Called vs. Equipped

When I go to church and Sign during the song service part of worship, I do not go to have others notice me. I only Sign if I feel led to do so or if someone makes the request. There have been times I've been asked and was extremely reluctant, sluggish in the motions and unable to "perform" - usually there is someone else there able to follow the Holy Spirit's leading. There have been times when I went in with a "look at me!" mentality and messed up severely until I had an attitude adjustment.
While I enjoy Signing and it is my way to worship, I am embarrassed and confused when others approach me to tell me how it blesses them. Not only that,  but I know that I still have so much training to undergo.

I feel led to go to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where there is a strong Deaf community. I can take ASL through the New Mexico School for the Deaf. I can also use the Christian counseling degree working with the church systems in Santa Fe (I've already talked to a pastor there and the Methodist superintendent -they're looking forward to our coming!) There's also Southwestern College, which offers a certification program in Child Mental Health, which I can take while attending Liberty University. I believe God is calling me to work with children and with the Deaf. I believe this is where I am supposed to go.

I have no idea how we're getting to Santa Fe or when we'll be there. I have no idea where we'll live or what employment I'll find. I'm trying to trust God to provide our way and to open the doors for us to get there. I've already posted that obedience is a hard one for me. Walking in Christ's footsteps, faithfully picking up my cross and following Him daily - it's a hard choice. This is where submission comes into play and honestly, I don't know if I can. I don't know if I can face reality and the hardships that await. I don't know if I can submit to His perfect plan and succeed on the path He's set before me. So I waiver in my fear and I balk at the future, holding myself back.

How often have you felt that gentle nudge, that leading, that pleading within and ignored it? How often have you known that something best awaits but you've told yourself that you're not ready? You can't - you still need more knowledge, more training?
Do you believe that only the equipped can serve others? That only the "experts" can understand? How many times have you had an encounter that opened your eyes or spoke to your soul?

Here's trusting in God to make a way financially, to prepare my heart, and to ready my mind to follow Him.

Traditions, Rituals and Habits - a Necessity?

I'm going to apologize ahead-of-time for the disjointed thoughts that will just kind of spew out.
 Okay, I'm a firm believer in unschooling. We spend the day watching educational videos, writing stories and plays, working with art and discovering science. However, in addition to trying to blend Charlotte Mason, Montessori and unschooling, we also do worksheets. We are combining lapbooking with a unit study on the solar system.
It does seem that a little structure and routine in our daily lives is a beneficial thing. It is necessary to a child's growth and development that they learn responsibility through chores. It is necessary that they learn self-discipline through chores and through completing their daily assignments.
How do children learn? Through imitation and play. LB learns spelling, math and reactions through imitating her sister. She learns by watching her granddad instruct her sister in the art of cooking (Italian, yum!) and recognizes scientific reactions weeks beyond the art lessons (oil & water, food coloring, air lighter than water). CoM learns through watching the videos and reading on her own. She'll then practice narration and reteach sister and me.

I have been sadly lacking in my own self-discipline when it comes to Bible study and prayer - not that I don't pray for my friends and family. I just lack in the "morning and evening" time spent with God. How are my children going to learn the importance of relationship if I don't make time for that most important relationship in my own life?
How do I teach my children the importance of sleep to the body and rest to the mind if I don't practice a bedtime routine where we shut off the television, turn off all the lights but the dimmed lamp, and spend time together in prayer and reading bedtime stories? How am I to teach them about sweet dreams if I don't pray a good night's rest over them?
The psalmist says that we are to seek Him and praise Him all our lives. God says we are to call Him and seek Him with everything we are. Jesus went often throughout the day to spend a little quiet time with His Father for renewal and refreshment. Jesus said we are to "seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things will be added" unto us, our lives, our ministries, our families. The psalmist says that if we "delight yourself in the Lord and He will grant the desires of your heart" - delighting ourselves in the Lord comes through obedience to His laws and His words; the most important of which Jesus says is to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind and all your soul...." and then He goes on to say that we are to "Love your neighbor as yourself". He also says that we are to be kind to one another, be gentle in spirit and in dealing with one another - all these behaviors and ways of treating each other will delight ourselves in the Lord. Spending time building a relationship with God will delight Him and will refresh our spirits.
Now, how do I teach my children to enjoy not just the beauty in the created but to delight and renew themselves in the Creator?

CoM's homeschool blogging page...

Not sure how to link one blog page to another, so here's CoM's homeschool blog. Feel free to enjoy her writing and learning experiences! http://playartandhomelearning.blogspot.com/p/about-our-homeschool-family.html

A Little Fae, A Little Faith

Ever been so inspired by something you just want to work at it furiously for days?
Over the weekend I started rolling clay together. I wanted to make hand-made flower beads and see how they turned out. I went to put the finishing touch on the flowers, adding in leaves and hinting at details...only to see a face pop out, a dress or a hat appear. Without meaning to, just in applying slight pressure while I attached the petals, I pushed in an impression of eyes. I went ahead and continued working, creating several little friends. The girls are so excited about these that I've decided to see if I can sell the Faerie Friends and their Accessories at our Etsy store.

Keep checking back with us and see how we're doing.
I'm going to start letting CoM blog her daily assignments so be sure to follow along on our journey in homeschooling!

How often do you celebrate your children's imaginations? What are some ways that you share in their creative play?