When I was completely overwhelmed keeping up with my toddler, grade school students, and high schoolers, I took time to pray. Eventually, I made plans with a friend to co-op together. It was such a great experience. We taught together three years in a row. Our challenges are only there to magnify God’s ability and show us His great love for us. I have never seen this as clear as in each hurdle we’ve faced raising and educating our children while trying to stay balanced in life. God is our hero. I’ve seen it so clearly and now our kids are convinced as well!

67. pour fuel, not water, on sparks of interests. We pray for opportunities for our kids and try to help them choose the best. When they go out we try to send them in pairs.

• Firefighting (high school course at the Fire station)
• Airplane build—mentor program
• Computer building skills—equip
• Music—instrument and lessons (usually they pay a portion so they are vested)

68. memorize scripture. This is what guides them when all else fails. We should have valued this higher, but God is so faithful to use what we have committed to memory.
69. encourage learning life skills with Dad, Mom, Grandparents, friends, and neighbors. Appliance repair, baking, sewing, flower arranging, quilting, animal care, changing tires, framing, plumbing, electrical, tool repair, roofing, siding, flooring, trim. As well as organizing, packing, and moving households, disassembling and assembling furniture, moving appliances safely or unsafely. There are lessons in both!
70. experience Shakespeare and other theater productions by cheering friends acting in lead roles.
71. enjoy music through Orchestral performances and worthwhile concerts.
72. appreciate dance—Friends dance with a local studio. It’s so fun to enjoy their talent! We also love English Country dancing for all ages.
73. opportunity to grow in real conversation with friends. People who love the Lord and earnestly seek Him allow us a front-row seat in what we consider to be godly heroes of the faith.
74. find opportunities to learn all aspects of running a business from the ground up.

– budgeting     – purchasing   – accounting   – people skills       – correspondence     -computer skills   –  animal skills   – sewing skills      – business skills

75. actively support our local church, providing occasions for us to serve, counsel, run sound, set up and tear down for a community event, and oversee kitchen duties for our shared meal.
76. create great food in the kitchen together–Italian, Mexican, Indonesian, Oriental, Thai.
77. learn priorities. We can’t get it ALL done, so we are forever learning to choose what the most important items are in life.
78. study the Bible—unpacking rich truths from scripture as a family, individually, and with friends.
79. participate in hospitality—inviting people, even strangers to our home. Hearing their story on their life gives occasion to see what is fruitful and what is not often by their own admission.
80. savor early childhood development. Kids learn while their younger siblings grow. We talk about what they can handle and do at each age and stage. Each teen innately knows toddlers should act as mature as they do. Some instruction needed!
81. treat life with care–our older boys have been with me through most of my pregnancies. They could almost detect when I was pregnant as fast as I did. Caring for Mama, even giving up their lunch for me on a few town days, is a reality. Sacrificial love, servanthood, learning tenderness with all stages of life–beyond just opening doors for me, really prepared them for their future mates. (PS I did buy them lunch to replace the one I ate.)
82. design discipleship—tailor-made to fit the needs of each one.
83. learn the necessity of quiet time. Since I was pregnant or nursing for so many years, quiet time became mandatory. We tease that our oldest son learned more by reading great books when I was sleeping than in all my awake “homeschool hours.”
84. discover that to teach oneself is a great skill. Our oldest sons continue to research and do most any project they dream up.
85. develop will power—training character, accountability, patience, and the necessity to say “No” to porn, drugs, wrong relationships, etc.
86. watch carefully. Bullying gets taken care of on the spot!
87. when faced with areas we don’t know how to address, seek God together and see Him break through.
88. rely on His promised on-going sanctification.
89. find a chance to see and change through honest mirrors that are constantly reflecting my life, showing my true character and priorities.
90. remember the more time I spend with my people, the more I want to spend time with them. (Breaks do refresh. I have to choose wisely.)
91. should morale drop, can go to God together and watch Him infuse us with life, love, and right priorities again.
92. listen to great audiobooks as we travel.
93. be as involved or independent as the season of life requires, esp. for older students.
94. be there to influence music, entertainment, and friend choices.
95. recognize it is harder to avoid or compartmentalize real difficulties. For those not getting along, they aren’t accustomed to mostly hang out with their friends. So beyond just learning to cope, we have to work through our chasms.
96. learn to talk through hot spots—tough subjects that teach us to appreciate each personality that God has given our home. This includes covering the weak, strengthening the feeble, teaching the strong to be patient with those who lag behind.
97. find the inexplicable joy of seeing God break through learning difficulties, relational snags, to see life and hope in a created soul under our care. There is no greater joy! (From 3 John 1:4)
98. humbly appreciate all that we, as their teacher, parents, and friend have learned and are still learning through this process.
99. get to rub shoulders with these now older, wiser, and well balanced, and amazing people we get to call our offspring are life-long comrades!
100. hear my master say, “Well done, good and faithful servant…” (Matthew 25:21 ESV).
101. realize there is a world outside of my home where God is aptly at work and I praise Him for the many ways in which He sanctifies His children!