One of the reasons I homeschool is to teach  my children from a Christian worldview. 

What does it mean to homeschooling from a Christian Worldview?

It means imparting life to my children, teaching them truth, and introducing them to the life-changing person of Jesus Christ. It means fulfilling the Great Commission by raising children who love Jesus with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength.

A Christian worldview acknowledges that there is a God who is involved in the affairs of mankind, that the Bible is true and speaks to all of life. We know that people live in a fallen state, they are not basically good, they need to be rescued from their sin. We know that the Lord intervenes in people's lives in answer to prayer or to fulfill His divine purpose for a person or a nation. 

Here are the ways I educate my children from a Christian worldview. I give them a biblical foundation, inspiring them to fulfill the Creation Mandate and Great Commission, using curricula that is written from a Christian worldview, and surrendering to Jesus. 

Biblical Foundation

A Christian worldview is based on the Word of God as it applies to all of life, including theology, philosophy, sociology, ethics, law, government, history, pyschology, economics, politics, family, child rearing, education. careers, medicine, health care, and relationships. 

We make the Bible the foundation for education in our home.

We read, study, and memorize Scripture so that the Word is living in our children’s hearts and lives. We obey the Word of God.

When it comes to conflict resolution, we follow Jesus’ plan in Matthew 18 to work in out between two and bring in a third person (parent) if it can’t be worked out.

Our children honor us as parents and respect our authority so that it will go well with them according to Ephesians 6:1-4.

The bottom line is that we use God’s Word as the measuring stick. If something doesn’t line up with Scripture, it is tossed out. The Bible is the standard of truth.

Creation Mandate

I have four lovely daughters. They are all grown now and love the Lord with all their hearts. That's not because I was a perfect mother because I made tons of mistakes. God was very gracious to cover my inadequacy with His grace. 

However, I do want to share some of the things I purposed in my heart to do in raising my God's Girls. I think it will minister to you if you find yourself raising daughters. 

Did you ever stop to think about why God created women? 

Well, I do. I notice that men and women are different.  Not just physically, but emotionally, intellectually, and socially. 

Women reflect God's image in a unique way.

In some ways, all people reflect the image of God, but in a unique way, women were created to reflect God as Creator and Sustainer of Life. Just think about it.  Our bodies are created to nourish a separate life right inside our bodies! When we give birth, we are able to sustain little babies with breast-milk right from our bodies! It's amazing! I mean, can a man have life grow right inside him or feed a baby from his body? What a privilege it is to be women! 

However, I believe that the physical just represents who we are in the other areas. Emotionally and practically, we bring forth life wherever we go. We nurture our own children and everyone else around us! We add beauty and fragrance to the lives of those who know us! 

The essence of femininity is to bring forth life and nurture the life of everyone around us. 

A daughter is a heritage, a reward. 

What a blessing to have a baby girl! 

I was so upset when China only allowed her citizens to have one child. If they got pregnant again, they had to kill the unborn baby. Another thing that broke my heart was that most Chinese couples only wanted sons. Do they not understand biology? I wondered. 

Years later I read The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. That book helped me to understand Chinese culture. You see, if a family got a girl, she grew up and left her household to go be part of her husband's and his father's household. So, the Chinese parents felt like they were just raising a daughter for a few years for another family. 

I am so grateful it's not like that in our culture. Daughters are so good at valuing family ties into their old age. There is an old saying I learned as a girl: 'A son is a son til he takes a wife, but a daughter is a daughter for the rest of her life.' Now, I'm not saying all sons abandon the family, but I am surrounded by daughters who are so kind and loyal to their parents and siblings. They inspire me! 

All that to say this:  When you give birth to or adopt a daughter, you are beginning a lifetime relationship. There is a lifetime of love ahead for you! 

Worldview is the set of ideas, values, and presuppositions through which you view the world.

What?

Well, it’s like putting on a pair of sunglasses that color everything you see.

What kind of sunglasses do you wear?

