselves. This is not a bad thing. While working through these heart issues, offer grace to your family members. They, too, are adjusting to the change.

3. Each day you have at home with your family is a gift. Don’t wish it away. Live each day purposefully and intentionally.  Soon enough this opportunity will be gone, and your calendar will be full again. You might even decide you don’t want to go back to such a hectic schedule.

4. Every new job has a learning curve. This is new for both you and your children; bumps are to be expected. Allow yourself time to learn how to stay home together.  Add your name to the reward chart—your children will love having Mom participate in the challenge! 

5. Any job would be chaotic if no one knew what to expect, or what they should be doing when. Create a schedule and follow it. Set your alarm, get up and get dressed each morning.  Be in work-mode during the week and save ‘Saturday’ mode for the weekend. It won’t take long for your days to fall into a pattern and start running more smoothly. 

6. Don’t expect to do it all yourself. You don’t have to—now you have helpers at home! Train your family to help run the household. Your new job position is Manager.

7. It may feel like every aspect of your homelife needs help NOW. Choose one behavior issue and one household system (laundry, meals, etc.) to work on at a time. Although everything seems to need attention at once, you will accomplish more this way with less overwhelm.

8. Your goals may have to change. Prioritize character training over perfection.  Use daily chores to teach diligence and obedience.  Loving and serving others are great accomplishments! At the end of the day, it is the eternal, not the temporal, that matters.

9. Your well will run dry if you are not drawing from the living waters that God so graciously offers us. Spend time in the Word every day, together with your family as well as alone in your own personal devotions. You will always have time for what you do first.

10. Dear Sister, you are the heart of your home. Choose joy. Your positive attitude, cheerful disposition, creative spirit, and quiet heart will bless your family and cushion your children from the anxiety of the times we are living through. We are making memories—let’s make them good ones!  

I have been spending my days, one day at a time, serving the Lord at home with children for 35 years. Every day has not been easy, but I can assure you that God is faithful in giving us the added grace needed to be with our children around the clock.  You are doing a noble work and making a worthy investment! I am praying for you.  Dawn Herrmann