Yes, give them God’s law.
Teach it to them and tell them that God commands obedience.
But before you are done, give them grace and explain again
the beautiful story of Christ’s perfect keeping of it for them.
~Elyse Fitzpatrick & Jessica Thompson, Give Them Grace, p36~
Everything that isn’t gospel is law.
Let us say it again: everything that isn’t gospel is law.
Every way we try to make our kids good that isn’t rooted
in the good news of the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ
is damnable, crushing, despair-breeding, Pharisee-producing law.
~Elyse Fitzpatrick & Jessica Thompson, Give Them Grace, p36~
As I continue on the somewhat daunting, but ever rewarding, task of homeschooling my children by God’s grace, I seek to do it not only by God’s grace, but for God’s grace. I just ordered curriculum for the next year or so of Gabriel’s official education, and once again I am so easily drawn into the law side of things. But that’s not the beauty of the gospel! The beauty, the gift, of the gospel is the utter and complete GRACE of it. Grace for each subject. Grace for methods. Grace even for principles. Grace for me. Grace for my children. Grace upon grace upon grace!
Oh! What a mercy and a joy and a privilege and an honor.
Thanks be to God. I would not want any other job than that of being the one to train and educate and mold and fill these little people. May God grant me the grace and diligence I need to do it well for His glory.
Yes, yes, yes! What an honor it is to home-school and bring your children up to know the Lord and to teach them, daily, about His wonderful never-ending grace!
I’m smiling at that last photo; it reminds me of one of my brothers when he was about that age…
Oh, how I need more grace too!
This strikes a chord with me. As a homeschool mom whose children are now grown, I felt quite a failure. I wasn’t able to hold it together. Now God’s grace has been shown to me. Through
a grace filled journey, he led me to develop an adventure for kids and families that help reveal and discover everyone’s God given strengths. I now help homeschool parents make this discovery as well. What a difference it would have made if i could have shown more grace to my children by honouring their individuality and incorporating it into my interactions with them.
“Bring up a child in the way they should go…” Honouring this knowledge – who God has created our children to be – has God’s grace all over it. If I had it to do again, it would be more about their preferred learning style, learning environment etc. rather than my own.
It is always such an encouraging blessing to hear from homeschool moms “on the other side” and to glean wisdom from experiences like yours. Thank you for serving God and His people by sharing your time and aid! Our children are such a gift, and to raise them (body and soul, intellect and heart!) for the Kingdom of God is such a privilege ~ I need to pray daily for the grace from Him to live in accordance with His word as their mother, as their teacher, and as a spiller of His grace onto them.
God bless you, Karen! Thank you for being a Titus 2 woman in a very tangible sense.