Thank You List Saturday #9

I'm so thankful for the generosity of my fellow homeschooling moms, both the ones I know personally and the ones floating around in cyberspace.

When we began this journey I felt (and often still feel) utterly inadequate for the task ahead.  Not smart enough, not patient enough, not creative enough, not organized enough.... just plain not enough in general to homeschool my kids.

As I type this I am reminded of God's promise in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that He will equip me for this particular call:

"My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."

And in Philippians 4:19:

"And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

One of the biggest ways He's met my needs for encouragement and advice is through the moms who have gone before me and the ones who are currently in the trenches with me.  I have been amazed by other moms' willingness to answer even the most mundane questions.  Even more amazing is the humility with which these moms share their struggles and outright failures.

I'm also floored by how generous these moms are with their resources.  When PB and I made this commitment we agreed that we would try to be as frugal as possible when possible, but also be willing to invest what was necessary give our kids a full and well rounded education.  It would be easy to go broke given the abundance of homeschool products on the market, but one of things that has helped us stick to our budget has been the wealth of free resources available on the internet.  Moms are generously posting lesson plans, lapbook ideas and unit studies that surely are a result of hours of work and research.  And they're sharing them for free. 

Also, my bookshelves are full of books and periodicals that have been passed on to me from other moms who are done using them.

This ever growing community of moms, so diverse in style, disposition, and even motivation has helped me as we create a unique education experience for Doc Brown and Obi Wan-da.

These moms humble me.  These moms challenge me.  And I have to wonder: am I generous with what has been given to me?  Is my mouth quick with an encouraging word?  Will I let my pride die and confess my failures?  Do I refuse to perpetuate the myth that homeschooling moms have it all together?  Am I eager to share my resources with another?  

The honest answer to all these questions is probably not all the time, but these moms inspire me to work harder to make the answers YES.

So to all you homeschooling moms out there, God bless you guys because you sure are a blessing to me!