A Homeschool Mom Book?
Writing my chapter in this Homeschool Mom book was both a challenge and truthfully, a healing time for me. I will talk a little bit about the process and what I learned as I contributed to this book along with nine other amazing moms. If you’re curious about the book, click HERE.
If you want to hear my author podcast episode you can listen by clicking the link.
When the publisher called me to be a part of a collaboration project, I immediately thought---“oh, no…not right now! I have a fiction book coming out this year and we are still in the thick of things!” As soon as that thought happened, I immediately felt the tug on my heart from the Holy Spirit and I thought to myself, “Oh boy, here we go…” After speaking with my husband and praying, I knew I was to contribute, and that Jesus would work all things out. The next thing I knew, I heard myself say yes to the nice voice on the phone and then proceeded to freak out after the phone call because, I mean, well-I homeschool four kids, have health issues, am writing a very thick fiction book, +++ and my everyday reality did not have room for the collab project!
My husband proceeded to calm my anxious heart and said matter-of-factly “Rose, what did you hear from God?” I took a breath and said, “that I am supposed to do this.” He said in confidence, “Then don’t worry. It will work out and there is a reason that you heard yes.” That man and his gift of FAITH. It is a beautiful thing. His faith allowed me to take a deep breath and re-focus in that moment.
I knew there would be some months before having to turn in my collaborative chapter for the mom book but wasn’t sure how long. In my attempt to “try” to think about ideas, each one failed to fully form in my heart or mind for quite a time. I began to think I heard God wrong and that I made some mistake thinking I would be ready when the “go time” call came from Hope Books Publishing. So, I went back into prayer about it, and again I heard from the Lord that it was not a mistake, and if fact, that I was to trust it would come when the time came to write it. In my heart, I was like, Lord? I don’t want to wait until the last minute to write this, but again He just told me to wait---trust. To go as He leads, when He leads…
So, I did…and every time I brought my mind and heart to think on the chapter, I was shown to wait, trust, wait, it’s not time yet.
When I received the message for when the first draft was due, it was less than a month for me to complete and I had not even started! And, once again, every time I brought my mind and heart to think on that chapter---nothing happened—except more…. waiting!
The deadline for was fast approaching and at this point I was like, Lord it is really getting down to the wire here. It was quite comical because as I was saying that in prayer, He gave me two verses that I had to look up because I was not sure what those references were. To my surprise, the two verses not only reflected each other---they were--- well, let’s just say hard verses that I was given to think about. This was not some fluff piece and again I was like what? It turns out that there were several things that needed to happen prior, and that I needed to not only hear, but understand from the Lord before starting the chapter. It was all His timing. After I read the verses and prayed more, Holy Spirit gave me this quote to share in my chapter.
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Do not be afraid to teach the things you want to learn,
learn the things you want to teach, nor be fearful of being irrelevant in doing so.
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That is all I had in that moment. This quote that the Lord put in my heart and wanted to share with me before writing the chapter. It hit me deeply because of the struggles I had faced, and sometimes still face as a homeschool mom. The world’s invading systems had played their part well in my life---taking a toll that created issues in my own teaching systems and methods that I thought I was supposed to implement to be a successful homeschooling mom (family). After understanding the personal Scripture verses God put on my heart and this quote He gave me, the words started to flow out and fill the blank pages.
So, what did this quote teach me?
Do not be afraid to teach the things you want to learn--- This reminded me that teaching is one of the best ways to learn. Even when we are not an expert in something, sharing what we are learning helps us solidify our understanding and can in fact, inspire those around us (including our kids). We can’t let imposter syndrome hold us back!
Learn the things you want to teach--- This felt like a call for intentional learning. If we feel that we need to share or teach something in the future, we can make it a priority to study it now. It is a reminder to us that being proactive and prepared is a great way to help our children in life, in study, in teaching others themselves.
Nor be fearful of being irrelevant in doing so--- God knows that I have struggled with fear, not feeling worthy or that I matter. This encouraged me to pursue growth and be authentic in my journey without having a fear of whether someone validates or even pays attention to it in any manner. Let's not worry about the voice of man and focus our efforts on hearing what Jesus has to say about things.
We can rest assured that teaching in a bold manner, even when we are smack dab in the middle of the processes of understanding how to---that it is okay. We need not place judgement on ourselves or kids when we do things that are considered outside-the-box and not measured by the ways of the world. Who made that measuring stick anyway and why do we feel we must follow to achieve success?
Writing this chapter may have caught me off guard, but that was a good thing. God knew it was exactly what I needed so that I would share the things that could bring encouragement for other moms in the trenches. It taught me on a deeper level in various layers and showed me that we can grow as we give (teach our children), we don’t have to be experts in everything to teach it, and that it is okay to learn out loud. Mama, you are seen and we can trust that our voice matters to our kids. We can practice helping them learn in an intentionally way as it is not only essential to them, but to us. We can’t let fear get in our way or keep us from stepping forward in our pursuit of honoring God in all we say and do. Honoring God in ways that the world just can’t see or fully understand.
As I talk about in the chapter, fear is a rudder by which the world steers, and we do not have to jump into its boat. Instead, let’s be the scariest thing in the room and build our own ships in God’s leading and navigate new seas together!
Although the official release date of the book will be on May 19, 2025 in North Carolina, you can order the book by clicking HERE. If you know someone who may be encouraged by this, please share this post! When I received royalties, it goes to help our mission projects!
Love, Blessings, and Happy Mother's Day!
