Tamara L. Chilver Quotes

By fulfilling our divinely appointed jobs as parents, we can be God's tools that define and refine our children as they are sculpted into the individuals that He wants them to be.

Every mom is busy, whether you have one child or more than one. You just learn how to manage your time differently as your family grows.

... the enemy will do anything to rob my joy of homeschooling and parenting. He wanted me to live in bondage and feel guilty and like I was never doing enough to have me miss the real joy of just being home with my children.

For those of you who think that I have my life altogether, I definitely do not. Every season brings new challenges. For example, since I had my fifth child, I am notoriously 5-10 minutes late everywhere no matter how hard I try to be on time. I would like to say that I am "fashionably" late, but that isn't the truth either. Running in a mad dash in a parking lot (all holding hands of course) to make it somewhere 5 minutes late (instead of 6 minutes cause that makes a big difference) while one child is missing shoes and my hair is going in every direction. Yep, that is my family.

... parents naturally want their children to excel in every area of academics and extra-curricular activities, but the reality is- God made each child differently for His purpose. He never intended for our children to excel in everything.

curriculum companies provide more work than is needed. I never finished the complete curriculum when I taught in a classroom or at home. If your race is with your curriculum, learn to pick and choose what to use, and please do not attempt to cover it all or your race will be ongoing and you will be exhausted. Even races require pit stops to refuel.

How do I find joy in my homeschool journey?The answer is quite simple. I accept lots of God's grace. Grace to make mistakes. Grace to take a nap when I am exhausted. Grace to not feel guilty. Without His abundant provision of grace, I would be depleted, discouraged, and dissatisfied. Instead, I place all my trust in His direction and I embrace my calling as a homeschool mom. His grace has set me free from worry, fear, doubt, and guilt and I am overflowing with joy. Praise God!

Relax. Cultivate your children's capabilities. Maximize their strengths. Do not handicap their unique skills by spending too much time on making them average in everything. Help them create their own style, and appreciate your children for who God created them to be.