Staying Home: Part 1- Training the Boys

My husband and I decided last December that I would stay home this upcoming school year.  We prayed about it, looked at our finances, and decided we would take it one year at a time.   I've stayed home before, but never to JUST be a stay at home mom.  I've always been building my own business as a massage therapist, or working on finishing my elementary ed. degree.   This, however, is the first time we've made the decision for me to stay at home for the sole purpose of being with our children and taking care of our home.

A great passion God has laid upon my heart the past few years was training my boys up to be holy men of God.  This goes against EVERYTHING our culture puts in front of them.  Men of God that honor God with their lips and their actions.  Who choose wisely the people they associate themselves with and watch how they lead others.  I know that training them the way that God instructs in His Word would take time and effort!  This became priority number 1 in me staying home.  The boys needed to know that we loved them and valued them.  I know that I need to attend my oldest son's school parties, spend quality time with the younger boys, and purposefully teach them God's instructions for their lives.

Knowing that Gavin will be going to school in a few short weeks and not having the extra income, we decided that for Mason's preschool this year, I would homeschool him.  I'm super excited about this opportunity and have already begun looking over the curriculum.  I am choosing to use the A Beka program.  I know this will bring about its own challenges, but am excited for this time to teach my own child for a change!  I'm sure many of my future blogs will be focused on what mistakes I've made and lessons learned from the homeschooling process!!

-- --Now, I'm not going to say that any mom who works is being a bad mom.  I certainly do not believe that- in fact, just as stated earlier in my post, we are taking it one year at a time.  I may only be home for a total of one year!  However, for our family during this year, this is what God has called us to.  My mom worked and did  (and still does) a fantastic job of being there for me.  I also know that God can be glorified in whatever you decide is right for your family.  -- --

How can you join us in training our boys?  Prayer for the following:

Some additional ways that we are purposefully training our boys is through instilling faithfulness in his word (see Breakfast with God post), teaching the Fruits of the Spirit (click here for more details), and then several things through out their daily living.  One area we have chosen to focus on as a family is purity of the eyes and mind.  This means that in our household, we don't watch certain tv shows or see certain movies!  Talk about setting yourself apart and putting yourself in position for some awkward moments!! Kasey and I have been screening what we watch now for several years.  It has been such a blessing to see how it has drawn us intimately closer to one another and given us the blessing of knowing we are purposefully being proactive in our marriage.  Bringing this type of commitment into your children's lives can be difficult.  It's one thing for you to explain your decision to not watch certain movies to your family and friends, it's another to try and get your children to understand why they can't watch a movie that everyone else is watching!!  We've only had this incidence a couple of times, however I know it will get more difficult as they get older.  I'm already praying for wisdom and understanding during that trying time.   Feel free to join me in praying for the boys' strength to withstand the temptation of their eyes.  Such a vulnerable and tricky area for young (and grown) men.  It truly can be a slow fade that destroys so much more than they are ever aware of.  I also have begun praying right now that the young girls that will some day enter my boys' lives will help them remain pure in thought and action.  May they clothe themselves appropriately and act as an heir to the throne of God, so as to help not only my boys' to keep any covenant they make with their eyes, but the other young men around them striving for godliness.  This will be such a difficult battle as you can't even watch commercials or movie previews without having to be on guard.   Just as Job made a covenant with his eyes, so have we as a family made one with ours.  Read Job 31 for more insight :)

Thank you for joining us in prayer and taking the time to read this.  This is less than entertaining for most.  My idea is to journal the "WHY" we decided for me to stay home as a source of encouragement to me later.  There will be many days that I become "weary" in the training process.  I'm hoping that my heart will be recorded now, so that in those times, I'm reminded of what God called us to.  If I were to lose sight of the journey that we started, may this diary redirect me to the road we were called to walk along.