Homeschooling Dads Are
Spiritual Leaders

If the spiritual leadership of your family is a new area for you to think about, don't feel overwhelmed. Start with small, manageable steps.

I'll give you a glimpse into how this looks in our home.

It's our goal to have God at the very center of our lives, the foundation of all that we do.

“How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” (Rom.10:15, NLT).
Personal Worship

I will only be able to give my family good news, if I have first experienced it myself.

That's one reason why I usually begin my day with a time of personal Bible reading and prayer. This year I am using a One Year Bible, a very convenient way to read the entire Bible in one year. It only takes about 15 minutes a day.

As my life is in tune with God I will be much better equipped to teach my family about the ways of God.

Family Worship

Dad, God has given you the responsibility for the spiritual teaching in your home. Don't be scared off by this. Us homeschooling dads are usually very busy, but we can find time for what's most important.

And you don't need to have a 30 minute sermon! Do something manageable for you. Keep it simple and meaningful.

Something that has been helpful for us is to go through a book about character qualities, addressing one character quality in each lesson. We try to break it down so that even young ones can understand.

A good time to do this can be at mealtime, when you are gathered together already. At our house it's a challenge to all get together, so I try to make use of my opportunities!

We also have times of praying and singing together as a family. If it feels awkward, just dig in and get started. We don't learn to pray just by studying about it. We learn to pray by praying.

Keep At It

Sure, there are moments when our children act very disinterested, but that doesn't deter us. We keep at it. When we keep making prayer a priority in our home, even someone as young as a two year old can learn to join in!

Its the same with singing. We learn by doing. One very good way to give your children some music training is to sing together as a family.

Homeschooling dads, don't get discouraged if your children complain or act like they can't sing. Keep at it. We have had lots of times when our children were uninterested in singing.

We've found that when we just keep doing it, they soon begin to love it! It's so exciting to think about Jesus in heaven hearing the beautiful voices of our little children praising Him.

Hmmm...do I smell an attitude?

I want to constantly be aware of the atmosphere in our home. Are there lots of bad attitudes? Disobedience? When an area of concern arises, it's my job to wisely address the need.

I need to find a balance of instruction and correction, depending on the child's age and maturity level. I don't want to only teach by saying no to the bad, but I want to be looking for ways to give lots of positive reinforcement and encouragement.

Try to give your child ten compliments for every criticism. You may be amazed at the results!

Children are very special to Jesus. He took time out of His extremely busy schedule to bless them. Homeschooling dads, if children are that special to Jesus, they should also be to us!

Let's invest in their little lives by being the spiritual leaders that they need.

Glad to be dad,

LaVerne

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