Looking At The Heart...

The past several weeks I have spent multitudes of seconds, minutes and hours reading, searching, praying, evaluating...it's that time of year again...time to choose curriculum for our upcoming school year. What to choose... What to use... What has worked... What has failed... What are the learning styles... What are the interests... What would captivate and stir a love for learning in the heart of our greatest investments... What is God-honoring... What goes against what we believe and hold fast to... SO MANY CHOICES...


Although I know I haven't "schooled" nearly as long as some, the past sixteen years have been filled with successes and failures, good days and bad days, achievements and losses. This past year more than any other before, I see where the Lord has changed my perception and view of what "school" should look like and for that I am thankful as are our girls. Although I do take into great consideration the academic side when considering curriculum, more than ever before I am looking at the heart of those I am teaching. More than ever before I want to choose something that awakens the uniqueness that God has created within those hearts. More than ever before I want to choose something that brings depth and drive to those passions that lie within. I want to feed the heart and soul of our girls as well as the mind. For the first time, I've laid aside what we "should use" and have trusted the Lord to guide me in choosing "what fits"! It's been fun! It's been exciting! And as usual, our 16 year-old as well as our 10 year-old can't wait until the UPS truck pulls up with the box of treasures that we will open day-after-day over the next nine months! The box of treasures that will fill our days with learning and knowledge. The box of treasures that will enhance the desires that our Creator so tenderly placed within the hearts of our two greatest investments!

In saying all of that, I wanted to share a reading that I have read and reread and plan to copy, laminate and hang in our school area this year. An awesome reminder of why we do what we do...

To Be Educated

If I learn my ABC's,
can read 600 words per minute,
and can write with perfect penmanship,
but have not been shown how to communicate
with the Designer of all language,
I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

If I can deliver an eloquent speech
and persuade you with my stunning logic,
but have not been instructed in God's Wisdom,
I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

If I have read Shakespeare and John Locke
and can discuss their writings with keen insight,
but have not read the greatest of all books-
The Bible-
and have no knowledge of it's personal importance,
I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

If I have memorized addition facts,
multiplication tables,
and chemical formulas,
but have never been disciplined to keep God's Word
in my heart,
I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

If I can explain the law of gravity and
Einstein's theory of relativity,
but have never been instructed in the unchangeable
laws of the One Who orders our universe,
I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

If I can classify animals by their family, genus, and species,
and can write a lengthy scientific paper that wins an award,
but have not been introduced to the Maker's purpose for all creation,
I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

If I can recite the Gettysburg Address and
the Preamble to the Constitution,
but have not been informed of the Hand of God
in the history of our country,
I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

If I can play the piano, the violin, six other instruments,
and can write music that moves men to tears,
but have not been taught to listen to the Director of the Universe
and worship Him,
I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

If I run cross-country races,
star in basketball and do 100 push ups without stopping,
but have never been shown how to bend my spirit to do God's will,
I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

If I can identify a Picasso,
describe the style of a da Vinci,
and even paint a portrait that earns an A+,
but have not learned that all harmony and
beauty comes from a relationship with God,
I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

If I graduate with a perfect 4.0 and
am accepted at the best university with a full scholarship,
but have not been guided into a career of God's choosing for me,
I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

If I become a good citizen,
voting at each election and fighting for what is moral and right,
but have not been told of the sinfulness of man
and his hopelessness without Christ,
I HAVE NOT BEEN EDUCATED.

However, if one day I see the world as God sees it,
and come to know Him,
Whom to know is Life Eternal;

And glorify God by fulfilling His purpose for me,
THEN,
I HAVE BEEN EDUCATED!
~Carolyn Caines~

"Thus saith the LORD,
'Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
neither let the mighty man glory in his might,
let not the rich man glory in his riches:
But let him that glorieth in this,
that he understandeth and knoweth ME."
Jeremiah 9:23-24

"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy or vain deceit,
after the tradition of men,
after the rudiments of the world,
and not after Christ."
Colossians 2:8

"...Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the Truth."
2 Timothy 3:7