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Hey there, welcome to week 25 of the homeschool prayer challenge. I'm Sarah. I'm a homeschooling
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mom to four kids and I don't know about you, but I have a hard time sometimes leaning on the
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Lord during the day to day of our homeschooling and really trusting him with my whole heart. Oh
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I say that I trust him and I do, but living that out, sometimes it doesn't come across in my
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actions. Like when I hold on to frustration, dissatisfaction, or bitterness with my kids or husband because of how I think I deserve to feel or act towards them
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and I don't go to the Lord before reacting. That's not submitting to God's word as Ephesians 431
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clearly tells us to get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, and harsh words. Yet I trust in my
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own understanding that harsh words are what's needed rather than what God's word says is best for
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me, which would be living in love, peace, and holiness. Or how about when I'm
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I return to worry, worrying about whether I'm doing enough, teaching my kids enough in our
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homeschool, if they're learning enough. Worry might just be one of the biggest displays of showing how little I trust that God
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will provide and how much I actually live under the control of expectations rather than
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leaning on him. The verse we're going to look at and memorize this week is possibly one that you are already
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familiar with, Proverbs 3, 5 through 6. So let's chat about what it looks like to live out this verse and pray that we trust and submit to the Lord in our homeschooling this week
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The book of Proverbs was written mostly by Solomon, King David's son, and contains a collection of wise sayings on many different topics that help us understand God's thoughts on them
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Proverbs 3, 5 through 6 is applicable to pretty much every situation in our lives
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It says, trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding
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In all your ways, acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths. So how can we respond to this and make it applicable to our daily lives as homeschool moms
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First, let's think about what it means to trust in the Lord with all our heart
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When we trust in something, we are placing our confidence in the truthfulness or accuracy of that thing
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It's something that we can choose to do. Trust isn't just a feeling, it's a function of our will based on what we know to be true
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I can think of a lot of things that I can tend to put my trust in as a homeschooling mom
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Finances, friends, maybe the seemingly perfect curriculum or resource. I tend to want to rely on these things to think that they have some kind of power to give my kids the perfect education if I
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just utilize them correctly or just find the right one But all of these things will see them certainly let me down at some point or another And so for me if I want to truly trust in the Lord with all of my heart I need to hold these things with an open hand I need to
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place my confidence in what the Lord has promised in his word, making the conscious choice to trust
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in him, regardless of my temporary situation or circumstances. Second, what does it mean to us that we
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shouldn't lean on our own understanding. I don't think that this is saying that we can't trust
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anything we think that we understand, but really that we need to have that foundation of God's
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word and his wisdom to lean on to support us. It can't be just our own understanding we rely on
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because we have such a small perspective compared to God. And not only that, but our hearts are not
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trustworthy when left to their own devices. God should be our source of truth. And we need to
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have that biblical worldview to help us understand things, how God understands things. And not only do we
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need to have a biblical worldview, but are we also teaching our kids that God is a source of all truth
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and they should be leaning on him as well? We have such a good opportunity to disciple our kids in this
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area as we homeschool, not only by showing them what this looks like in our own lives, but teaching our
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kids to have a biblical worldview and pointing them to God's word as a guide for their lives. Next
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What does it mean to submit to him in all our ways or acknowledge him in all our ways as
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some versions say? Again, this says all, not just the parts we pick and choose
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It means submitting to him not just during church on Sunday or Wednesday evening, but throughout
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the week as well, in all of our ways. In the subjects we teach our kids, are we acknowledging him
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When we discipline our kids, are we acknowledging him? What about with our own attitudes throughout the day
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the words we say, the big decisions we make for our kids, our thoughts that drive our actions
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in all of our ways. This takes intention, prayer, and simply living connected to the vine. I'll
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always remember an example I heard from a speaker once who asked us to think about what kind
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of driver we were when we knew a cop was driving right behind us. Did we go the speed limit
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Make sure to actually yield at a yellow light. What if that cop was
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always around us when we drove. How would that change things? Well, when we submit to the Lord
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in all of our ways, I think this is a lot like driving with knowing that a cop is always in your
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rear view mirror. It means that we recognize, actually recognize that God is omnipresent, even though
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we can't see him like we can physically see a cop. But it means that we recognize his authority
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in our lives and truly see him for who he is, that he has the right to tell me what I should be doing
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and how I should be doing it And we can know what his ways are by being in his word and learning his moral will for our lives Finally what about making our paths straight I don think this means that if we trust in the Lord and submit to him that our lives will be easy But I do think
