Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.He is like a tree planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 1
Homeschool moms love to have real life friends who homeschool. We long for camaraderie amongst other moms in the trenches.
But, we have to be careful…
We become like whomever we spend time with. Notice the definition of “camaraderie”? It says, “who spend a lot of time together.” The people you spend your time with naturally influence you and not all influences are created equal.
We tell our kids all the time to beware who they spend time with, but do we think about our own influences as homeschool moms?
While we are at it, we might as well take this a step further…
Even if the moms you spend time with are encouraging and building you up in your vision for homeschooling, what other influences do you have in your life that might be tearing you down?
Are we careful about the books we read? How about the TV we watch? Are we keeping our focus on what matters or are we hyper-focused on the trivial?
What about family members who are trying to tear us down? Do we recognize that what they say is not necessarily Truth?
Psalm 1 tells us Who we should be spending our time with and the results of that time spent.
Do you feel planted by a stream?
Do you feel fruitful?
Are you a leaf that does not wither?
Are you prospering?
It all comes down to Who or who is influencing your homeschool.
Kyndra says
Excellent reminder. Most of my good friends are unbelievers and I have to constantly remind myself that while we share many values our foundation is not the same….K
kendra zickafoose says
I used to struggle with my foundation being shaken all of the time. Sometimes I still do, but not nearly as often. Friends I was once close with, relationships I once held as important, naturally started drifting once our children became school age and we all took a different path. Their days became filled with child free lunch dates and gym memberships, and the homeschool road felt quite lonely. I spent much time in the Word, reminding myself often why we were doing what we were doing! And I prayed for like minded friends. God has blessed me with several moms a bit farther down the homeschool road to mentor me, and he provided me with one very good friend who is in the homeschool trenches with me. And I now wouldn’t trade how we spend our days for anything!
Amy says
What a blessing to have those friends!
Mama Mirage says
I don’t think I have any friends.
Mama Mirage says
IRL I mean. I don’t see anyone besides my husband other than a smile and a wave as we come and go from church.
Amy says
That’s good I love that you are a thinker.
Bonny says
This is so true…thank you for the reminder! It’s been a long road for me to find fellow homeschooling mothers….and even some that I have befriended DO have different beliefs than me. It’s a matter of balance….who do you invest your heart with, and who do you keep relatively surface? The homeschool world is just as much a mission field as the PS world. I’d be in big trouble if I don’t keep Him first and foremost!
Mary says
Amy, I really appreciate your words. We have just left a co-op for kind of that reason. It wasn’t working for my kids, and my oldest was being influenced in a negative way. Just because it’s a “Christian Co-Op” doesn’t always guarantee the influence will be good. We need to pick and choose carefully who influences our homeschool.
Thank you for your wise words!
Amy says
Yes, exactly!
Samantha says
I would love to find the balance of believers, home schoolers, and people who homeschool for the same reasons I do. I have people that I worship with that don’t home school and if they do it isn’t for the same reasons we do. It has made for a very lonely journey. That is on top of the people who are beyond negative, but just down right mean.
Amy says
Do you have the opportunity to go to homeschool conventions and hear encouraging speakers? Of course, even there, you have to be careful.
Josi says
I have a wonderful community of homeschoolers around me that I appreciate very much. However, I spent many years going along like cattle, just going in the same direction with those around me until I surrendered to realizing that God had a specific plan for our family that was different than the herd. It’s great to get support, ideas, curriculum info., book titles, etc. from one another but ultimately we need to encourage each other to go after the plan that God has for each family. I’m still in progress and need the Lord to mold my expectations of myself, husband and kids into a healthier place. But when I think about it, many of my expectations are probably still based on outside influences. Hmmm??….. good post Amy. This challenges me to step back and do some more reflecting. Thanks.