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Labstone… {we love you brother – always}

10.07.2011

He fought the good fight. And this morning, Labstone Chanda went to be with Jesus. Please pray for Sarah and his three young, beautiful children. We will all miss him greatly. Most of our memories with Labstone are filled with belly-ache laughter. He left his job as a school teacher to take a risk with us in building schools, serving orphans and making a difference for the sake of the gospel. He opened his home to orphans with no place to call home. He loved them-and he loved us. He was a friend and brother…

He is survived by his wife Sarah and three children Georgiana, Natasha and Kapata…and 450 orphans at Wiphan Care Ministry.

“Life is fragile. Labstone was a good friend and a great man with a heart for the underprivileged and for God. His life impacted greatly hundreds of widows and orphans for God’s glory. In God’s economy, he lived a righteous life. He will be missed. His citizenship was not in Zambia or in this world. He is home now. I can’t wait for our reunion one day.” -Scott Bowen, Wiphan USA President

Posted in Orphan & Widow Care
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Naomi - October 7, 2011 - 10:35 am

Oh I am so so sorry! My heart just breaks for his family and friends. Those sweet children. The Mother’s heart that grieves for the love of her life. Makes me cry.

I will be praying. And for you too!

Blessings, Naomi

Sandi - October 7, 2011 - 10:59 am

Our hearts are with his family & all of the children who are feeling his loss. Praying for God to bring healing, peace, & JOY to break through the sadness. Praying for many hands to lift his wife & his hildren up during this time.

Brittany - October 7, 2011 - 9:27 pm

Oh gosh, I am so sorry to hear this. I had been keeping Labstone and his family in my prayers. May they find some understanding of God’s goodness in this, and rest in his peace.

LEWIS CHAMA - November 18, 2011 - 6:45 am

his death has left me with much wonder and at the same time speachless. we shared the same floor building at INSURANCE HOUSE IN NDOLA and i used to insure most of his cars. a very cheerful person he was. and when i broke the news to my wife Priscilla she did not believe me, all said was ‘A CHEERFUL AND HELPFUL PERSON HE WAS’. I WILL DEFINATELY MISS HIM. MAY THE LORD CONTINUE TO PROTECT AND PROVIDE FOR HIS FAMILY.

Update on Labstone, Life with daddy gone & Craft Relief:)

10.07.2011

Whew…it’s been a CRAZY day–but oh my soul…I rejoice over the One who is over ALL things. ONE day–when all is quiet in my home…many years from now…this mom is going to write a book full of His miracles–cause I know as believers at our house–we see them EVERY day. Today was no exception.

Where do I start??? Let me start with an update on Labstone…

If you are friends with me on Facebook–then you watched the status updates unfold and progressing prayer requests scroll down through out the day. WOW–the power of prayer NEVER ceases to amaze me. THANK YOU FOR PRAYING!!!

At the beginning of today–Labstone was in private room. Things looked very grim. He was NOT well…at all. We had received confirmation that his brain was swelling from the CT scan earlier in the morning–but by the afternoon he was still in bad shape…and a doctor STILL had not been in to see him or offer in help.

I picked the babies up from preschool, took the older kids to my friend Laura McBrayers and came home to put the babies down for nap time. I talked to Rich and by this time it was around 9pm in Lusaka–and still no doctor had been in to see him…ALL. DAY. LONG. My heart HURT knowing if he were here he would be life-flighted to the biggest and the best…and still-uncertainties if he would be okay. BUT…in Africa? Gosh, how in the WORLD??? Richard told me we needed a doctor–and at this point it looked like it might be up to us to find one. Oh my. I started contacting friends that I knew had friends in Zambia–and one in particular that God has used in crazy ways in our lives with Africa miracles emailed back with a pastor’s contact number. With babies upstairs napping–momma started dialing numbers in Zambia–and a pastor on the other side of the world answered his phone…probably just before going to bed. SO thankful he answered. And so thankful HE answered our prayers.

I begged this man to help us. He asked me the name of the hospital. And his response??? “I just happen to have three church members who work at that very hospital. Call me back in 30 minutes. I will have someone there to help him. Call me back for a report.”

If I had any gymnastics ability I would have done a back flip in my living room. BUT since I don’t–I called my husband instead:).

