0:00
Hey friends, welcome to my channel, Blessed Homeschool
0:02
and welcome to week 15 of the Homeschool Prayer Challenge. My name is Sarah, and if you're new here
0:09
each week we are intentionally focusing on one area of homeschooling and parenting
0:17
Really the two go hand in hand, and we are praying over that specific area
0:23
And we're going to be doing this all year. 52 weeks of prayers
0:27
So if you haven't joined in yet, or this is your first week seeing this
0:31
it is not too late to start. So what do you do
0:34
Well, you can simply hop on YouTube every Monday and catch the new short devotional video in prayer
0:40
Make sure to subscribe to my channel and hit that notification bell so you don't miss out
0:44
I have a playlist where I am adding all of the weekly videos
0:48
I will link to that in the description below so you can save that playlist
0:51
and easily find the videos each week. And also in the description, I have a link where you can sign up
0:56
for the challenge for free, and you can actually print out a copy of the prayer each week
1:01
That's not to say that you have to print this out and pray the specific prayer word for word every day
1:07
You certainly can do that if you'd like, but it's a great visual to hang in your homeschool room
1:13
or your kitchen or wherever you're going to see it to remind you to be praying over your family
1:18
in your homeschool that week. Okay, so this week is short and sweet. We are going to be praying about the gifts
1:23
God has given to each of our kids, and for him to equip us to nurture those gifts and talents
1:29
in our homeschooling efforts. And I thought about this because once I was chatting with some friends
1:35
and the topic came up about what our kids said they wanted to be when they grew up
1:39
A common conversation, right? Well, one friend mentioned that she was a little worried
1:44
that her daughter wasn't really sure yet, and another friend kind of nodded in agreement
1:48
and there seemed to be this unspoken fear that they wouldn't be able to help their kids know
1:55
what they were supposed to do with their lives. There can be such an emphasis at times
2:00
to make sure our kids have a direction on which to focus their lives early on
2:04
so that they can spend years really learning and honing in on skills that they'll need to be successful
2:10
in a particular career field. Now, I'm not saying that that's either good or bad
2:15
That's gonna be very subjective for each family and each child. But something I heard once really stuck out to me
2:21
as it put this question in a new light. Instead of asking our kids what they want to be
2:26
when they grow up, what if we started asking them what God wants them to be
2:31
And I thought this was interesting because in most cases, God probably won't give them a vision
2:37
of the exact career field they should go into or anything like that
2:41
although he certainly could do that if he wanted to. But it does shift the focus to
2:47
what are the gifts God has given me and how can I best use them to glorify God
2:52
through the work I do? My kids are still young, but this stuck with me
2:55
and it has helped me realize even more that it's such a blessing we have as homeschool moms
3:00
to really help our kids learn how they learn, figure out what their unique God-given gifts and talents are
3:07
and to nurture those as they grow and figure out their place in this world
3:11
It also really takes some of the pressure off because instead of feeling like we or our kids
3:16
need to have everything all figured out, we can rest in God's sovereignty
3:21
while focusing on doing the daily work he has called us to do as parents
3:25
which includes teaching our kids to be good stewards of the gifts God has blessed them with
3:29
All it is is a mindset shift, right? We should absolutely help guide our kids
3:34
That's part of the job. But at the end of all this, I don't want my kids to find their identity
3:39
or purpose in a career. I want to help them realize that their aim should not be
3:45
to bring glory to themselves in what they do, but learning what God would ultimately have them do
3:51
through their gifts and talents that bring glory to him. Let me pray for us this week
3:57
Heavenly Father, you are so generous and good to your children. Thank you that through the blessing of homeschooling
4:03
we have the opportunity to recognize and really nurture our children's unique gifts and talents
4:09
Give me a vision for my children. Reveal to me what you created them to be
4:13
their strengths, their purpose. Show me the ways I can help them grow
4:17
and be with us every step we take. Lord, I desire for my kids to know you deeply
4:23
and receive those spiritual gifts from you as promised in your word
4:27
Help me to encourage and teach them to use their gifts, not to serve themselves, but to serve the body of Christ
4:33
and above all, glorify you. In Jesus name I pray, amen. All right, that's it for this week
4:40
Thank you for joining me and make sure to come back next week for a new intentional prayer for your homeschool
