I Corinthinans 13 - Because I need this reminder...

If you're like me, you are stressing a bit that summer is right on the horizon and all you can think about is what you did NOT accomplish - textbooks not completed, math facts still not conquered, handwriting is still a mess and so on. Maybe it's just me. After all, I'm a goal oriented person and I like to revel in the results of my completed work. (Needless to say, that makes home keeping a challenge but that's another post all together.) So seeing the spelling lessons that we didn't get to yet and watching Baker make his "O's" the wrong way can be discouraging and stressful.
God has been gently reminding me that ultimately what matters is Baker's character. He can learn math facts anytime and most people go through life just fine with passable handwriting but if he becomes selfish and lazy or turns from God's truth, nothing else will matter. If I focus on the Godly things, then the rest is less significant and I can exhale. This does not excuse me from teaching the academics but it certainly shifts my eyes where they should be all the time anyway - on Christ. When I do, the "things of earth will grow strangely dim" and I will have peace.
(God put this on my heart today and my fingers are flying across the keyboard which usually means that God is moving in my heart and mind and that He is calling me to share what He is teaching me with someone. So, here goes...)

I Corinthians 13 type of encouragment for Home Schooling Moms:

"If I can quote Shakespeare but do not speak encouragement, I am only an annoying showoff. 

If I have the gift of a high IQ and can explain and understand many complex things but do not have patience, I am prideful. 

If I have a determination that can build businesses from scratch and make a lot of money but do not have a generous spirit, I am selfish. 

If I mold my body into perfection through hours at the gym and the track, but do not have the discipline of Christ, I am an empty vessel. 

If I have handwriting that is beautiful, but do not write words of love, I have no honor. 

If I can identify all the major works of art but do not appreciate the beauty in God's creation, I am blinded."

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."