I let him know this pastor might be calling him with a report as I had given him Rich’s contact info. I didn’t want him to be caught off guard. Just in case he didn’t though, I needed Rich to call him for a report in 30 minutes–they needed to connect anyway. I facebooked the friend who gave me this contact to tell him thank you (talk about using modern media for ministry!) and sure enough–in 30 minutes a doctor was in the room…Labstone was moved to ICU for immediate care and he is now on a ventilator. The Lord is able–He can make a way when there seems to be no way.

We, once again, ask you to join us in prayer!!!

Please pray for another miracle. Pray that Labstone’s brain swelling will go down on it’s own. Pray if surgery is needed–that a skillful, qualified doctor will be present. Pray that the doctor who he has an appointment with at 7am Zambia time (1am our local time EST)–and that the doctor will actually come on time (Africa is different when it comes to time…a 7am appointment could really be a 10am appointment). Pray for Labstone’s healing–that he will recover–that there will not be brain damage and that the Lord will receive the glory! Pray that we will all trust Him in whatever happens–and that ultimately the Lord will be glorified!!!

I will be updating Labstone’s status on Facebook as soon as I know anything. You can also “like” the Wiphan page on Facebook and we’ll be updating there as well. PLEASE JOIN US IN PRAYING FOR A MIRACLE!!! He is able!!!

I picked up the kids from their playmate, took the kids to gymnastics…we came rolling in on 2 wheels–as we were running late from Mission Impossible–and as I ran the kids across the parking lot…one of my kids tripped and a lady gave me an ugly look and shook her head in disapproving of my craziness. I smiled and wanted to say, “Lady, you have NO idea.” BUT I opted to give her a thumbs up and smile instead:). I only throw that in there to remind myself to always be kind when someone sits too long at a red light, looks like they don’t have it together or I don’t agree with how someone is doing something. You just NEVER know what is going on in their lives and we need to encourage and help one another in all things:) So–thumbs up and a smile to the lady with a cockapoo on a leash. It was a crazy day…but God was ALL over it:)

We got home much too late–Thursday nights Rico Suave usually comes home and cooks while I do the gymnastics thing…and I should have run them all in, fed them and put them to bed–BUT instead…mommy needed to unwind…so I let them play with a big box in the backyard instead…

If you look closely you can see my little peek-a-boo baby…

Peek-a-boo–I love you baby…

They played…and I turned on the sprinkler in the garden. (No we don’t have a fancy sprinkler in the garden! I literally put a sprinkler in there tonight and watered the veggies–and got sprinkled myself. Momma needed to cool down a bit, and it made the kids laugh to watch momma get sprinkled. I’ll do anything for a good laugh over here:) Picking the veggies is Rich’s thing. I picked them one by one singing, “The Joy of the Lord is my strength…” while I picked. It made me miss daddy so much. He would have been proud of today’s harvest…

I sat down on one of the lawn chairs to enjoy the children playing and capture a few pictures of the boys falling out of the box:). I started praying for Labstone. Wondering what will happen. Wanting a miracle. SO BADLY. Then I looked beside me. And I was reminded of HIS faithfulness…

If you are a good friend or long-time blog reader–then you KNOW what those two images side by side mean. The flowers in my garden were planted when Richard was in Africa in March of 2010. You can read about it here. (Most of you also know that I do crazy things every time Richard is gone to Africa–it’s just how I manage solo:) SO…in March 2010 we were LONGING for our son in Ethiopia. We had YET to see his picture–YET to receive his referral but I knew in my heart he was born and needed us. I just knew. I felt the need to plant a flower garden–and I wanted to pray that by the first blooms the news of our son would be known to us. I know that sounds crazy–but I just needed something to help me with the painful waiting. AND it was a labor of love for my husband:). I would wake up some mornings and RUN down stairs to see if a bloom was budding. And I’d be so sad when it wasn’t. BUT–the amazing thing IS–we serve a God who does MORE than we ask some times!!! We received our referral BEFORE the first bud…and for the first flower–we were actually going to court to officially become his parents!!! When these flowers bloom…or when I see ANY flower now-a-days…it reminds me of his faithfulness!!!!

