Pioneer Homeschool Days

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I wanted to chase a bunny trail off of my direct testimony to share some of my homeschool thoughts and experiences from these early homeschool days.  There were not many curriculums to choose from.  I’m going to show my age a bit, but there was NO internet!!!  There were barely computers.  There certainly weren’t smart phones!  My parents and I wanted a Christian curriculum & the Johnson family helped us to choose a bit from Abeka, a bit from Bob Jones University Press, & a bit from Alpha & Omega “Lifepacs.”

The typical read and answer way of learning was not new to me.  Afterall, I was a sophmore in highschool!  I loved algebra and science and hated English & history in public school.  In homeschool, I still loved algebra & science, but hated geometry!  I tolerated English, but was absolutely stunned by how much I loved the history!

The process of aligning ancient history alongside the Bible is AMAZING!!!  To understand the cultural and political surroundings during the old testiment stories is unbelieveable!  Was Abraham alongside Hammarabi?  Was Nefertiti the Egyptian princess who found Moses?  Even down to understanding how the plagues of Egypt were stratigically chosen by God to discount specific Egyptian gods.  I remember studying Ancient Greece and going through the Olympians.  I remember crying tears of understanding as history started to come alive out of the pages of those books.  It was so much more to me than the names and dates thrown at me in school to memorize only long enough to get a good grade on the test.  In public school, the lack of chronological order confused me.  Others seemed fine with it, but I struggled to piece history together and understand when everything actually happened.  Regardless of what school you attend currently or did attend in the past, for the young & old alike, I highly suggest going through a good chronological Christian history such as Mystery of History or Story of the World.  There are so many absolutely wonderful options out there these days, but I’m getting way ahead of myself!

Nevertheless, Texas was a homeschool friendly state then & it remains a homeschool friendly state now.  If you are interested in homeschooling in Texas, I suggest you check out the Texas Homeschool Coalition Association.  For those of you anywhere in the United States and abroad, I suggest you check out the Homeschool Legal Defense Association.  The process to homeschool is easier than you would think.  If you are interested, I can give you further information on homeschool if you leave a comment.

For me, the decision to homeschool my Sophmore through Senior year would change my life and shape my world in so many ways!  God’s hand was apparently on that decision as I’ve been blessed beyond measure.

Is homeschooling the only way?  Absolutely not!  I believe that God calls us to various places and situations throughout our lives to bring us to where he would have us for His plan.  Consider Joseph’s decision to share his dreams, Israel’s decision to send Joseph to check on his brothers, and Reuben’s decision to just throw Joseph in the cistern, but not kill him.  All of those decisions worked together for God’s plan when Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt in search of food during the famine.  Have you ever stopped to think about how things would have been different if just one piece of the puzzle were not put into place?  It is mind boggling!  God is so good & will work all things together for good!  He has a plan and it is so much more glorious than I could ever even attempt to dream up!

I have decided to follow Jesus…

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I was a spunky, giggly, goofy girl who was not “popular” by any means.  However, I was jealous over others’ abilities to dress fashionably, act sociably, and be assertive.  Nevertheless, I had dedicated my heart and soul to Jesus and I had to define what that meant to me.

As I looked around and admired others and wished to be more like them, I was also disqusted.  I remember one day coming to school only to find out that one of my friends had an abortion over the weekend.  I didn’t even realize that she was in a relationship in that way.  I remember talking to a girl on the bus about sin and her theory was that she could sin as much as she wanted because God would forgive her.  I had countless times where I encounted sinful nature in those around me and they didn’t seem to think anything about it; there was no longstanding remorse.  As I was learning who I was as a person, I was also dealing with my thoughts and feelings about various social debates such as sex before marriage, homosexuality, and abortion.  All I knew is that those conversations with my friends left an indescribable deep pit in my soul.  I’m not trying to condemn you if you personally held these beliefs in the past, or currently hold them.  I’m trying to express that “normal” people seem to have no problems with any of this, it is just everyday life.  I suppose being “normal” is being sinful since “All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)  For me, I was, well, different.

People always told me to “live a little”, “have fun in life”, etc.  What was wrong with me that I didn’t find pleasure in sneaking out of the house, drinking alcohol, and who knows what other creative ways to “live a little” like my friends were doing.  I needed more fulfillment in life; there was more to “life” than this.  I had played flute in Jr High and was on the Drill team in highschool, but those were not very fulfilling.  There was something that I desperately needed.  Deep down, I knew I had decided to follow Jesus and there was no turning back!

My heart yearned to just cling to my Jesus, so I began to pray about what God had for me.  Homeschooling started to tug on my heart, so I approached my parents.  I told them I was tired of Highschool, the popularity games, the racial fights, the police coming in & taking out my drug intoxicated classmates.  I told them I wanted more time to spend with Jesus.  Having completed my freshman year & gone to Drill team camp in preparation for my Sophmore year, they pulled me out of the public school district to homeschool me with a Christian Curriculum.

My parents sought help from our local church at the time to find some information on how to homeschool.  In those days, there were others, but there were not many.  There were no co-op classes and very few social events to attend for homeschooling families.  There was also a very limited selection of homeschool curricula.  The church pointed us towards Mike & Sylvia Johnson who had homeschooled their two boys, David & Kirk.

My Beginnings

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How do I explain to you the multitude of moments that I have lived through?  How can I possibly explain in words where I’ve come from, how my thoughts are formed, and who I am?

I am allergic to coffee, so every morning I wake up to a cup of iced tea.  So, grab a cup of tea, possibly some tissues, and join me as I attempt to write some of my deepest thoughts.

I was born and raised in Texas in a Christian home that, like all other families I know, was imperfect.  Trying to find a place to fit in, we hopped from church to church and denomination to denomination.  As a child, I never really experienced a local body of believers who were as close as family.  But, God knew how those moves and inconsistencies would shape the woman I was to become.

I remember the day that my mom asked me if I wanted to invite Jesus into my heart.  I don’t know the exact date, or even how old I was.  I know I was around 4 or 5 years old & I remember kneeling beside her unmade king-sized bed and having her lead me through a prayer to my new found Lord & Savior.  I was a good child overall & nothing much changed in the way I acted at that time.  But, as time would tell, that decision to accept Christ was like root stimulator to the little mustard seed of faith in my soul.  He, my Jesus, my Lord, never left me or forsook me as I went through the many changes and difficulties of growing up.

As I entered into my preteen years, I remember feeling (probably unfounded feelings because of normal hormonal changes in my body) that nobody loved me.  Every corrective criticism I received was just one more stab to my heart to say how unworthy, unrighteous, and undesirable I was as a person.  With these words of attack welling up inside of me, I poured it all at the feet of the one whom I had learned to love and trust.  Yes, my parents were there, but I’m talking about my heavenly father, my Abba Father.  I prayed and asked him to PLEASE be my Daddy; love me, hold me, consume me, and comfort me in the secret places of my heart where nobody else could.

Allow me to clarify something quickly…  I love my parents & do NOT blame them in any way for how I felt.  By watching other preteens grow up, I realize that those feelings of searching for approval and identity are just a part of life.  However, God used those normal hormonal changes to add a bit of fertilizer to the the seed of faith previously planted in my heart.