can’t tell you how many times a homeschooling mom has come up to me after I’ve spoken at an event and said something like, “I could boldly homeschool the way I believe to be best…if…I lived in the middle of the desert, alone, and away from everyone.”

I’m sure they voice what many moms feel…that they know what’s best for their kids, but there are so many competing voices, posts, and experts telling them the opposite.

I wish, like the Wizard of Oz, I could reach into my sack and pull out a large medal with the word courage emblazoned on it and pin it to the chest of every homeschool mom on the planet. But even if I could, it wouldn’t do for them what it did for the cowardly lion who was emboldened by the gift.

But maybe I can give you something even better: the truth.

This is the truth that I speak and write about from coast to coast:

1. Home is the best place for your children.
2. God gave your children exactly the mother they needed.
3. Every one of your children is a masterpiece.
4. The relationship with your children is more importantthan anything you will teach them.

But Satan whispers lies in your ear and causes you to doubt and shrink back in your shell. Are you sure you’re doing the right thing? You might ruin them. Do you even know what you’re doing?

His voice is loud and persistent. His lies might come at you through a friend, the posts that you read, or homeschool “experts” until the voices sound like your own. Doubt steals joy and confidence, causing you to second guess everything you believe about everything!

The answer is not to tighten your belt and muster up fake confidence. It’s not to move to the middle of the desert or, better yet, the moon. The answer is to silence the lies in your life and believe and act on: the truth.

Even if you can’t silence them completely, you can diminish their voices by staying off social media; limiting your time around other moms who make you feel guilty, bad, or inadequate; and not reading about homeschooling (except this magazine, of course).

Then, just believe and act on the truth.

I can still see the stunned look on your face, so let me help you. Here’s an example: you’re tired of fighting the kids to learn the parts of speech. They hate it, and you hate it. So you think in your head, “I never use parts of speech; no one except English teachers use the parts of speech…God gave my kids me, and He made me smart enough to know what’s best for them. So…I don’t think they’ll need it, and if someday they do, they can learn it all in a week…so I’m NOT teaching the parts of speech anymore.”

Then you stop teaching the parts of speech and do something else instead. Others might say you need to, but you don’t act on what they say; you act on what you believe.

Dads, here’s your part: You need to help your wife act on the truth. You need to support her, remind her of the truth, and prop her up when she starts to cave into the lies. Because she will.

If your wife says, “I don’t know what to do…I’m doing a lousy job of homeschooling,” look her in the eye and say, “Honey, that’s not true. You are believing a lie. You do an amazing job with our kids and our school. They are lucky to have you as their mom, and they’re going to be just fine.”

If you aren’t careful, you might reinforce the lies by saying things like, “Maybe you should ask someone, or have the kids tested, or work them harder.” We, husbands, have the power to embolden our wives to live the truth and homeschool with joy, or we can suck all the joy from their lives with a single careless word or raised eyebrow.

Even as I type this, I wonder if I need to be a little more intentional with my words and encouragement.

So, Mom, stop listening to the doubt causers and act on the truth. And Dad, hold the line and strengthen your wife’s resolve with your words. She needs you.

If you can homeschool like this, you will teach your kids a vital lesson about living boldly. And that’s a lesson way more important than adverbs.

Smile,

The Wizard of Homeschooling