September is a busy month and our household tends to be as busy as the bees on my sunflowers! Just as we can hear the buzzing every time we walk into the garden, it seems like you can hear the buzzing in our household as we work toward getting back into a routine.

Our schooling is part of the routine that we work at getting back on track. No more late nights as earlier mornings are required. Days are spent going through crisp new books instead of going through crisp old leaves on trails in the woods. We add new fall activities into our fall evening routine such as youth programs, home Bible studies, and our fall soccer schedule. And with summer days gone, garden harvesting is upon us with picking, canning, freezing, and finally the garden clean up.

Tucked among all the buzzing of adjusting to a new season comes my very favorite part which is getting back around the table each morning with all my children as we start our school day with a devotional time. It is a pattern that has been established through the years and the children instinctively bring their Bibles to the table as they check to see where we left off. A devotional is read, then we open up God’s Word as I read a chapter in the Old Testament, the children take turns each day reading a chapter in the New Testament, and we close in prayer. As we begin our twenty-third year of homeschooling, I can say that because we’ve used this devotional routine for so many years our Bibles have been read cover to cover several times and each time we find something new to get our conversation buzzing.

This new school year we are beginning in the Old Testament book of Second Chronicles as we read about the rise and fall of kings which leads to interesting conversation around our kitchen table about our current government and its officials. Our New Testament reading begins in First Corinthians as Paul covers the many problems that were happening within a church body as they attempted to live godly lives in a corrupt society. Again, the buzz of conversation goes around our table about the society we live in today and how we can best live a life of integrity as believers in Jesus Christ when the world around us rejects godly principles. It’s exciting for the children to discover that wherever we read in God’s Word – which was written thousands of years ago – there is still great relevance of every word in today’s world. Our devotional time closes with prayer as we take these concerns on our heart for our world to our Heavenly Father knowing He will give us wisdom as we learn to apply His Word around us in daily life.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” ~ Second Timothy 3:16-17

Can there be anything more powerful than preparing our children with God’s Word as a foundational piece of their education? There is no doubt that this foundation will make a difference in our world as these children grow into young adults and leave our homes to walk in a world that is lost having rejected God. The groundwork that was laid in their lives while at home will bring them confidence, courage, and strength to share their faith and to speak the Truth in love as leaders in their homes, churches, businesses, and government. And when it comes to educating our children, isn’t this really the heart of the matter?

Married in 1980 and still living in the same house in a woodsy rural setting, Tammy’s homeschooling journey began in the fall of 1987 when her oldest turned six years old. As rather new believers professing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, homeschooling was a way to live out the principles found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9. Through all the challenges of life Tammy has stayed the course growing to a family with nine children who presently range from preschool age to college graduates married with children. Her role has transitioned from learning everything she could about homeschooling to becoming an encourager to others coming along the way. Please visit Tammy at Garden Glimpses.