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Thursday, August 25, 2011

Too Good Not To Share #2

So there’s this book. People have literally been recommending it to me for years. But I’ve always shied away from it, for an admittedly lame reason. The title completely turned me off. I know, I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. But I’m shallow like that.

I actually hesitate to share the title with y’all now. Because once I do, you’ll probably stop reading this post immediately. Although chances are, you're not as shallow as me.

So I'll share it. Do you promise not to laugh?

It’s called this: "Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit."

Yep. It totally conjures images of women in denim jumpers with stringy hair who quietly instruct their knee-sock clad children. Sort of like this:



Anyhoo. The book I didn’t want to read. A precious woman named Teri Maxwell is the author. Now, in defense of my shallowness… Terri is wearing a floral, polyester vest and a white collared blouse on the back cover of her own book. So cut me some slack for my ugly, judgmental heart.

But y’all. I finally opened the book. And I read and read and read. Teri rocks my world.

This is good stuff. And it’s SO not just for homeschooling moms. Actually, it’s not even just for moms. It’s for anyone. Like I said, Teri rocks my world.

I am literally dedicating multiple posts to Teri in this Too Good Not To Share series. So you might just want to go ahead and purchase the book yourself instead of reading all my blog posts with the ridiculous videos and other distracting information.

But here’s what I want to share for today (from my girl, Teri):

Our goals for our children should not match our expectations.

It's true. Let me explain…

I start everyday during the week with the same goal in mind. I have a goal that my children and I will have a productive day of school. I will teach, they will sit quietly and listen and learn. We will complete all of our work by lunchtime and then, after a nutritious lunch, we will take a nature walk through our neighborhood and perhaps stop to visit and chat with some elderly neighbors.

In reality… that typically does not happen. Not even close. Often my children do not sit quietly. Often, the baby and my two Ugandan treasures have “urgent” needs that must be attended to throughout the morning while I’m trying to teach. Often I find myself completing a 2nd grade grammar lesson at about the same time my husband is walking in the front door from work, around 6pm. And we never went on our nature walk. And our lunch wasn't all that nutritious. Did we even eat lunch?

Goals are great and necessary things. We should all have goals. But they shouldn’t match our expectations. I should pretty much expect that my day will not go exactly as planned. And that'll save me a whole lot of anxiety, anger, frustration and irritation in the end.

That little minor adjustment helps me respond to my days better. It helps me take the interruptions in stride. And it makes me a happier momma. Which means I have happier children.

And that's some advice to live by. It's definitely Too Good Not To Share, if you ask me. If you're interested other such tidbits from Teri, check out her website at www.Titus2.com.

9 comments:

Lara said...

I'm equally shallow and would have freaked out at the title too!

Elizabeth said...

I definitely think it is hard to get passed all those "stereotypes" of homeschooling- especially if you are like me and NEVER thought you'd homeschool and NOW are super excited about it! LOVE your blog- just found it through a friend last night!!

the_blissful_mommy said...

Stop it. I love it. Wow, I totally never would have wanted to di anything to thaT book but kiss it goodbye but it sounds so so good!!! Woah.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing!! I haven't read her book but attended a homeschooling convention this year and went to MANY of her sessions! I went to her session on Having a Meek and Quiet Spirit. It was so powerful. The Lord has really transformed her life and given her such a wonderful gift to share. I would love to get my hands on her book! thanks again for sharing.
--Kristen.

Shannon Evans said...

You make me laugh girl :) But seriously, what wonderful wisdom. I will definitely be applying that concept to my daily life!

The Fruitful Family said...

Ordering it on Amazon now!!!! Who knows, maybe I'll turn into one of those crazy homeschooling mamas one day soon...

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad you posted this. We went to the Maxwell's Homeschooling Conference 3 years ago in October and it absolutely changed our life as a family. The biggest change was that we got rid of tv. We had a tv for a long time for DVDs, but now use the computer when we want to let the kids watch a movie. Any mothers who say, "But I couldn't get rid of TV" should just try it. I have 5 children and the oldest just turned 5 (2 adopted) and it's hard sometimes not to be able to just plop them in front of a show. But so worth it. Another wonderful book of theirs is Keeping Our Children's Hearts. Redeeming the Time is also great for men- I got it for my husband for father's day and he loves it. We forget that our time is so fleeting and these children will soon be grown. The seemingly insignificant decisions we make every day (i.e. Letting them watch a "harmless" cartoon; not teaching them to work diligently, etc.) are decisions that will affect who they are as people and children of God. I could go on and on. I have the book that you wrote about and it was wonderful- I need to read it again because it has been a hard, hard week of homeschooling 2 kindergarteners. And I have messed up big time this week :(. Thanks for sharing this with everybody- you're right... it's a great resource for moms, women, and just everybody.
-Kate McKinney

Anonymous said...

great post! thanks sweet friend. I laugh out loud every time i watch the homeschool family video!

Kaylyn said...

must pick up this book now- you have convinced me!!!