Changes

I'm in a season of change right now, and I'm embracing those changes!

First, for the first time ever, one of my kids is going to public school.  My 15-year-old son is fairly certain that he wants to be an electrician, and as I have watched him grow, I feel pretty sure that is the way he should go.  So in order to "train up [my] child in the way he should go," (Proverbs 22:6), I am sending him to vocational school and to the public school for a few classes this year.  He will still do history at home, as the history topic this year is church history, so he is technically dual-enrolled.

Second, I am heading back to grad school.  I begin tomorrow.  I know that I am being called into a counseling ministry and/or career, and this is the way God is leading me to prepare for that calling.  Honestly, I am nervous, a bit afraid that four babies and close to 20 years of being out of school may have diminished my ability to learn, but if God wants me to do this, He will equip me.

Finally, and this may seem minor to some of you, but I am back to only having four kids hanging around the house most days.  Over the summer, a couple of my kids' friends hung out here most weekdays.  But now they are also back to school.  The house seems a bit emptier, much quieter and less busy.

So far, my son loves school, especially his vocational training.  And to be honest, I can't wait to begin classes tomorrow.  The quieter house is more conducive to getting schoolwork done with my other three kids, so even that is a blessing.

I do have a few prayer requests, though.  Would you please remember my son in your prayers as he adjusts to going to school in a district where he is a minority both racially and as a Christian?  Pray that he will be able to be a beacon of light, pointing others to Christ, rather than being influenced by them. 

Also, please pray that I will be able to handle my busy schedule (two nights a week of class this semester, for a total of 12 graduate credits), and find time to study.

Please keep my other three kids in your prayers as well.  The oldest is a senior this year, and her year got off to a rocky start, because her father still hasn't sent much of her curriculum.  She is doing as much as she can without books, but she is afraid she may not be able to do justice to the courses where she is still waiting on curriculum and will have to rush to get through them when he finally does send it.  The younger two will need to be more responsible and work more independently, since my time to work with them will be cut short two days a week when I go to school.

Above all, please pray that God's will be done in our family.  If these changes glorify Him, then it is all worthwhile, but if it becomes mere change for the sake of change, it is worthless.  :-)