The one thing I really need is wisdom. Daily, there are questions about how to manage time well, raise my children, love my husband, use my talents, manage our house, guard our health, be a friend, contribute to our church, and educate my children.
When I feel overwhelmed, frustrated, impatient, angry, or focussed on my own goals, the problem is often that I am following earthly wisdom, rather than the wisdom that comes from heaven which is pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere (James 3:17).
Where do we get this wisdom? We are encouraged to ask God for it (James 1:5). But as mothers, how can we teach our children wisdom even though we need to relearn it constantly ourselves?
I’ve puzzled over this in a vague way for years, never really articulating my quandary. Once the question is asked, however, the answer is almost obvious: In Proverbs, God gives us a whole book for training in wisdom!
It is for our children–giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young (Prov. 1:4)
And it is for ourselves–let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance (Prov. 1:5).
In our family, we have not focussed as much as we could have on this little gem of curriculum that God has tucked into the Bible. For the next while, probably at least a year, we are aiming to spend more time studying and memorizing Proverbs.
Eventually, our goal will be to memorize the whole book, but that seems to be in the distant future. Some of my children study it chapter by chapter; I prefer rereading it and meditating on a verse here, a verse there until, eventually, most of it will live in my mind. As a family, we plan to read it regularly at our after-lunch devotions, sometimes using study guides, and sometimes discussing it together.
If anyone wants to partner with us in this commitment to memorize Proverbs, we would love to hear from you. Please tell us what you are learning, how the memorization is going, and how God is using His wisdom in your life.
Every few Tuesdays, I plan to update you on our progress. This Thursday, the Lord willing, I’ll be discussing some overview books about home high school. See you then for Tea Time with Annie Kate!
I think that's a great plan. I need to do this with my kids and with myself. I am a horrible "memorizer".
I'll look forward to reading about your progress.
Thanks for stopping by my blog and posting your comments.
I also love the book of Proverbs. As a new mom, who no longer had a hour at a time to read the Word, I would go to Proverbs and read one chapter a day. If a couple of verses in the early part of the chapter spoke to me, I would write them down and meditate on them when changing dd's diaper, nursing her, or washing the dishes. Before I knew it, I was growing in leaps and bounds in my walk with the Lord. And over twelve years later, Proverbs is still my favorite book!
As far as my organization, I have an "only," which makes a huge difference on the amount of time I have to do big tasks like this. I'm not organized by nature (I've done a personality test which proves it!), but it is a quality I learned to incorporate to allow me more freedom to do the things I really want to do.
Annie, I didn't think to mention — I have two categories on my blog dedicated to hs topics. One is for high school stuff: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/proverbsmama/High%2BSchool%2BStuff/
The other is for general hs stuff:
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/proverbsmama/Homeschool%2BSpotlight/
I will try to keep posting something on Mondays that is hs-related. I'm not sure how faithful I will be during the summer months, but I will try. 🙂
I would so LOVE to participate in this! However, we are still devouring Bob Schultz books, as they have been sooo simply convicting for ALL of us! but I'd like to come alongside your Proverbs studies next…. (((((HUGS))))) sandi