Fueling the Flame

"Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit" (Psalm 51:12).

Sadly, a homeschooler's passion to teach his child sometimes begins to fade. The daily demands of caring for a household and the intense effort required in homeschooling drains even the most dedicated parent. When the homeschooling fire begins to die out, many may choose a halfhearted approach or adapt a martyr, make-it-through-the-day mentality. Others may stop homeschooling altogether and send their child back into a traditional school setting. The wise homeschooling parent, however, will see the coals growing dim and find the fuel necessary to rekindle the flame of passion first given by God. Yet, how does one go about finding that fuel?

To reignite the vision of his child's education, the best thing a worn-out homeschooling parent can do is ask the Holy Spirit to come and control him anew. As a parent deals with his own personal walk before the Lord, the time spent in self-examination and repentance will show areas in his character that need strengthening. Prideful attitudes are adjusted, and total dependence on God's guidance is reestablished, allowing Him the right to reign over the entire homeschooling process. Most of all, the Holy Spirit is able to clearly reveal Satan's discouragement and remind us what was happening when the passion was last burning brightly.

Have trials and discouragement stolen your first love of homeschooling? The fiery conviction you once felt for your child's education will die if you don't find the right fuel source to keep it on fire. Stay faithful to the call God has given and let the Holy Spirit lead and strengthen you today. As you read your Bible, memorize God's Word, and pray for the Holy Spirit's wisdom, you'll be amazed as God provides everything you need to keep the home fires burning! "Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them" (1 Timothy 4:15-16a).

Lord, please rekindle the love of homeschooling in my heart. Remind me of the many blessings we have already experienced as a family and strengthen me to remain faithful as we face the upcoming school year. May You be praised in all we do. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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Comments(15 comments)

MELODIE B 07/13/2009 07:29:01

Yesterday, my pastor preached on "the joy of the Lord"....Four years ago, I had a tragic experience, in which all the life was sucked right out of me. God has helped me, but my joy has been lacking....

As I prayed at the alter at church, I cried unto the Lord...."please, restore unto me the joy of thy salvation"....

This morning, I know it was a God sent, to encourage me, as I read the scripture from Daily Focus..."Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold with thy free spirit"...

Praise God for the JOY of the Lord!

KIRSTEN J 07/14/2009 07:22:22

This devo struck right to my heart. With summer here and a break from school I think ahead to starting again in a month and don't really want to. This reminded me to take this time off and really focus on getting my heart in the right place.

angela w 07/12/2010 11:29:14

I am always talking about the Daily Focus that I get in my email. My husband told me that I should write a comment, so here I am. I just want to say Thank You for your Daily Blessing you give me . I read the Focus for the Day and I feel inspired. You seem to know what I am feeling on a daily basis.......

NANCY S 07/12/2011 06:39:31

am an older mom homeschooling. TEENS! lol lol. we all hit dry times but, don\'t give up. that\'s what satan wants you to do. God will see you through! the teen years are rough and these days the teens have a lot of trash, drama and ungodliness thrown their way. this is a very trying time and a trial for all of us. keep the good faith, remain steadfast and you will succeed. when you feel like you cannot do this anymore, that is satan coming against you! tell him to flee in Jesus name and he will leave! God bless all of you in your school year.

NANCY S 07/12/2011 06:43:25

POST SCRIPT! REMEMBER \" I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHETHS\' ME \"

ANNETTE F 07/12/2011 07:21:56

I look forward to The Daily Focus everyday as it always has words of encouragement.God Bless You AOP for sending it to us.

ANGIE W 07/14/2011 06:45:33

This fall will be my first year to start homeschooling. My kids will be in 5th, 4th and kindergarten. I am truly excited, little scared at times, but I know I can do this. So if anyone has any good advice out there on some do\'s and don\'ts, just let me know!! I\'m so excited about having the kids home with me this year and my girls can\'t wait. If I ever start getting burned out, all I\'ll have to do is remind myself of all the strife we went through in public schools. Don't get me wrong, I have tons of wonderful memories with my girls in school, but we\'ve been through lots of tears also. School today just isn\'t school like it used to be! I\'m only 38, but school has changed SOOO much!! So now I\'m ready to get on board with the rest of you homeschooling parents and see what this adventure is all about. I feel truly blessed to be able to stay at home and teach my children. Our GOD is an awesome God!! Blessings to each one of you.

