Week 10 in Review: Releasing Control

An incredibly wise friend and mentor of mine has seven children and has homeschooled all of them.  She once told me that if you have one good day of school a week, then it's been a good week.  Suffice it to say it's been a good week. 

My favorite parts of this week were me stretched out on the floor reading about Leonardo DaVinci and Martin Luther, or listening to Jim Weiss recordings (to complement our history studies), or playing "five went hiding" with Molly.

I pray constantly that the Lord will give me wisdom about how to teach the kids, and this is what I constantly find:  the best weeks are the ones that are most laid-back, where it seems like I have to wonder what we did.  It is in these weeks, however that the kids seem to internalize something or latch onto something that they learned.  While we were listening to Jim Weiss's "Masters of the Renaissance" recording about Lorenzo DeMedici, we heard about an attack that was made on Lorenzo's life while he was in church on Sunday morning.  As we listened, Matty was playing with his electricity gizmos.  I wasn't paying much attention until he told me to pause the cd, and showed me that he had taken a Lego man with two swords (a.k.a. "Lorenzo DeMedici") and attached him to the top of a motor.  When he flipped the switch, "Lorenzo" would spin and the swords would chop down his attackers.  Someone once told me that when children play and act out what they are learning it means they have internalized it.  Well, Lorenzo has done a lot of sword fighting this week, and Matty has asked to include him in our next lap book.

I have to remember this lovely week when I begin to stress, thinking that I haven't done enough or that I'm falling "behind."  I need to continue to draw on the wisdom that comes from the times when I am restful, because everything in the world strives against that state.

I was listening a sermon by Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle talk about Jesus withdrawing to lonely places be restored by his Father.  He talked about how we become addicted to the "high" that comes from being "on" and from being busy, and so we drink more coffee, sleep less, and move deeper into that addiction.  The addiction is twofold--one is the good feeling of being focused, busy, useful, productive.  This equals approval.  The second part of this is the reality that if one is quiet and restful, then one must be alone with her thoughts, and if there is not right relationship with God, this can be a painful proposition.  For me, I like the sense of being in control when I am busy.  Since, however, I have asked God to be the director of my life and actions, me being in control for very long is an exhausting proposition.  I now recognize that there is a fine line between disciplined routine and controlling busy-ness.  This week we maintained the routine, but I had to release some control, because we all were needing rest.  The time was redeemed with some delightful learning moments, concentrated into a couple of days.  It was, therefore, a good week.