I went to town with “purple” on my mind, for some reason (!) and was shocked to see the propensity to purple all around me.
Purple Shed
I found the purple shed behind the house that used to be purple. We are so glad the new tenants painted the house white, but the shed remains in its original orchidity.
Purple Ribbon
For some reason, purple ribbons flutter all over town. Purple is not the school color; red is. So why these ribbons everywhere, I do not know.
Purple DragonPurple Egg
Then, there is the motel with the purple dragon that laid the purple egg. This is an advertising ploy and attracts many families with children and red-hat ladies. And me.
Many beautiful examples of purple exist in all of creation, but these are just weird.
Purple Fence
However, the local Hispanic restaurant uses every color in the rainbow for its decor. The fence happens to be purple.
My husband and I have been married 42 years. Since we both grew up with lilacs in our mothers’ yards, we wanted them in our yard for our children.
Almost every place we lived, I tried to grow us a lilac bush.
I had little success, which surprises most people, since they are an easy-going plant. We’ve moved about 15 times, so we left a wide wake of surprised friends.
These children are trying to dig out insects from tree bark.
Sneaky changes you WON’T know about!
You will hardly realize your mind is clearing and new direction is sneaking into your lives, but others will notice.
Homemaking
As you welcome the idea of being a maker of a real home for your family, you will realize that washing dishes is not such a horrible chore, after all. You may remind yourself of a powdered cleanser commercial as you clean the bathtub, but you will like it.
Gentler rewards.
The exercise will give a glow to your cheeks, too. In fact, with new work going on, you may actually begin needing small breaks. What’s more, you will find quiet for enjoying your reading during these breaks, and in your favorite comfy chair instead of a sterile “break room”.
Simplicity
As you discover the truer beauty of new, simpler recreations, you will realize it is a good thing, because your costs will shrink, too. You will become quite satisfied with less.
The children
The best change, though, will come over your children. Your heart will sing as your see competitiveness and the resulting nervousness falling off your children.
As you discover their true personalities, you will delight in re-making their acquaintances. As they discover the real you, in return, they will cooperate with you more. You will hardly believe your eyes as you watch your children simply being a family, together. No amount of running around would give this joy, and as there is less running around, there will be much more time for family.
More time
As this newfound time applies to all of life, the educational level and possibilities for your children will greatly increase. It will not be all book learning, either, as you give life to their understanding of the joys of industry and simplicity.
Last, you will find yourself face to face with a new self. It will be great. Old priorities will go out the window and new ones will jump in the front door just as fast. Your amazement at yourself will know no bounds, at first. Things you once shrugged off will take on great proportions and things that once bothered you greatly will seem insignificant.
For instance, instead of fixating on finding the best school supplies for your child, you may discover packing school supplies for Somalian orphans seems somehow more important.
You may acquire a new hobby of crochet or gardening or baking. You could sell your product or teach classes. You could bring joy to those around you.
Most importantly, though, you will never again wonder if you should home school your children. You will finally know. The knowing will bring such peace in knowing you are finally giving your children the best you can, finally doing what you were made to do.
The parent who hopes or plans on home schooling probably wonders about it, what it must be like to be a homeschooler.
There are as many answers to this question as there are folks asking it, but the answer we all want, at first, is universal.
Entering the world of homeschooling is entering a whole new world.
It is a new world because immediately, the family realizes new freedom. Since the home school is YOUR school, the sense of liberty is immediate. You realize that you can do whatever you want, and you really like it.
You may choose to do everything just like a little school, but it will be your choice, not something forced upon you.
New Liberty
This new liberty will include the choice of curriculum and subjects. You will have freedom to choose a God-honoring curriculum. You will find yourself free to believe the entire Bible, if you choose, which will be a wonderful new freedom for you.
Along with the freedom to believe and study as you choose will come all sorts of other new possibilities. You could find yourself teaching your children all they need to become a missionaries, Creation scientists, midwives, herbalists, or any other of the fields that are off limits in the public arena.
New society.
As your new world makes these radical changes, your gladness will grow as you discover you also dwell within a new society. You will have new friends who will be happy to help you. You may need help, but it will be ever ready with these new friends.
As you learn to enjoy them, you will join them in their activities, new activities to you. Where you once had to chase ball games, you may find that you have more time to chase Frisbees or butterflies. Instead of hanging out at the school parking lot, you will find yourself hanging out at the observatory or park. You will like these new activities, and as you spend more and more time with these friends, your loving concern for them will grow.
Your concern will grow so much, in fact, that you may find yourself in a car full of folks riding to your State Capital to express those concerns. You may also find yourself enchanted at having the time for expressing such concerns.
You will enjoy these new friends because you will realize that they are a different sort of people. They smile a lot and their smiles are genuine. They reach out to you and you catch yourself looking forward to the next time you see them. You ask them questions because you like the differences you see in their families.
What you will not realize is that the same differences will be gradually appearing in your own family.
The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds, then immediately he and all his family were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family. Acts 16:25-34
I so wanted the birds to peek out from the inside while I was taking this shot. They say the camera makes a sound we cannot hear, but that bothers other creatures. I believe it. These little guys were so cute! But they decided to stay inside for us, at this time. Wise move, I’m sure.
Home's Cool! 