Here I Raise My Ebenezer: Part 1

Here I raise my Ebenezer,
Hither by Thy help I've come
And I hope by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home.

Our oldest is a senior this year.  She turned eighteen in September.  She is a legal adult.  She owns her car outright, works a part-time job, and voted in the Presidential election.  She has applied to colleges and been accepted.  Scholarships (and applications for more scholarships) are arriving.  The order of the day is excitement, anticipation and essay writing.  Lots of essay writing.

In the midst of her success, I am thinking back over the last fifteen years or so, how the Lord's provision has blessed her to thrive with a home education.  Many times over the years I have wondered, "Lord, how are we going to do THIS?"

Embarking on a venture never undertaken by family or friends will bring you to your knees in prayer!

The Lord has always answered the question in His own time.  This always surprises me, though I don't know why it should.  He delights in giving good gifts to His children.  Every time it happens, I think, "Wow, He still wants to work with us on this!"

So I plan to write a series of posts on how the Lord has provided through our homeschool journey thus far.  I hope the posts are an encouragement to you.

Someone once advised us to work as if it were all up to us, and pray as if it were all up to God.  We try to do this, although my dad would tell you I often "worry as if it were all up to me."  I try not to worry.  It is a sin, as my dad says.  The best thing for worry is to pray to God, and keep praying when you find you have that worry back in your mind.

My dad was a huge reason we decided to homeschool.  The Warrior Poet and I would never have considered it.  We don't even have college degrees!  But in his travels, Dad met homeschooled students and appreciated their maturity and thoughtfulness.  In his inimitable way, he began working on us, using logic and statistics, as well as constant gentle nudging, until we said we would give it a try.

We honestly did not think we would be successful, but Aravis was young (age 3 1/2) and we had time to put her in school if I failed at teaching her to read.

She was reading the KJV Bible by age 4, so I was stuck.  ;o)