And the mason jar and candle??? When we started our journey of adoption–my dear friend Addie continuously gave us candles to burn. Her family and our family would burn the candle daily as a reminder to pray for our child. When we had Isaac’s big 1 year home celebration in June–I put candles in mason jars ALL over our lawn! A beautiful reminder of God’s hand all over our journey, of His faithfulness and of His miraculous hand!!! (If you don’t know our story…our sweet boy is a miracle!!!)

I looked over at the flower TOUCHING the mason jar–a flower from a bud I planted when longing to see my son…TOUCHING the mason jar candle that was used to celebrate his 1 year home party. GOD’S FAITHFULNESS.

When things are uncertain…when face with unknowns…WE MUST REMEMBER HIS FAITHFULNESS IN OUR PAST!!!

When we focus on His proven faithfulness in our lives, we are free to hand over the burdens in our lives and trust Him completely with current circumstances.

Over and over and over again–He is faithful.

My heart rested. I called the children in. And because they, too, have the “i miss daddy blues”…mommy went into role-play mode and they were welcomed into a fancy restaurant. I took their orders (granted–they didn’t have too many choices tonight…chicken fangers;), apples, pears, grapes and/or cheese sticks)…and they dined and thought the ambiance was amazing. (Thankful for battery operated flameless candles:)

It’s definitely been a long week…because the patrons made way too many requests…and they didn’t leave a tip either.

THEN–mommy sat down to take part in a little craft relief. I pinned a really cute white pumpkin that I saw here, and AFTER the fact–I realized she just painted a white pumpkin. Momma is without sleep–so moron me bought an ORANGE pumpkin and painted it white. THEN after I painted it white I thought, “I BET she just painted a white pumpkin.” NICE. Anyway–here is my attempt to not pin ANYTHING else on my pinterest until I’ve made at least 5 things I’ve pinned. No need to waste internet time if I’m not going to actually make things! SO…here is my first Fall craft…of course created when daddy is in Africa because that’s how I cope with crazy:)

More crafts to come this weekend…because daddy said over the phone today that he might not be coming home with the others…and momma has to have some crafts to help me cope;). Y’all keep praying for Labstone! Pray for miracles…and praise God for providing a doctor today!!! He is working…and He just loves us SO much He allows us to be a part of it!!!

Your sister in Christ,

Andrea

Posted in Crafts,Day in the Life,Orphan & Widow Care
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Larisa - October 7, 2011 - 7:19 am

Praying with you Andrea…and you amaze me! Still having time to write a huge blog post after your crazy day?? Wow!

Pray for Labstone…

10.06.2011

I write tonight–and ask humbly for you to please join us in prayer for Wiphan’s headmaster Labstone Chanda. Labstone was in a wreck a couple of weeks ago–and he has been in the hospital. Richard and the team went to be with him today as they heard his condition had worsened. It had. You can read about it HERE on Kristen’s blog (Wiphan’s first US intern/missionary).

I got to talk to Richard tonight–but he was very tired…and he had lost his voice from no sleep and a long day. Labstone is in critical condition and needs our prayers. His precious wife and children need him–and we ask you to please join us in praying for a miracle to take place in the hospital in Lusaka.

This momma–is tired. Today I think it hit me. And then the news of Labstone..the tears came. While things like this happen so often in Africa-we are just so fortunate in the US to be surrounded by amazing medical care. This morning–I read Psalm 138 and Psalm 139 before beginning my day. Reflecting on the verses in those chapters now…brings rest to my heart…

138.1 “I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart…”

138.3 “When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted…”

138.6 “Though the Lord is on high, he looks upon the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar.”

138.7 “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life…”

138.8 “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever–do not abandon the works of your hands.”

Psalm 139

O Lord, You have searched me and You know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O Lord.

You hem me in–behind and before; You have laid your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
If I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side on the sea,
even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to You;
the night will shine like the day, for the darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you before I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake, I am still with you.

If only you would slay the wicked, O God!
Away from me, you bloodthirsty men! They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.
Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord, and abhor those who rise up against you?
I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way of everlasting.

The Lord has this. It’s in His hands. We are trusting Him. And ask that you trust Him with us. For this…and for every little details in YOUR life as well. Much love to you all tonight. Praying that husband of mine is getting some sleep tonight…and so thankful He is there.

