Casner Family Blog

 In February, several of us that home school were to share a tool that helps us with our “school” days. The day we were to go, I was sick in bed and unable to go share. I originally had three, but due to the length of this post, I am narrowing it down to one, my knitting bag. It holds my scissors, several hooks and needles, several yarns and most importantly my current knitting project along with a bit of yarn for a granny square. This may seem like an unnecessary tool, and it has the potential to be a distractor-which I will talk about a little further down, but it is necessary for me. When you are teaching kids to read, and when you have to sit by the piano for piano practice, and when you need to read math directions in between answering problems, along with keep another on their school task, and try to keep to others quiet and busy doing something else… it can make you feel a bit insane. At least it does me. It is not something that comes naturally for me. In my mind, I am struggling to quiet the voices telling me of all the other things that still have to be completed by for our schedule changes for the evening. It is hard to sit still, however, if my knitting bag is on my lap, I can relax a bit. I may not get five stitches completed, or I may have a good day and complete a entire granny square, but it calms me down so I can patiently read through the books that need to be read. And help with piano lessons, until they are past my level of expertise, and then, I can still sit there or take the younger ones to another room to play. 🙂   

   

Now one more thing before my rambling ends… this morning Joe was talking about distractions, the bad and sometimes good things that get in the way of what we were designed to do.  My knitting bag does hold the potential to get in the way if it is out of balance. So do a lot of other things that look like opportunities or new goals and ideas. And sometimes those other things are soo very much easier then completing what we are made to do. I love in the movie “Amazing Grace” where William Wilberforce says I just want to study spider webs and all of God’s nature, but my other duties are also calling me to fight for what is right in the government. Which is better? He finally, after many years, is the man behind ending slavery in the British Empire. I know that my calling isn’t that big, but who knows what our children will do when they are older? Any of our children, whether home schooled, public schooled, unschooled… how we the parents spend our time, and our children’s has an impact on them being able to find their purpose. What God created them to do.  In The Message, in Galations it says, “Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best with your own life.” I love that, sink yourself into what you have been given to do… Don’t become distracted…