Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.

Build me a son whose wishbone will not be where his backbone should be; a son who will know Thee…and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.

Lead him I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail.

Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.

And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.

Then, I, his father, will dare to whisper, have not lived in vain.

Although we are still finishing projects and books through the month of June, this is the time of year when I like to sit down and journal my thoughts; reflect on our year,  and write down what we have accomplished as well as what we have neglected to study.  Although this journaling is for my benefit,  I hope that you will enjoy hearing about our year as well.  In fact,  I would love to hear about your year.  I learn so much from other homeschoolers and even though we should not compare ourselves with other families,  I don’t think it is wrong to inspire others and share our successes and failures.

I guess a part of this journaling comes from my own insecurities and feelings that I did not do enough.  I have a feeling of uneasiness at the end of a school year and begin to doubt myself and conclude that I am not scholarly enough or that I did not do enough to contribute to my children’s academic success.    My dear husband always   reminds me that our children are kind, happy, and smart too.  I reply with a halfhearted  “Yea, I guess you are right.”  So, I write to convince myself that our year was adequate and that the Lord taught us plenty.  Read more...