Welcome. I am happy that you've taken the time to stop by and read. I would like to start by giving a little history on myself.
I grew up in a strong Christian family. I am the oldest of three girls.
When it came time for me to go to school, my parents put me in the local elementary school for Kindergarten. I thought I was cool, I thought going to school was cool. But I remember all of those kids in my class with one teacher (Mrs. Hart) and one helper. I remember wanting/needing help on papers and projects but not getting that help because the teacher and helper were assisting other students. I didn't like how that made me feel. I was just as equal as those other students.
(My first day of Kindergarten. I'm the one on the right in the red dress.)
I remember when Halloween came, and in our family, it wasn't a day we participated in. I remember story time and how all the books were spooky, about witches, and things that made me feel uncomfortable inside. I remember speaking up about it. I remember the teacher being a little agitated. I don't remember if she kept reading or chose a different book. Another time, our class went down to the library for reading time. The librarian chose a spooky, witchy book and I spoke up again. She let me pick a different book from off the shelf and she read that instead. Not too much longer after that, my parents pulled me out. Not just because of the Halloween, but peer pressure. Three to four days a week I would come home crying because of how kids dressed, talked, and how they were mean. My mom said that those things really effected me.
Homeschooling in the mid 1980's wasn't popular. In fact, we were kept inside during the day until school was let out so that we wouldn't get called on. Once the school kids started heading home, we knew it was OK to be outside. It's quite something when you think back on it. My mom knew it was something God wanted her to do. She knew He called her to homeschool my sisters and me. She recently was talking to me about it and told me how she was ready to go to jail if that's what it came down to. Thankfully, that was never as issue.
Growing up, I knew we were "different". Our family had strong beliefs on following God and obeying what the Word says. At times I didn't like certain things (like not being able to watch Disney movies). I noticed a difference between us and other kids. I was proud of being different. Our family was strong, my parents were married, and we always did things together. The neighborhood friends I played with didn't have that. Parents were divorced, some of the kids were crude, there weren't a whole lot of morals. I remember always taking a stand against what others were doing. (That seems to be a continuing theme. Maybe it's that first born trait coming out...)
Fast forward many years and homeschooling was a lot more popular. I didn't like the geekiness that homeschoolers had and I didn't want to be known as a geeky, nerdy homeschooler. I wanted to be cool. In 7th grade, I took some classes through Teenworks (a homeschool tutoring service), in 8-9th grade, I did aBeka videos, and 10-12th was a mix of curriculum. I graduated in 2001 and had a full commencement ceremony through Teenworks along with quite a few other students (some whom I took classes with back in 7th grade).
After graduating, I went on a mission trip to India for four months with a girl that I graduated with. We went to speak/teach in a Bible school that our friends ran. After we came home, I got a job and ended up working for Teenworks as the administrative assistant.
In 2003, I married my husband, Brandon. We met through his cousin. We had been friends with his cousin's family for years who were also homeschoolers. Brandon spent most of his school years in public school. He had 1 1/2 years in private school and his senior year he was homeschooled.
Shortly after we married, I got pregnant but miscarried around week 7-8. After that, we decided to wait a little while before getting pregnant again. In 2005, we welcomed our son, Titus. In 2007, we welcomed our daughter, Leah.
When we moved to where we live now, Titus was coming up on Kindergarten age. I thought about homeschooling and thought about sending him to the local public school that I had heard good things about (the longer I live here, the more negative I hear about it). I hate this part of my story because I don't know why I ever considered sending him to public. Honestly, I really don't remember. But I'm guessing I doubted myself. I doubted whether or not I could give him a good education, if I would be structured and scheduled enough - all those questions that us moms ask ourselves. I remember mentioning the idea of public school to my parents. They were surprised and I remember them kindly questioning me on the "why".
Thankfully, I bought books and started our homeschooling journey and have never looked back. More, and more, and more I become even more thankful that we homeschool. There are so many positive reasons. The pros far outweigh any cons. I can't think of any cons.
This is my fifth year homeschooling. Titus did PreK and Kindergarten and Leah did PreK. I had Leah skip Kindergarten because she was at second grade reading level. They both did first grade together, both did second grade together, and this year, they are doing third grade together. It's so great having them in the same grade and being able to teach them the same thing. So far, it's working out great.
(First day of third grade, Sept 2014)
As time has gone by, I've wondered what God's plan is for me. I know I'm a wife and mother and that in itself is a huge calling that I love. But I've wondered how He wants to use me outside of that - but totally including it. As I've thought about it and what my passions are, the answer has slowly come. I am passionate about God, I am passionate about parenting, and I am passionate about homeschooling.
I recently deactivated my Facebook account because of how time consuming it can be, the competition among people, and more. I had already backed away from posting status updates. Sometimes I would post a homeschooling or parenting article from other sites, but I never really posted anything of my own.
Do you ever feel like a fish swimming against the current? Do you ever feel like one of the few pushing hard against all that comes at us and seeing so many people you know going the complete opposite, easy way? Well, that's me.
I know that I have a lot to share. I have a lot bubbling inside me. Which platform is best? I have been encouraged to start a blog on these topics of passion. But how do I start? What will I name the blog? Will I have enough to say? Enough to have a real blog?
I have been thinking about this blog thing for a while now. The other day I was reading Homeschooling from a Biblical Worldview by Israel Wayne and he said, "God Himself, as He has revealed His nature through His Word, is the 'True North' that sets the standard for all universal truth and human behavior.'"
True North.
That stuck out to me like none other. I knew that if I started a blog, I wanted that to be its name. God is our True North. All things in life point to Him and are grounded in Him.
Here is a definition taken from the web:
"True north differs from magnetic north, which varies from place to place and over time due to local magnetic anomalies. A magnetic compass almost never shows true north. In fact over millions of years, magnetic north wanders considerable and occasionally reverses so that the magnetic north pole has been near the geographic south pole at some periods in the earth's history. In the arctic region, a magnetic compass is not very useful."
What I loved from this was that True North doesn't vary. Neither does God. His Word is sure. He doesn't vary from place to place, He doesn't wander, and doesn't reverse His promises.
Another thing that I keep reading and hearing about what we need to do in regards to homeschooling and life in general is this: to know God and make Him known. That should be our goal in life - as people, parents, and homeschoolers. We have no other higher calling than that.
So on my blog, you'll see God as the True North, you'll have examples of knowing God and making Him known, and you'll get parenting and homeschooling lessons and tips that I've learned and am still learning.
We are on a journey. It's a great one.
