Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Among the piles of things I hope to mark "Done in 2010" are several books, many of them started, but never finished. Here is the first to put on the list: Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit is written by Teri Maxwell. It has been on my "want to read" list for years. I was recently fortunate enough to run across a local, fellow home educator who had a copy and loaned it to me (and therefore part of the impetus to finish it to be able to return it). It sure seems as though the battle to have such a spirit has been greater since finishing it. This book was a good reminder of some important points, and brought up a few that were new or stated in a different way than I have previously heard them expressed. There were good chapters on disorganization, fear and worry, anger, and hard work/dying to self.
A note on books: Having read a plethora of books on parenting and then on home educating as we entered these phases of life with our first child, most every book since then has been more of a reminder, than some new revelation. Not that the more recently read books aren't as good or better than the earlier reads, but what was written years ago is still true today: "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." Ecclesiastes 1:9 So for me there got to be a point where reading was not giving me much that was "new", though still good, important, and much needed reminders. There comes a point when it is purely a matter of application. I need to stop reading and start applying truth that God has revealed to me through His Word, and sometimes through the insights and experiences of others, shared in books. It is also true that each family is unique and we can come to depend on books and methods instead of on God for leading and support in raising our families.
I'm taking the long route to saying that this was a really good book. I would recommend it if you are needing some reminders and encouragement in your home schooling and parenting efforts. If you have a lot of good Christian parenting books on your shelves already, you might re-read one of them instead, and/or see if you can find someone to borrow this particular one from. (This is coming from a perspective of feeling like we have way too many books already, and trying to limit buying more, but still wanting to benefit from books we don't own.)

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