Thanks, Dad
Posted in Daily Focus on Sunday, June 15, 2014
"The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him" (Proverbs 23:24).
Homeschool dads, as well as moms, have the double responsibility of not only being a parent but also being a teacher. My dad had to learn how to share with my mother the daily tasks of teaching, maintaining a home, and balancing finances. As a child, I didn't understand or appreciate the responsibilities he faced, but as an adult, it's easier to see how important my father was in my upbringing and how he impacted my life.
No matter what stage of homeschooling you're in, you're probably wondering if you're making a positive difference in your children's lives. From a former homeschooled child, I am here to say homeschooling is worth it. In honor of Father's Day, here's wisdom my dad taught me that you can also apply.
Always Explore - My dad was a natural at discovering new things and figuring out how they worked, why God created them, and sometimes even how to improve them. His love of exploring taught me not to be afraid to learn or approach new things, people, or situations.
Be Unique - My dad was never one to go with the crowd. He was unique, fun, and genuine. He didn't care what others thought of him, and he taught me the freedom of being myself and having my own interests that made me who I am.
Mistakes Are Alright - My dad never judged me when I made a mistake or didn't get mad when I didn't get the best grade on a test. He was more concerned about me and how I was learning.
Work Hard - My dad worked selflessly for our family for years, while my mom stayed at home and taught us. He came home at night and helped with homework and chores, even when he was exhausted. This taught me the beauty of sacrifice.
Pursue Your Dreams - My dad always empowered me to chase my goals and dreams. Because he gave up his dreams for my siblings and me, he encouraged me to follow whatever career path I wanted. He made me feel like I could achieve anything.
What plans have you made to honor the homeschool dad in your house this Father's Day? Be sure to thank him for all his acts of love and behind-the-scenes support. Show appreciation for all he does to make your homeschooling successful and thank him for the love he communicates to your family. "Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee" (Exodus 20:12).
Lord, thank You for fathers and the loving help they provide to homeschooling families. Help me to always appreciate and recognize what they do to keep families strong and walking with You. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Comments(16 comments)
JILL K 06/21/2009 10:02:33
Greetings! Here I am again, challenging the ones who have written this Daily Focus and those who have tried to use it. If your not going to eat meat as in Hebrews, and only drink milk, what do you expect to happen to the church? For it will never mature will it, it will be weak and ineffective and filled unmitigated evil.
When you seek forgiveness, what are you? Forgiven or still unworthy as you will never attain to the things that Jesus died in order to give you sonshi?. He loved and loves you so much that he died for you, the perfect sacrifice and he is the one who has given his life to make you equal with him; acceptable. This is made beautifully clear within Ephesians 5: 25-26, and it states that Christ died for the male body, not female, but male, for the church city is the bride in fact, did you know this? The husband is to love his wife as Christ loved and loves the church, and He sanctifies and cleanses the church WITH THE WASHING OF THE WORD it takes his blood sometimes when you walk in perfection after the initial period of learning and maturing, but then, after about 2 years, the very vast majority of the body can and should be perfect, and many believe this not just a handful but many.
Quite frankly I find this anti biblical approach to the loving and living word most insulting, it is not respectful to all who believe is it, and at all levels? It is my knowledge that certain respectful staff at Alpha Omega are rather fed up with those who are not walking as well as they should and demonstrating the blissful love of Christ as they could if they would only try. Certainly, little children live in a sinful world, and they make mistakes that maybe or may not necessarlily be sin, until they grow up, but they will fall into sin more readily with a family that is not even encouraged to mature and become perfect; as many Chirsitans have done - to Jesus' delight.
Ps. 15; Col. 2:11; Heb. 6:1 are most helpful also.
Why is it please, that so far, I cannot access the King James BIble with the Greek and Hebrew meanings clearly numbered within the bible text so that the meanings of the words could be discerned more clearly? It was and it is a most wonderful tool, but how do I access it please?
We rest our case the Lord and I and we hope that someone from Alpha Omega will have the grace to apologise and put things aright please.
With lovingly deep concern and care,
Karen Knapman (Ms).
ASHLEY M 06/19/2011 04:52:56
I agree with you Ms. Karen to some extent about we in the church are not walking fully in the truth of GOD's word. But Paul also makes it clear in Phillipians 3:12 "Not that I already have attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me." Our perfection is in Christ alone and santification is Christ's work in us. Sanctification is not a two year process, but a lifetime of the Holy Spirit working in us to bring us into the likeness of Jesus. I agree we in the church need to grow up, but this ministry is not for a long sermonette. It is for the edification of the body of Christ to build us up and to encourage us. We that read these articles are looking for a little edification and encouragement as we homeschool. Sometimes Jesus does use them to convict or bring us spiritual truth, sometimes HE has just used them to remind me of who I am in HIM. Either way GOD is working through them and the people that bring them to us to HIS glory. Most of us get our "meat" through personal time with the LORD in other ways. In depth Bible study, church, discipleship classes, etc.... I pray we all are doing these things along with prayer as we seek to walk with Jesus more closely and read HIS word faithfully, and as we submit to each other in the fear of the LORD.
TERRI LEE S 06/19/2011 05:49:22
May God forgive us for judging others harshly and trying to remove specks from others' eyes when we have logs in our own. How about we show a little love and appreciation for the foilks who bring us this resource every day for free. Thank you AOP and God bless!
CARIN M 06/19/2011 08:47:50
Ms. Karen,
With all due respect I have not read of anything in the devotionals that go 'against' the Word of The Lord.
Perhaps they do not dig as deeply as you would like. I do not read them for my 'meat' of scripture. I sometimes find they lead me to look up scriptures; but this is not my only time in the Word.