Everyone in the world wears a pair of sunglasses through which they view life, people, and ideas.

Many people collect little pieces of their worldview over time through parents, school, movies, and friends.

Biblical Worldview

A Christian worldview is based on the Bible. The Bible reveals God’s heart and thoughts—the way He views the world. A wise person will try to line up his worldview with what the Bible has to say.

Sometimes Christians don’t realize that their worldview is based more on secular ideas and morality instead of the Bible.

The Bible speaks to all of life. The Bible speaks to every subject. 

Theology/ Who is God?

What do you believe about God? 

Let me share with you what the Bible has to say. 
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God Is. He exists. He has always existed. God is One and exists in Three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
God created everything that exists, seen and unseen, out of nothing. He spoke and it came to be. He is personally involved in His creation. His creation is accountable to Him. God is Holy. God is Love.

Life is more than what we can see in the natural world. There is a supernatural realm that is unseen. Angels and demons wage war in that supernatural realm. Christians are seated with Christ in this heavenly realm.

We please God with faith. We access grace through faith. Faith is a gift from God.

Ethics/Morality

I'm all for pedicures and bubble baths. 

However, if you feel overwhelmed, drained, and at the end of your rope, a bubble bath and pedicure just won't cut it. 

You need something more. 

You need life imparted to you from the One who was there at Creation, gladly embraced the horrible crucifixion, and conquered death by rising from the dead. This is the same Lord who has pursued you and if you have surrendered to Him, has filled you with His Spirit. 

Jesus loves us and offers life. So simple, yet so profound. 

If you are feeling overwhelmed, you need life and joy from Jesus. And the Good News is that He longs to love you. He promises that if you are weary and burdened, you can surrender your burdens to Him and He will exchange them for His burdens. I

Isn't that exciting??????

Refreshment comes when we fix our eyes on Jesus and surrender to Him, allowing Him to fill us to overflowing with His grace. What I am going to share with you are some ways to position yourself to receive His grace and fix your eyes on Him. 

As Moms, we, like all Christians around the world, are called to make disciples.
“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 [Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you [always, even to the end of the age’” (Matthew 28: 18-20 NASB).

Jesus didn’t tell His followers to make converts, but to make disciples that would walk with Him and walk in His ways.

We are to GO. That is active, purposeful.

We are to BAPTIZE. We lead people to Christ and facilitate a born-again experience with God.
We TEACH. We don’t teach just a few things, we teach EVERYTHING Jesus has taught us.
The most important disciples we will ever make are our children.
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So how do we impact their young lives for the glory of God? 

​Living the Christian life boils down to loving Jesus and letting Him love and serve others through us.
This is how Jesus made disciples.

First, Jesus loved His Father and loved the people around Him.

Second, Jesus loved His Father, loved the people around Him, and His disciples were with Him.

Third, the disciples loved the Lord, loved the people around them, and Jesus was with them.

​Fourth, Jesus sent the disciples on trial runs to love the Lord and love the people around them. 

Love is all you need. Love is in the air. Love makes the world go 'round. Love hurts. Love is all I need. Until the twelfth of never, I'll still be loving you. 

We hear songs about love our entire life. They shape how we define love. From the songs I've heard in my lifetime, I would have to say, "Love is intoxicating like a drug and when it fades away, life is no longer worth living." 

I have also watched a million romantic comedies. From these, I must conclude, "When you really love someone, you fight a lot and misunderstand one another until that magical kiss. Then you live happily ever after. 

Oh, I'm so glad that movies and songs are not the only thing that defined my definition of love. 

I was blessed to be loved by two wonderful parents, to see a beautiful love between my grandmother and grandfather, and to experience God's love at church, and later personally when I became born again at age 16. 

As I grew in the Lord, my definition of love began to change. I no longer believe the definitions I learned from pop songs and chick flicks. 

As I studied the Bible, I discovered three Greek words (Eros, Philia, Agape) that are all translated love in the New Testament, yet their meanings are completely different. Let's explore the three loves talked about in the Word of God. 

