As I perused up and down the homeschool aisle with my piping hot coffee in hand, I marveled at all the neatly packaged curriculum. So many wonderful choices! From phonics, math, foreign languages, audio books, games, to music, art and sewing...and the list goes on and on! How does one choose?!!
As an experienced homeschool mom, this year I came armed with my list of books needed for the next school year. Though I love rummaging through the endless selection of curriculum, I was prepared and determined to not be led astray by the colossal sea of homeschool curriculum! I knew exactly what I needed, which ones I’d wait to buy online and those I wanted to thumb through the pages of.
I was determined. I was intentional. I was a woman on mission.
What has made this process more enjoyable over the years is growing in the understanding of who “I am” in Christ and what “I” have been called to.
Knowing my identity has sharpened my vision in so many areas of my life. Most significantly, as it relates to our home education, the way we parent and the environment we are cultivating in our home.
Proverbs 29:18 says,
“ Where there is no vision, the people parish.”
If you’ve never articulated what your vision is for your family, I would encourage you to pray about it. You might even think about writing down your goals for accomplishing that vision. It is a well known fact that those who write down their goals, accomplish significantly more than those who do not.
Furthermore, writing down your goals will……
1. Help You Live on Mission - Writing down your goals will help you better articulate what it is you want and how you plan on getting there. There are 101 ways you can do something. But what is best for you? What’s best for your family? Writing down your goals helps you to become more focused. And a more focused person is a person that lives on mission!
2. Narrow Your Focus - Not every assignment (no matter how good) is your assignment! Developing a road map of how you hope to accomplish your vision will weed out all the other things that become distractions. In the end, these distractions, no matter how good or even how spiritual, can become a thief of your time! More importantly they steal your joy!
3. Create a life of worship- Writing down your goals allows you to celebrate what God is doing in your life. It creates a heart of thankfulness! Michael Hyatt says, “written goals are like mile-markers on a highway. They enable you to see how far you have come and how far you need to go.” Writing down your goals enables you to worship God!
Let’s face it! Life is hard.
Having a vision has served as a life preserver, keeping me from being tossed back and forth on the sea of endless demands and choices that must be made. Do we participate in this particular extra curricular activity? Do I join this group or that group? Do we add this study to our homeschool education? Do we let the kids do _____________?
VISION is a LIGHTHOUSE in the midst of the storms that rage.
Is it foolproof? Heck no! But it sure has allowed us to be more intentional and focused as we live out that which we have been called to.
VISION has given us a greater awareness of His presence as we diligently seek Him and lean upon Him to guide us in each of these areas of our life.
Jim Collins says:
“Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline… GOOD is the enemy of GREAT. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great.
Are there GOOD things in your life that are becoming OBSTACLES to GREATNESS in your life? Do you have a vision for your home? Do you have a vision for the work the Lord has called YOU to do?
If not, call upon the Lord and ask him to give you a vision for what He has called you to do!
Live determined. Be intentional.
Be on mission with the Lord!
Melanie is married to Tim Barosh and they have 6 wonderful children. She also leads a homeschool community of Classical Conversations Inc in Montgomery TX. (www.Facebook.com/ClassicalConversationsMontgomery)