They are more like my sip of tea as I blow dry my hair each morning. A sip of the word of God, and a reminder - usually - of the reasons I home school.
Why are you so against those who try to encourage others?
If you read Romans 8 by the Apostle Paul he reminds us that we are to be led by the Spirit, and not be slaves to our sinful nature.
The Spirit does lead me and my life, and more than once the Spirit has used these devotionals to convict me.
I encourage you Ms.Karen to read Romans 8, allow the renewing of the mind, and see clearly that AO devotionals are not hurting the Christian community with their words.
SABRINA W 06/19/2011 10:34:01
Carin,
Thank you, you put it well. My a sip of tea. This is a taste, a moment, a breath. For me a reminder. Today's was a great reminder of how our husbands help to make our homeschooling a success. A fresh point of view.
Karen,
If you do not care for the devotionals, than you do not need to read them. Please have respect for the encouragement that is being given.
Christ in my heart,
Sabrina
DENISE S 06/19/2011 10:40:39
I'm sorry to see the criticism for those that bring us insperational messages. Thank you for your work. Please continueeith the work you do as you see fit because you can open the eyes of someone in a new light when you make it simple. A lot of people get confused with long quotes. Thank you todays was wonderful because many times dads are forgotten for all they do behind the scenes.
TERRI K 06/19/2011 15:02:03
I don't know what Karen (Ms.) is even referring to. Correct me if I'm wrong but her comment doesn't have anything to do with today's devotional. Sorry, I couldn't quite understand what she had to complain about. Thank you AOP for all your hard work, it has helped me on so many days......
KAREN C 06/17/2012 04:15:08
"This is made beautifully clear within Ephesians 5: 25-26, and it states that Christ died for the male body, not female, but male, for the church city is the bride in fact, did you know this? "
What???? Please explain??
And I think these daily devotionals, as they pertain specifically to homeschooling, are quite encouraging and uplifting. Thank you AOP.
Karen C.
KATHY S 06/17/2012 06:44:21
Please, Ms. Karen Knapman, wherever you were,II ask you politley,and respectfully to go back there. Or, if you are going to continue coming back here, please go into prayer about your words before writing. God will help you.
AOP provides a wonderful devotional for all of us Christian Homeschool parents that we enjoy. Now, no one is perfect, including you, I, or AOP.
SO, I won't sit here and do Bible "quotes" on whose more accurrate at what. I have noticed that latley there are people who seem to want to disrupt our happy little blog here,and they have been coming out of no where, randomly, and always seem to have the 1st response of the day. HMMMM.
Anyway. prayers go out to you, usually people don't give responses like that unless they are in Need of God to help them. So, Karen Knapman, I will pray for you.
As we all need Jesus help, today seems to be a day where you could use his loving care and reassurance.
I'll give my actual writings later on.
Happy Fathers Day to all.
FAITH Y 06/17/2012 07:26:54
We live overseas, and are in our second year of homeschooling and have been using AOP-SOS and Horizons for teaching our children. The lessons are designed to help to lead our children to Christ and at the same provide the knowledge they need to make a life for themselves when they graduate. I have been researching the material for the 2012-2013 school year and was reviewing the Lifepac materials yesterday and I was so overjoyed by the topics covered and how God's word is woven throughout the lessons,. We are also thankful for the daily devotions. I did not get to read all of them this year but in my first year I read most and they were very encouraging. I agree with the other writers that these devotions are not to replace our indepth study of God's word, but we are grateful for the encouragement it provides and most times they do convict us as parents and prompt us for times of reflection. Thank you AOP for being so faithful in delivering these daily devotions and may God continue to bless your ministry.
CARRIE K 06/17/2012 10:06:51
Eh, why is (Ms.) Karen Knapman writing on the post of "Jill K"? I think all of you have given worthy and grace-filled responses, and I'm happy to call you sisters in Christ.
RICK B 06/17/2012 10:07:01
In our home I, dad, have been the main teacher for our 3rd grader since pre-school. MY wife helps on Fridays with the Language Arts class. This works well for us and I would not change it for the world.
RickB -
BRANDI S 06/17/2012 10:25:22
I don't quite understand Karen's response in relation to today's devotion, but the slight issue I have with it is regarding single parenting. I'm a very young widow and although I don't consider myself the mother and father, I do everything the father does as you mentioned in the devotion. I just wanted to mention that mothers can do it too (even though it is a Father's Day devotional). It's extremely hard to homeschool and do everything, but thank the Lord it can be done. No disrespect here....and I do appreciate the encouragement you provide for homeschoolers....take care. Brandi
MELISSA R 06/17/2012 11:28:35
I greatly enjoy the daily devotionals! They are a little pick-me-up; reminding me that I am not alone in this quest to raise God fearing children. God is always with me, but He also places small reminders of His love and guidence through many different people and text and songs. That being said, I am not perfect here on earth and I never will be because I am a sinner, but I am perfect in the sight of God because I have Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior...that is a supernatural perfection. I am still growing and learning as the Spirt of God guides me and corrects me, because I am a child of God.
Your sister in Christ,
Melissa
KATHY S 06/17/2012 18:01:03
Happy Fathers Day to you Jesus!
The Bible says that God will be a "Father" to all those without.
My son's father left us when he was a baby, and my Father passsed away 7 years ago. So, we depend heavily on our "Heavenly Father" for guidance, help, and day to day living.
I do alot of extras as I am alone, but I could not do what I do without Jesus' strength and help.
So Happy Father's Day Lord Jesus!! And Thank you for everything!! Amen.
Jackie Rogers 06/17/2013 13:40:30
Would love to see some encouragement for the Dads out there who are the primary Homeschool teacher.