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that the more we get to know him, acknowledge him, trust in and lean on him, our lives, and therefore
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our homeschooling, will be more purposeful. The path we see in front of us will see it more and more
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as how God sees it and intends for our lives to be. Our thoughts and actions will align more
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closely with his. It's a beautiful journey of sanctification, an amazing work he does in the lives
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of his children. And when I think about him making my path straight, I'm reminded that God is sovereign
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Nothing I do or don't do will thwart his good plans for me. It might not always be something I
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initially like, but I can trust that he's making my path straight. And this is so freeing
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I don't have to worry about all the little things I can't control because he is in control
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I don't have to worry about making the wrong decision in our homeschool with my kids because if I'm
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following his moral will as laid out in his word, he will make my paths straight. So friends
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as homeschool moms, what would it look like if we really lived all this out? If we truly begin to
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trust God in our homeschooling. I think we all have to think about this for ourselves and how we'll
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apply this passage. For me, it means that I teach my kids at home where we can acknowledge
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him in all the subjects we learn about. It means that we learn God's word throughout our week
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and build our home on biblical values. We look to scripture to guide us in how we work and how we
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treat each other and those around us. It means that I pray continually, not just when I need something
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from God or when I'm feeling overwhelmed, but even when I'm feeling in control, like I've got my
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act together. I depend on him for all things in our homeschool and look to him for wisdom and
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discernment. It means that I stop and I go to him before I react to my kids when they've lied or
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they've cheated. I ask him to be with me and to help give me a calm spirit in the words to say
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It means that I trust him with the gifts that he has given my kids, even if they aren't necessarily
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the gifts I would have chosen for them. I lean into how he has bent my kids and I give them
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opportunities to grow and flourish and the unique purposes he has created them for
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And finally, it means that I am diligent about daily Bible study and making his word an authoritative
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part of my life because in order to do all of these things, I need to have a relationship with Jesus
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That's where all this begins. I take for granted that if you're taking part in this prayer challenge that you already have a
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relationship with Jesus. But if you have any questions at all about what this means or looks like in your life, I would be so happy to chat with you about this
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Let take a look at our homeschooling this week and really see where we are not fully trusting the Lord Where are we leaning on our own understanding What do we think we got completely under control and so we don go to God about it Give all those pieces to him Each day
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we have to intentionally set aside our own plans and desires and submit to him. You know
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I'm going to admit that I was struggling to get my thoughts down about this topic this week
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About a week went by. And after a lot of thought and prayer, I just couldn't get anything down on paper
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and what do you think I did? I worried and stressed about my deadline. I stressed over whether or not I
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would be able to share anything with you guys this week. Well, I took my girls to their aerial
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sylphs class that night and I decided I was going to get a run in while I was waiting. And while I
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was on my run, I was listening to a completely unrelated podcast. But something that was said sparked
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some ideas that I wanted to share about this verse. And it started
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started coming together all of the pieces when I didn't really expect it. And I realized once again
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that my timing is not God's timing and that all this week I was not putting my trust in him. I was
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relying on my own understanding, which led to worry and frustration. And really, I don't think the
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Lord could have driven this point home any better for me than literally in that moment. We all need
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to remind ourselves daily, hourly sometimes, that God is in control. of even the small details in our lives and that he can be trusted with them
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This week, friends, let's submit to our Almighty God looking to him and leaning on him in every
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area of our lives. Once we surrender to him, he will direct our paths and we can let go of that worry and control
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a little bit more each day. Let me pray for us. Heavenly Father, I praise you for guiding us in our homeschool this year and in our daily lives
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You are worthy to be trusted, but so often in my sinful nature, I choose to put my
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first. Please forgive me for this. I want to trust you with all of my heart and not on my own
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understanding. Continue to lead and guide us through every season, keeping us safe in your almighty
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hands. Help me to release our homeschool and all of my plans to you that we may direct our paths
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according to your will. I desire for our homeschool to not only be a place of adventure, discovery
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creativity, and learning, but an opportunity to grow closer to you each day. May my kids develop a
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hunger for the truth of your word and a deep love and respect for one another. Father, nothing is
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more important to us than you. Let us feel your presence in our homeschool and glorify you in all we do
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In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. Thank you so much for joining me once again this week. Make sure
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you check out the link in the description below if you'd like to log into the prayer challenge dashboard and print out this prayer and some Bible study reflection questions for this week
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I will see you next time