What's an Educated Woman to Do?

What's an educated woman to do?

I've been reading a very interesting book by Charlotte Mason, an educator from the 1800s.  Charlotte was actually the original home education proponent, turning the hearts of the parents to the children, and encouraging parents, especially mothers, to use their talents to educate their children at home.  Her writings are refreshing, insightful, and encouraging.  I've been tremendously challenged and blessed by what I've read so far.


Here's an interesting quote I read earlier:

We are waking up to our duties and in proportion as mothers become more highly educated and efficient, they will doubtless feel the more strongly that the education of their children during the first six years of life is an undertaking hardly to be entrusted to any hands but their own.  And they will take it up as their profession - that is, with the diligence, regularity, and punctuality which men bestow on their professional labours.

Looking back now on all that's transpired in the past one hundred and ten years or so, we see that Mason was perhaps a little idealistic, ready to believe in all that is good in people.  Really, we can't fault her, but it's sad to see that just the opposite has happened - mothers have become more highly educated and efficient and instead of benefiting their families with their talents, they have taken them and given their best energies for the purse, or the pocketbook, or the self-esteem.


What's an educated woman to do?  Give of her best to her Master, and give her very best years, talents, and labors to her family.  What better reward can there be for her labors than that her children would rise up and call her blessed?  

Invest in her children!

Heading Home! Finally....

We are finally heading to our home, which is parked at a collision shop in Gaylord, Michigan. As of Friday last week, the bus is done and the shop got their check, so all we need to do now is show up and pick up our baby. It's going to be late when we get in tonight, maybe around 11:00pm or so, but I know everyone will want to go see it, even if it's cold, dark, and late! It's been almost two months since the accident, and we are going to be sooooo glad to be home again...even if home is only 320 square feet!

The Lord has kindly blessed us, and many people have put us up, or put up with us, as the case may be. We've also been blessed to be in several meetings and some missions conferences, several of which were unplanned - the folks knew we were around and asked us to come. All of these missions conferences have been a tremendous blessing, I love being with missionaries, and it seems that the Lord speaks to my heart more and more with each conference. For all the Lord Jesus has done for us, could it be considered a sacrifice to serve Him? No, not at all...

We have one more missions conference to go before we can head out to the military bases of the east coast. I have been somewhat chaffing at the thought of being stalled in the breadbasket of the nation, but the Lord has used it to help us in many ways. Still, I can't wait to get close to a base and be amongst the folks God has called us to reach.

Continue to pray for us for safety. When we pick up the bus tomorrow, we will still have a lot of glass to clean up, though we did what we could before we left. There will be other repairs to attend to as well, like the front curtain and rod. That will need replaced as soon as possible (nothing like living in a glass house... literally!!) And I feel fairly certain that after two months of sitting idle, something will need to be fixed! Just pray for us as we settle in.

A thought for today:

"The Lord has made everything beautiful in His time..." Each of us struggle with the voices from our past, those voices that tell us that we are stupid, or ugly, or wierd, or whatever. Sometimes a face comes with the voices, and sometimes those voices are alone, taunting us.

Always remember that those voices are sent by Satan to discourage you and make you ineffective for God. You see, if he can make you feel worthless, you will do nothing for God, and he knows it. He is lying to you, telling you, through those hurtful remarks, something that is not true! If we listen to his lies, we will be coming in line with his desires and wishes. As a born-again, blood-bought child of God, He sees only His Son, not our mistakes or shortfalls. He is "blinded by the Son," so to speak.

Praise be to the wonderful Creator, who loves us, made us beautiful through His Son, and helps us erase the lies Satan has emblazoned into our memories. God is so good!