Some children love a tidy room and others...well...hmm. Let's teach children & teens to organize and clean their world in a fun way. Scheduling can be enjoyable, too.

When we organize, clean, or work on schedules, I try to stay lighthearted and make it fun. I always have a treat afterward like watching a movie or going to the park. 

You see, these things are not my favorite things so how on earth would I expect it to be my children's favorite things, but they are part of life so I want to do them with a cheerful heart. My children will see things the way I do, so in training children, my attitude is the most important thing. 

Also: how well my children clean their room or stay on schedule or organize their things has NOTHING to do with their value. I never want to belittle my children over these things, but I want to lead them from success to success to success. 

In my family, there are messies. I won't name them in case  you know them or meet them in person. Messies need more training, but they can learn to keep things mostly tidy. Free spirits can learn to stay on a loose schedule. Everyone can learn to clean. 

Here are some blog posts and a podcast on organizing: 
Smart Storage to Eliminate Clutter
Clutter Control
Organizing Your Homeschool

Jenny Rose stopped strumming his guitar and stepped forward to the microphone where she read a Scripture passage and gave a short word of encouragement. 

"Some of us have had a rough week, we have been battered by  the enemy, tossed around by his lies..." She ended by sharing her own personal experience of how Jesus had encouraged her. She started a worship song and everyone sang along. 

I felt tears fill my eyes. My dream as I rocked and nursed my five babies was that they would each grow up to love Jesus and serve Him with a glad heart. Here was my Rosie, loving  Jesus. 

It is God's grace and mercy alone that all five of my adult children love Jesus. I'm so grateful, especially because I am a flawed Mommy. I wish I was perfect, but alas, no. I do love the Lord and have a living faith inside my heart that has grown stronger and stronger over the years.

It is not an example of perfection I have imparted to my children, it is a living faith in a jar of clay.

Can you relate? Do you love Jesus, but feel that you are so far from being a perfect example of what a "good" Christian should look like?

We want to grow in our adventure with Jesus and move forward in our faith.

So how do we do that?

Here is something easy to remember that will help you move forward and not backward: Gaze & Graze, but don’t Glaze.

I talk to so many people who want to grow closer to Jesus. They feel like Jesus is so distant and they wonder how they can draw close.

I promise you that walking with Jesus isn’t complicated. After all, Jesus just walked up to people and said, “Follow Me!”

And they did!

So, if you are one of those people who want to move closer to Jesus and know Him, I encourage you to Gaze & Graze, but don’t Glaze.

This is what helps me to stay focused on Jesus and move forward in my walk with Christ.

What do I mean?
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​Let me explain. 

Another load of laundry to put in, a phonics lesson to give, and dinner to fix.

What Mom has time to read?

Another paper to write, a textbook chapter to read, and a test to study for.

What teenager has time to read for pleasure? 

The lawn to mow, a presentation to prepare for at the office, and bills to pay. 

What Dad has time to pick up a good book and read it? 

​Added to that, it is so much easier on the mind to turn on the TV and watch a show or movie. 

So, why should we make time to read?

Reading is soothing, relaxing, and refreshing. When I spend time reading a book I enjoy, I feel stress melt away. It revives me. 

Reading stimulates our mind like an aerobic workout for the mind. As I get older and can't remember things sometimes, I am glad for anything that keeps my mind sharp! I need that! 

Reading increases our vocabulary, helps us to communicate more effectively, and gives us something meaningful to talk about. Isn't it fun to talk about a book you are reading? 

So, how can we make time to read?

When we get together with other homeschool parents, we talk about all kinds of things related to homeschooling: 

Why we homeschool. 
Our philosophy of homeschooling. 
What curriculum we are using. 
Our homeschool co-ops and field trips. 
How are children are growing in godly character. 

All of that is wonderful! I love talking about all those things!

However.

Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that love is the heart of homeschooling, it's what motivates us, it's why we sacrifice.

​We homeschooling because we love our children. We homeschool to express love to our children. We homeschool because we love God and want to teach our children to love Him, too. 

Just as the heart pumps life to the whole body, love brings life to our home and our home school. 

​We started homeschooling with a goal in mind. We had a reason to homeschool our children. We wanted to raise children who loved the Lord and were wholeheartedly committed to Him. 

With our reason for homeschooling, and really parenting in general, in mind, we wrote out measurable goals and taped them on the wall. They reminded us each day why we were homeschooling. 

Here our goals for our children:

My Child will experience salvation through Jesus Christ and walk in assurance of that salvation all the days of his/her life. 

My Child will Love God & Enjoy Worshiping Him. 

My Child will Love, Understand, and Obey God's Word.

My Child will Understand & Participate in the Power of Prayer. 

My Child will Know & Willingly Obey God's Rules of Right & Wrong.

After homeschool graduation, teens need to decide whether they will go to college, apprentice, or go right into the work force. 

Many homeschool teens choose to go to college. 

​While some folks are calling for government-funded associates' degrees, in many career sectors, the tide is turning so that careers that only required a bachelor's degree, now require a master's degree. 

​If your teen wants to be a doctor, lawyer, accountant, engineer, nurse, physical therapist, architect, or teacher, college will be in their future. 

​It's in their best interest to not only prepare them for college studies, but to prepare them for the world of academia. You see, many university campuses have gone from being Christian or tolerant of Christianity to being anti-Christian. Post-Modernism, socialism, and New Age beliefs are often taught as fact, while Christian views are mocked and scorned. 

​In addition, sex outside of marriage and addictions of all kinds are promoted on college campuses by professors and fellow students alike. 

​How can we prepare our teens, who feel called to pursue a college education, to excel without compromising their values and beliefs? Rather, in fact, to shine brightly on a college campus? 

​All of my children have had opportunities to speak up in class, defend the faith, and to share the Gospel privately with several professors. In addition, they have witnessed boldly on the university, planting seeds and introducing friends to Jesus. 

​What can you do to prepare your teens? Well, I can only share with you what we did to prepare our teens for the world of academia. God will lead you to prepare your own teens, but our ideas may help you.

Teenage rebellion is a myth. Some teens rebel. Some teens don't. Teens that do rebel don't rebel because they are teenagers. 

In primitive societies, boys hang out with dad learning to be a man and girls hang out with mom learning to be a woman. They go from child to adult without any drama or angst. 

In our nation, until the 1920's, children reached puberty later (usually around 16-18) and got married soon afterward. Again the transition was pretty smooth between childhood and adulthood. 

The 1920's was a paradoxical time for America. One of the most frugal Presidents ever sat in the White House vetoing spending bills and bringing down the national debt, while Americans themselves were offered and accepted with glee the brand new "Buy Now, Pay Later" philosophy. The bubble burst, of course, at the end of the decade. However, in the meantime, money was flowing and families were moving to the cities and suburbs from the farms. 

Teens had more time on their hands, less hard work to do, and more money to spend. Suddenly, a new thing happened. Young people were living to have fun and play, instead of working hard to help their families and preparing to have their own families. 

One thing we can't ignore during the teenage years is the impact hormones have on our teens. 

Our sons struggle with anger, sometimes excessive. 

Our daughters struggle with a wide range of emotions ranging from tears to giggles. 

The excessive mood swings in our beloveds are caused by fluctuations in estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Whew! Say those words ten times fast!

Adolescent boys produce ten times more testosterone! Have you ever seen the rage of an addict on steroids? Maybe your teenage son is more self-controlled than you give him credit for. 

At the beginning of puberty, the pituitary gland swings into action releasing Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and Luteinizing Hormone (LH). In boys, these hormones tell the testes to produce Testosterone and sperm. In girls, FSH and LH tell the ovaries to produce estrogen and eggs. 

Other changes happen.