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Season of Re-education & Renewing of the Mind __________________________________
(#4) What Order Should I Do This Season In? Where Should I Start?
It's impossible for me or anyone to give you a specific, perfect order in which to proceed through the resources. I will give you a little "kick-off" suggestion order later in this section, but that's just to get you started somewhere. If you have a better idea, or a certain book is "calling your name," go for it!
Don't just assume it would be best to start at the beginning of the list or syllabus and just go down or through it, unless that seems right to you. You may find it more helpful to read through all of the write-ups on the various resources and ask God to highlight the one you are most in need of right now, at this point.
Having put much thought and prayer into this course and how people should proceed through it, in what order, I have come to the brilliant conclusion that there is just no "one best order" in which to do it because the Holy Spirit is doing different things in different lives. It would be like me coming to you and saying "I am wanting to make some major changes in my home; I need to clean, rearrange, do some repairs, get rid of some old furniture and get some new, and do some major remodeling; which should I do first and in what order?" You couldn't possibly give me an answer to that because you don't know what in my house is dirty (though you could just pretty much assume everything!), or what's working and what isn't, or what needs remodeling and what's just fine as it is.
...God may want one person to start by getting their home in order, as in better organized, either physically or in their daily routine, because He knows they (or their spouse) will have a much easier time receiving and learning everything else when their environment is in (better) order.
...He may start another in the area of relationships with their children because that, in His eyes, is most desperately in need of attention. That would make sense because that this area is at the very heart of education!
...Because some live in "hot" states regarding the law, some may want to start by dealing with some of the legal issues involved in homeschooling. You may want to read more than one of the four options I suggest in this arena, so check out the resources that are listed in the "Legal Issues" section of our online catalog.
...Yet another may feel lead to begin with a resource of a more spiritual nature. You'll find as you go along that this thing called "homeschooling" is really not separate from your "spiritual life" at all, but rather is a direct outflow from it! So there's going to be much spiritual activity and focus – much to your joy, you'll find, if this has never heretofore been a joyful thing for you!
All I want – the only thing that will work – is for each one to pray, and then follow God in what they think He is saying. It may very well be that He will use this course as an exercise in learning how to hear God's voice (Hearing God 101) and follow His leading (Walking by the Spirit) – areas I'm still growing in, and will until the day I go to be with Him in Heaven where all things will finally make sense!
It's going to be different for everyone, and there is no right or wrong way to proceed! It will be difficult proceed peacefully through a season of renewing of the mind when things are not functioning smoothly around you or if you are not at peace inside. You may need to get some things right with God and/or within your home and family relationships. And if you don't know how, many of the resources I have suggested for this course will eventually deal with these very things.
Just don't allow yourself to get "stuck" at any one point! If you find that one resource you start isn't really "speaking" to you, that you're not quite "connecting" with its message, then just feel free to put it down and come back to it later. It will make more sense later, when you're at a different place. Trust the Holy Spirit to lead you, even if you feel very imperfect about hearing Him. :-) Plus, realize (and accept that) you'll never reach "perfection" or a perfect time to do this, so don't wait for either! We procrastinators and frustrated perfectionists can easily get thrown and kept off-course, can't we?!? And those of us for whom it is difficult to make a decision (you should see me at a restaurant!) can too easily be prevented from even starting! Give yourself maybe a week or two to get a handle on a few "external" things, need be, and then, by the grace of God, move into the "meat" of the season. Just DO it! :-)
Where to Start?
I have another whole section on this (see item # 3), but no matter what order in which you decide to "do" your resources, I would encourage you to start ~ after reading all the articles here at this website ~ with the two booklets entitled A Time to Seek God and Discerning of Spirits. This latter one should really be called "A Primer in Hearing God" as that's really what it's about! Both of these booklets will get you off to a solid start and are very inexpensive. They're not specifically "homeschool-related," and yet in many ways are actually more homeschool-related than many of the specifically homeschool books! Renewing the Mind by Casey Treat is another good one. ... You know what, they are ALL good or I wouldn't have suggested them! :-)
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