CHRISTINE B 07/19/2011 18:44:29

To Angie W,

God Bless you in your decision to really take that step of faith to take your kids out of traditional school and homeschool them. That really motivates me to perhaps try homeschooling out myself--even though I have no teaching background. I have a 6 yr old boy, 4 yr old daughter, and 17 mth old boy. And I am 34 yrs--so I would also be starting a bit later than others, but that is ok. Yes, the public schooling today is a bit scary; every since coming to know Christ as Saviour, my eyes have been so opened to the false knowledge that gets \'passed\' along in school, especially with the fact that public schools do not acknowledge God and prayer! Our children are our blessings from God, so may He bless you in your homeschooling journey. It will be ok. You\'ve made a wonderful decision! Take care!

MICHELLE T 07/12/2012 05:43:49

This will be our 1st year to home school and we are all very excited! Not only are we on a new adventure with homeschooling but we are also adjusting to becoming a new family. My husband and I were married in September 2011 and we combined his three girls (ages 9, 11 & 12) and my son (age 11). It has been a challenging year with many \"battles of will\" and obstacles to overcome. The girls lost their mother in a car accident a few years ago so it had just been them and daddy when I entered the picture. We have overcome a lot and I can only give thanks to God because it has been Him that we have turned to for guidance, understanding, healing and peace. I will admit that I am scared and nervous and have had some sleepless nights wondering if we are doing the right thing by pulling them out of public school. It is so wonderful to have the daily devotionals sent to my e-mail and to read stories from other families. Please pray for us as we enter into this new journey together! Thank you and God bless.

AUDRA K 07/12/2012 06:36:04

Praying for you Michelle. God doesn\'t give us more than we can handle and remember that God is your strength, comfort, and provider. He will help you and us in this awesome homeschooling journey that we are on.

Thank you for these devotions. God really uses them to touch my heart

God bless!

ANGIE A 07/12/2012 06:49:47

We had our first official school day yesterday, the girls (8 and 6 yrs old) and I are very encouraged. I appreciate these devotionals very much. We are pastors of a church and God placed homeschooling in our hearts. The schools are changing drastically because the end is near and we need to teach our children what having a real relationship with Jesus is like. Keep our family in your prayers as we begin this new journey.

CARRIE K 07/12/2012 08:34:52

This is a timely devotion for me. Last spring, I was torn between schooling through the summer (7 yo and 5 yo girls) and taking a break. I decided that I needed a break even if the children didn\'t! It has been a happy summer so far, but jam packed with travel and activities. Now, in early July, I\'m already seeing our summer evaporate into a fall schedule. I get the sense of being on a roller coaster as it ascends with the chink, chink, chink of the cable pulling it to the top, and my adrenaline chinking right up with it. I\'m struggling to find my focus for our school year. Not only has this devotion helped my perspective, but your comments have helped by blessing me with a dose of peace and encouragement. Thank you, all. You have been oracles of our Lord!

ANGIE W 07/12/2012 09:49:00

To Angie W--I had to smile--I thought maybe I wrote what you wrote and forgot about it-well, almost :) I am an Angie W too and have a 6th, 4th, Kindergarten daughters plus a 3 yr old son. This is pretty much our first time starting in the fall. I did home school my oldest for Kindergarten and a few weeks a few years ago. It didn\'t go so well (I wasn\'t ready mentally) so we made a plan to get our oldest through elementary. Well here we are and really felt God calling us to hs this fall. Like you we have had good times but lots of tears and stress too. When you are trying to live a godly life and others aren\'t, the pressure for my girls becomes very tough. Anyway, God will bless those who follow His calling even when it gets tough. I am 37 and see how much school has changed but it also scares me because I went through a lot of junk starting around middle school--now it\'s worse!

GWYNETH K 07/12/2012 10:53:20

May God bless all of you who are starting out on your HS experience! There will be wonderful, joy filled days, and there will be struggles, but God is always there ready to hold you and renew the passion in your heart to serve Him! Praise God from whom all blessings flow! If I look ahead I try to remind myself to think of eternity with Jesus and not all the to do\'s on my calendar, for He is in control not I.

SANDRA M 07/14/2012 09:28:15

We have been homeschooling for many years and successfully graduated two of our children. The last few years we have dealt with spiritual attacks from every angle from within and without. We are still in our \"valley season\" and as the sole homechooling parent I don\'t feel or hear the reward of it. In trying to combat the grip the worldview tries to have on our teens, I don\'t enjoy the verbal battles at home as if I had no life of inttelligence before this. I had to come to the conclusion that I know what I have prayed for before any of our children were born and I still believe GOD now. I look for every opportunity to encourage myself and others and I still decide to keep walking.


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