XOXO,

Andrea

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kim - October 6, 2011 - 10:47 am

I will definitely pray for his complete healing!!

Rory - October 6, 2011 - 12:12 pm

Prayed for him and his family this morning and will add him to my prayer list. What a sweet countenance he has! Please keep us updated! Praying for you too mama. My husband traveled a lot the last few years for work, and though the trade off of having him home when he wasn’t traveling was great, I know first hand how hard it is to be mom to four littles, homeschool, keep up with ministry, and just maintain your sanity.:) Hope today is filled with fresh energy and some surprise blessings. You are doing an amazing job!

Shelly - October 6, 2011 - 8:25 pm

Andrea — I’m praying with all my heart. Precious Labstone was on my mind all day today. Dan and I prayed with the kids for him and for Richard tonight. We love y’all dearly.

Kim - October 6, 2011 - 11:33 pm

Just prayed. Love & Blessings, Kim

An unexpected blessing…

10.05.2011

Really–today you don’t want to hear how I’m still surviving…how I had to have a few mommy time-outs and count slowly to 10…or how every sweet child in our crew at some point today either spilled their milk or water at breakfast, lunch or dinner. (Use sippycups you say?? Momma can’t find any matching tops!) SO YES–we are still hanging in there:) Part of the price of international mission work:-).

BUT one of the coolio rewards is this: SOOO…I was sitting in the fellowship hall in the church where my kids take their fine arts classes when Rico Suave SKYPED me from the school in NDOLA, ZAMBIA. It was sooo cool. You are supposed to be QUIET in there as homeschool kiddos are studying–but I got excited and answered the phone. BEFORE I KNEW IT…my computer was surrounded by kids. Not only surrounded by kids who were studying before I interrupted them—but my laptop screen was FILLED with little kids in Zambia. I asked them to sing…and they giggled. So we (moms, kids, strangers AND ALL) began to sing Jesus Loves Me to them…and they started chiming in to. Smiles filled the faces on both ends. My voice began to crack…

Here we were across the world–singing.

Rico showed all the kids on my end the school…we got to show them a water well and how the kids pump water–and there was a line of barefoot kids with huge buckets waiting their turn…they got to see the “futbol” field…and then the kids started making silly faces together (talking the ULTIMATE kid language) because their was a Bemba/English language barrier.

Rico said they are all doing well. I miss him. I can’t wait for him to come back–and I know I need to brace myself for the culture shock he will feel and make sure we lay low for a few days as he re-enters back into our culture. SO thankful for technology–and for the crazy experience kids here even got to experience today through it!!!

AND NOW…to rejoice in an unexpected blessing!

Truly–there isn’t much exciting on our end to document on our end today…SOOOOO I thought I’d share with you the most EXCITING news I’ve heard all week! My adoption momma friend Meredith and her family are in the midst of a miracle. You can read about their twist and turn to surprisingly meet their little girl on their blog today: One Day Closer Adoption.

Meredith–you know how stinkin’ excited I am…so I just had to share! Please keep their family in your prayers as they follow the Lord–please pray for their little girl…miracles are always good to pray for…AND please pray the rest of the process will work out in their favor so they can travel soon to meet her and quickly bring her home!!! Thanks for praying!

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Meredith - October 5, 2011 - 6:13 am

Thank you for sharing, Andrea!! God has certainly worked miracles in our daughter’s life and in ours, so I am praying that the Lord will continue to do what only He could do. Love you, friend!!!

Meredith - October 5, 2011 - 6:15 am

I meant to say what only He can do.

my revelations in our homeschool – {& Rico Suave, Brad and David}

10.04.2011

The kids and I got to Skype daddy-o today in Zambia. He got to see our precious Beatrice (our sponsored child) today!

You can follow along with the adventures of Rico Suave, Brad and David on Kristin’s blog at http://kristincoleen.wordpress.com/

It was SO good to see him–and hear his voice. The children LOVED hearing from him–and Parker told him daddy, “Daddy! I want a brother from Zambia who is my age!” (Daddy laughed…but he didn’t say no;) Seriously, can I just say I love the hearts of my children!!! I could just gobble them up and their precious hearts for the world. Seriously–they aren’t asking for Wii, video games, the latest this or that–but an orphan to be made into a brother. What more could a mommy dream for her children???

