Heart, Hands, Head

We are again starting a new school year. For some of us it is just a matter of getting back into the routine of things. But for some, this is a whole new world that is as unknown as the craters on the moon. Allow me to encourage you and pray for you as you begin your journey into the unknown.

Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Psalm 106:1

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phillipians 4:6 & 7

This year my husband, Ralph, and I did something we should have done every year. We actually talked over this school year and our goals for our kids together. We have done this before, but God placed it on my heart to be more purposeful about it. My husband was honored. He didn’t think he’d really had a say in what we did for “school”. I hadn’t realized that I was so independent and he hadn’t realized that he’d been so disconnected. It was a great experience and I’d like to share it with you.

Step 1 – We scheduled a “date”. This is thrilling in and of itself since we get so few. Both of us looked forward to it and we agreed that we would pray for our kids each day until we went out.

Step 2 – When we went out, we went to a quiet place where we could talk without distractions. It ended up that we ate dinner at home and then went into our room and shut the door. But you could go out to a quiet restaurant, or to the park for a picnic or just up scenic drive to park (I’m sure it’s okay if you are married).

Step 3 – I had a piece of paper for each child which I had folded into thirds. At the top of the paper I wrote the child’s name and then at the top of each “column” I wrote: Heart, Hands & Head. As we talked, I wrote down the goal in each area and the plan to achieve that goal.

Heart – What is lacking spiritually in this child’s relationship with God? How can we help her strengthen that relationship? What part of the Character of Christ is she struggling with and how can we help her strengthen that character? Should we encourage her to pray more? Read her Bible more? Have more focused devotions? Talk frankly with her about what we perceive is a weakness and pray with her about it? Ralph and I had a really good discussion about each of our children’s relationship with God and what training we thought they needed. For the first time in a long time, we were on the same page in this area regarding our kids and I felt that we had a real game plan.

Hands – What life skills do we think this child needs to learn this year? Does she clean her room consistently? Does she take responsibility for her animal? Does she need to learn to cook more meals than breakfast? Does she need to learn how to check the fluid levels in her car now that she has her license? Does she need to take responsibility for a household chore that needs attention? We decided that since our girls are teens, they needed to learn to plan and prepare at least two dinner meals per week and be mostly responsible for the house.

Head – What do our child need to learn academically this year? Is she ready for the next level in math or science? Do we need to focus on skills based subjects or knowledge based subjects? (Skills = math, grammar, spelling, reading, writing, music; knowledge = science, history, literature, art appreciation, etc.) Is she reading at her level or has she been reading “fluff” this summer? Do I need to motivate her to do more math? More research? More challenging reading? What curriculum do we need to buy for her and how much will it cost? Ralph and I had a wonderful discussion about this aspect. It had been a while since I asked him about how much money we should spend and he was honored that I had.

For the first year in many, I feel more secure and better prepared than I have been in previous years. I hadn’t realized that by not “enlisting” my husband’s help, he hadn’t really known what to do to help. Now, I’m confident that I not only have a game plan but a ‘minion’ to carry it out.

Praise God that He pricks my heart and reveals things to me that I need to know. May I never become weary of His instruction or correction. I may have some experience, but I always need to learn new ways and new methods.

I hope this helps you all, too. May God lead you and guide you in coming up with your own game plan for your children this year. May He show you His will in their lives and help you ‘train them up in the way they should go.’