Lighting the Fire

“Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.”
~William Yeats~

We sneaked away from the big city this weekend and left suburbia behind. We took our kids to the country, exchanging our lazy at-home weekend routine with actual work (and the sore muscles to prove it). We even let the toddler have his fill of dirt and rocks. We left the laptops, the Xbox, and the toys at home.

Even though we didn’t crack a book (except for the big kid who finished another twaddle series book in the back seat on the way home), I feel like we all learned and grew as people so much from our tiny adventure out of town… in the country.

Do you ever feel this way? Like God is a much better lesson planner than you are? The detours life provides are often some of the best learning experiences you and your children ever encounter.

Not to mention, living life with purpose is often much more memorable than rote recitation and fact gathering.

What are you on fire for? What means the most to you? Don’t let your thing – the FIRE – slip through the cracks because they are low on your priority list compared to what a scope and sequence dictate.

God built you with desires and talents and dreams for a reason. He picked YOU to be your child’s parent for a reason, too!

Here’s a newsflash, too: God is also the author of the unexpected journeys you find yourself on because of “circumstances beyond your control.” You know, the things we often complain about – and even sometimes dread – that prevent our routine from going off without a hitch.

I challenge you to get out and DO with your children. Plant a garden. Take a walk. Catch a caterpillar. Build a birdhouse. Help your neighbor who is elderly by mowing her lawn. Visit a relative. Fix a leaky faucet.

Do the special things that show them what makes you tick. Do the natural things that show them the world outside is wonderful. Do the needed things that show them duty and honor are important, too.

May you fill your child’s education with the memories that will make a difference. That’s my hope for my own kids, too.

Tagged as: academics, being a good parent, child rearing, doing the most important things, education, encouragement for moms, enjoying raising your children, Homeschool Devotional, lighting a fire under your kid, making memories with kids, parenting, passion, quality time, teaching to a child's bent, things to do with your kids