1 John 3:18 “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”

Luke 6:45 “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

Proverbs 4:23 “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”

What a JOY it has been to be at home with them more this year. I am NOT going to lie and say it’s been easy. It has to date been the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Let me tell you why. It’s been hard because I am a pretty selfish person. I was used to breaks while they were at school and the littles at preschool. I didn’t realize until now how much time in my day was centered around ME…even if it was fiddling around on my email, organizing making myself feel more put together, and this or that–while right now I’m not even sure what I did with down time but one thing is for sure momma doesn’t have it any more. YET–I’m finding such JOY as the GOOD far outweighs the sacrifices!

Here’s where the hard parts are: I have MORE undone laundry. More yuck not scrubbed in the sinks and toilets. More unread emails in my inbox. And I’m not going to lie–but I’m definitely much MORE tired at the end of the day. SO–those are the sacrifices.

Some things I didn’t realize until now:

…I didn’t realize how detached I was from my children’s education experience. I was trusting someone else to know how my children best learned and what they needed to learn. In just 2 months, I’m already seeing HUGE difference in their learning styles–how challenging it is for me (1 teacher) to successfully teach in those 2 styles. I’m a former teacher–and this is such a JOY for me…and something I could NOT do in a class of 10, 15–let alone 25.

…My kids used to hop in the car after carpool and I thought I was involved in their education by my asking, “What did you learn today? What is your homework?” And then helping them complete their homework and fix their book bag for the next day. Okay–y’all don’t laugh at me…but I really thought I was involved in their actual learning experience…but I didn’t know how much MORE I could add to it…how much more I could challenge them…and how much FUN it would be to learn together. There have been some rather teachable moments in the going deeper–and knowing what I know now–if and when my children return to “mainstream school” whether its private or public–I will not make this mistake again. It won’t just be up to teachers or others what my little are learning and how far they are going or how deep they are going. Whether they have an enthusiastic teacher or not–I know I can now take their learning to the moon and back…and the best learning really does take place exploring together and dreaming about what else can we discover??!! Before…I was TOO BUSY to even see this…and I’m thankful to see this while they are still so young.

…The heart moments…the tough moments…the moments of wrongdoing. There are SO many teachable moments through out the day that come up–like EVERY 10 minutes–when something is said that needs to be prodded, nurtured, encouraged, corrected or explained more deeply. I don’t have a timeline to meet or have to quickly move on. We can take a time-out from math in a teachable moment of reading that needs to be extended to discuss a heart issue. And in this process…I’m seeing more beautiful and more difficult things in both my children hearts and mine. Together–we are being refined. We are studying the Bible together in the morning for our reading time…and today I watched one of my little one’s tears well up in her eyes as I told the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Tears were unexpected for this story–but sadness was felt at the masses not knowing God, doing wrong and possibly being destroyed. We talked it through–we marinated on it together–and then we wrote prayer requests down and prayed together. I’d be happy with ending school right there;)…but we did follow it with phonics, more reading and math today. But oh my–it would have been just fine to end it right there as my dear child received more in those moments than I think she could have gotten in any regular classroom setting. The innocence–the pure of heart–instead of moving this child on to the next thing or skipping this precious quiet time as a family all together because we’d typically be rushing out the door…this child is being shaped…by one of the people who loves her most in the world and sees the heart of the matter…and can water it.

There are also moments of being naughty–that I know as a school teacher with 25 in the room…I would have simply taken away recess, not given a sticker or given a yellow light card to and had to move right along for the sake of the other 24. But I get to hone in on that one sheep that has gone astray. There were days last year my kiddos would hop in the car and they didn’t get a sticker that day. Or they got on “yellow”…or heaven forbid–RED…and that was that. The positive reinforcement was a sticker or negative consequence was sitting out during recess. Thankfully those occurrences were rare–but they DID happen. I do know that it is impossible for a teacher to sit with a child and talk through the heart that has chosen the wrong thing and love them wholeheartedly through it…it has nothing to do with the teacher but the other 24. That is were the sacrifices we are making as a family to follow the Lord in what He has called us to start to make sense. To have the privilege to tenderly walk the sheep back to where I know that heart belongs…and show LOVE through it…makes it all worth it. That one sheep is worth the sacrifices.

