Jane Lambert & Carrie Bozeman
ast week a teacher shared with me about her experience with a student who was being rude. She had spoken to the child but had not been stern. As she was telling me about the incident she said, “Well, I think sometimes I’m just too easy on them.”
I’d been watching this teacher through the year and witnessed her spiritual growth, her faith, and her obedience. This is what I told her:
“I’ve been watching your work, and you need to know you are not always one way or the other. You might have been in the past, but recently you have been learning to listen to the Lord for help with each individual child. Sometimes you hear Him say, ‘Steady here, mercy is good.’ Therefore, don’t listen to the enemy telling you that you are always soft. Other times you have heard, ‘Hold this student more accountable.’ In this instance, don’t let the enemy say you are always too hard on your students.”
This young teacher was learning to work with the Lord to be a teacher more like Him. She could be bold and courageous in her teaching because she believed that He would help her. The more she trusted, the less the enemy could successfully condemn her actions.
- A teacher is bold when she chooses a curriculum that she senses is right for her family even though her friends use a different one.
- A teacher is bold when she sets hours for classes that are a bit unusual because it is what works for her student.
- A teacher is bold when she tries new things—hobbies or classes for special interests for herself and her children—to find what delights or excites them and helps them learn and grow!
- A teacher is bold when she puts away the assignments and to-do lists and focuses on the immediate need of a child who is struggling or an ill or elderly family member who needs help.
- A teacher is bold when she chooses rest. God calls us to rest. As a wife, mother, and teacher, rest is often the thing we forgo to make sure that all the other things get done. God promises that if we obey Him and rest—He will meet all of our needs.
Perhaps you hear the call but wonder how to develop boldness in your homeschooling, or how to grow bolder and more confident as a person. The path to increased boldness is not found in you at all, but instead in drawing closer to the Lord. Self help is so enticing…if I just try harder, if I find the right tools, if I read the right book, if I listen to the best podcast on these matters, then I can be better.
The more time we spend with the Lord, the more we know Him, the more we fall in love with Him, and the bolder we become because He shows us who He created us to be! He calls us to be bold like a lion (Proverbs 28:1). It doesn’t matter who we think we are—when we know who God says we are. A loud, energetic person and a quiet, calm, or even timid person can be bold when they know that they are doing what God has called them to do and they are confident that He will equip them for the job.
There are many portions of Scripture that proclaim the magnificence of the Lord. Seek them out and read them for yourself and with your children. The words of the Bible are life, and they encourage a boldness of trust for the Lord—who is in all, over all, and is our all in all! Reading the Word, telling stories of how the Lord saved and helped you in all sorts of circumstances reminds you and your children of how great He is and that we can be courageous in Him.
Which scripture verses speak God’s truth about becoming/being bold?
What area(s) do I hold to fear in my teaching or my child’s education? (These are often areas in which God will call you to be bold.) How can I encourage my children to be bold in their lives? Is there someone (a spouse or friend) that I can ask to join me in prayer over an area that I need to heed God’s call to be bold?
Is there a friend that I can encourage and pray for as they develop boldness?
As a homeschool teacher you have chances each day to be bold in the choices you make and in the lessons you teach your child. As you face each decision, remember: He has called you. He will equip you. He is worthy of our worship, our loyalty, and our boldness!
arrie Bozeman was homeschooled K-11 before attending college; she began homeschooling her own children in 2012. She is also the author of More Before Five in a Row (ages 3-5) and Five in a Row Mini Units (ages 2-12). Both are children’s literature-based, unit-study curricula. You can find these products at: www.fiveinarow.com
ane Lambert’s grandmother owned a private school and her mother spent thirty-five years in the classroom, so it was only natural for her to become a teacher. But Jane’s teaching gifts found expression in homeschooling beginning in 1981. Today Jane’s children continue the family teaching tradition of homeschooling. Jane is the author of the award-winning curriculum Five in a Row. Jane’s passion is to introduce children to great books, to nurture a love of learning, and to build a firm foundation of faith in Christ.