Today has been an exciting day in the Everfaith household!  We’ve had about ten inches of snow — not remarkable to you northerners…but for those of us living way down south, ten inches might as well be thirty!  The views have been amazing.  We may lose our palm trees and bushes out back, but there isn’t much we can do about that.  We built a snowman and pelted each other with snowballs…funny how a snow day makes us all turn into kids again.  I did not organize my email inbox today.  I did the bare minimum with homeschooling and used the rest of the day to play, to read, to relax by the fire.  The rest has been blissful.  I put so much pressure on myself to do, do, do, run, run, run, go, go, go, be, be, be…that it took a record breaking snowfall to give me the green light to go ahead and rest.

Today’s reading marked the end of Exodus and a vivid description of how the Lord led the Israelites through the desert.  The glory of the Lord’s presence in the form of a giant cloud descended over the tabernacle (which had been built to the Lord’s exact specifications).  When it lifted, the Israelites followed it, sort of like we push the accelerator and GO when our light turns green.  When the cloud lingered over the tabernacle, the people stayed where they were, on hold, until the Lord gave the green light again by moving the cloud.

There are times that I wish the Lord still gave us directions that were as crystal clear as that ones he gave to Moses and the people.  We have directions from Jesus in the New Testament, and we have the Holy Spirit guiding us…but I confess there are days when I don’t discern the Counselor.  There are decisions to be made that bewilder me, and I feel paralyzed with indecision.  If only the Lord would give me a giant Green Light when he wants me to go, and a Red Light when he wants me to stop!

Oh…but then again, he does exactly that, if only we have the patience to perceive.

Earlier this week my family attended an information meeting at a local Christian University Model school.  I have been in prayer regarding the correct course of action with my only child, so I went to this meeting with an open mind and nearly laughed at loud at the Lord’s sense of humor and timing.

A little background: I have become a “believer” in the classical model of education.  It is scriptural and embodies and improves on everything I ever learned in college about education.  I’ve seen the fruit of it in my daughter’s learning and even in my own as I learn right alongside her.  So I was tickled to hear the very first question poised to the facilitator at the info meeting’s question and answer session.

What’s the difference between your school and classical education?

The sweet facilitator was a bit flustered and admitted that she was not familiar with that model of education so she could not speak to its differences with the program at her school.

Well, that answers that question for me!  I cannot abdicate my teaching responsibility to an organization that will not teach my child the tools of learning.  When the emphasis is on the subjects and the curriculum used rather than on teaching the mind how to think, children become used to being spoon fed everything and end up unable or unwilling to take positions on important issues later on in life.

A woman named Dorothy Sayers wrote about the lost tools of learning back in the ’40s.  I was required to read her essay and write about it as part of my application process to be director of Classical Conversations.  The act of reading it showed me how weak my own education was…I felt like I was back in college and had to dig out the highlighter and pen to make notes as I read it! Read it yourself, if you are willing to be challenged on your thinking about education in the United States and the direction in which it is heading…if you want to be challenged to seek out a way to “do” classical education with your homeschool.

All this to say that the question and answer session at the private school was my green light for continuing on the homeschooling journey, and I thank HIM for showing me the way he wants me to go.