I give a clear warning to most friends and visitors prior to having them over to my house (which is not all that often since I do not abound in the gift of hospitality). “Our house is lived in,” I say. My brother-in-law calls it Romper Room when the kids are at their height of enthusiasm and expression, that’s almost all of the time. It’s something that I used to be ashamed of but now am learning is a true picture of what matters to our family, that is – family. Kids are not something to be seen and not heard, they are not messes to be cleaned up, or projects to manage. I like that you can see the life of my kids in my home. One example is the artwork proudly displayed all throughout the house from the fridge to the bulletin board. My son, Gilbert, 6, loves expressing himself through art. He has his own thumbtack gallery on his bedroom wall including his 100 Day of School project, a How Paper is Made mini-book, and a magazine collage of animals (thanks mom for sending all those magazine clippings – keep ‘em comin’.)

One such wonderful piece of art caught my attention today as I got up from putting my 2 year old down for his nap. It is a framed crayon drawing of myself and my husband that Gilbert made. I put it right next to my bed so that I would see it, just like I did today, and be reminded of what a treasure it is to have children full of wonder and excitement.

It is this same wonder and excitement that is building in my heart when I ponder my new call to start homeschooling. At first I was going to write, “my new call to homeschool.” I rephrased on purpose to make a point. I am answering God’s call to begin homeschooling with my oldest, my 9 year old daughter, Amanda. I clarify that to say that I am dipping my foot in the pool to see if the water is warm. I have not felt led to pull all three of my kids out of the Christian private school where I currently work as a Librarian. Some women do get the call to homeschool all their kids all at once. I have felt particularly led to spend a year pouring into my daughter’s life in a special way. God showed me that I could accomplish that through homeschooling her.

My brilliantly expressive son, Gilbert understands that our current school is a good match for him for next year and looks forward to homeschooling with me in the future. God is good like that. He knows that each of us is unique and He has Father-filtered plans for each family.
Our plan has me transitioning from being a working-outside-the-home mother to being a work-at-home mom who homeschools. I look forward to being at home again. I anticipate getting great educational ideas from my son’s assignments that can crossover and be adapted for my daughter and vice versa. My son will be able to join in making a lap book or art project Amanda has as homework. Learning how to be all that God is calling me to be in this new season will be an adventure.

What is God calling you to start or change? What transition are you facing? It may not be a mess-free zone ahead. You, like me, may not have it all figured out. God does. That’s the adventure!