…I didn’t realize how much FUN we would have together! I thought I couldn’t do it…that I might go nuts…that the world would think I was weird (although I did keep saying “the Pioneer Woman–she home schools–and she is cool, right?!)…that my kids might not get too far ahead or even worse too far behind…BUT all of those fears are slowing fading away as I see my children growing together even closer…as I hear my son asking “Can we bring home a brother from Zambia daddy?”…as I watch Laney and Parker get Isaac out of bed and dress him for his day…as I hold back laughter at Frankie-baby sitting in a desk raising his hand and shouting, “ME!!! ME!!! ME!!!” to the question: What’s 8 + 6?? And his shouting, “B! B! B!!!!”

Yes–the sacrifices–which I once thought I needed–I no longer need as much as this. And I’m so thankful. I’m thankful for the bigger pile of dirty laundry, the added layer of scum on the tub, and the awful hairdos I seem to have sported since our school began…because those not-so-fun reminders are really reminders of the sacrifice–and how worth it this all is. I know much of the world probably looks at me and thinks I’m crazy, but I wouldn’t trade these days for anything…and as I live them–I’m holding on and cherishing each and every one.

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megan - October 4, 2011 - 9:00 am

My little guy is only 9 months old…but the more I hear about homeschooling, the more interested I am in it!

Sandi - October 4, 2011 - 10:24 am

I homeschooled for a year. It changed the way we do everything from family games to homework. I learned little things like my oldest is a visual learner & aces vocab/spelling tests when I make paper flashcards with pictures from google images. Even weekend fun trips incorporate learning in ways that I probably wouldn’t have thought of unless I had homeschooled. I am so thankful for that time & the treasure trove of silly, happy memories. Cherish those moments, you are getting the opportunity of a lifetime!

Rory - October 4, 2011 - 5:05 pm

Totally agree about the homeschool revelations! While I am so thankful for that one year of preschool my oldest had with her amazing school and teachers, I would not trade the past (almost) 3 years of homeschooling to have back more “me” time. Oh, some days I look at the piles of laundry and what to crawl in them so no one can find me, but even in those hard moments I am blessed with an opportunity to show my children Christ, to be around them (cause Lord only knows it goes by too fast), and to genuinely get to know my children and enjoy their company. We have seen the best and worst of each other, that’s for sure!:) You’re doing a great job! Keep up the good work in the trenches and know there are other mamas in the foxhole with you.:) Your kids are gonna turn out awesome!:)

Rory - October 4, 2011 - 5:07 pm

*want*
sheesh. nice advertisement for homeschooling when this mama can’t even spell!:)

Emily Schulz - October 4, 2011 - 7:58 pm

oh, I need to hear this today and let it sink deep. It’s been a LONG one at home with my 4!!

Desiree - October 5, 2011 - 12:16 am

What an awesome post Andrea! I couldn’t agree more. I thank God everyday for the opportunity to homeschool my children. The moments we can be present for are so worth being behind on housework! Thanks for your heart!

Lisa - October 5, 2011 - 11:00 am

So lovely to hear these encouraging, real words, Andrea.

D - October 6, 2011 - 1:33 pm

I love your blog. I teach a preschool class (3 through 5) and I have definetly incorporated some “homeschooling” tactics in the way I teach.

JJ - October 6, 2011 - 10:41 pm

I love to hear this Andrea. I’ve been homeschooling for 3 years now and even though it gets really hairy some days, I would never ever change it or go back to the way it used to be. I keep reminding myself the importance of “being in the world, not OF the world.” My kids too have the hugest hearts for the orphans and they are not distracted by all the things that kids typically are when they go to a school every day. I love being able to raise little God warriors, after all that is the most important thing in life. It’s not going to matter how much money they make (because they went to 10 years of college and were the smartest in their class), or if they play pro sports, or if they are the most popular at their high school if they have a weak faith in the Most High. I can totally relate to what you are going through right now too. My husband is in the military and gone A LOT. We have 5 kids ages 1-9. I’m hoping we can connect in March at the retreat. Is there still room?