Encouragement for the new school year from Deborah, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Senior Editor

"New school year? What new school year? Oh, is that what we are supposed to be doing?" Like me, maybe you find yourself lacking motivation for this new school year.

I have so much I want to do and share with my children and yet lack either the time or motivation or energy to do it all or fit it all in. That's when I know I need to cry out to the Lord.

"I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me." Psalm 57:2

God will perform all things for me. All things? Wow. And the kicker is, He often wants to perform those things through me.

"For it is God that is at work in me both to will and to do His good pleasure." Philippians 2:13

So, I guess it's ME that's the problem in this equation. I want to do everything I want to do and nothing God wants me to do. I know that if I seek His kingdom first, everything else will fall into place. This is why I desperately need Him. I need to get back to first things first and then the rest will come into order.

What should be first? When Jesus questioned Peter about his love for Him, he told Peter three important things: Love me, keep my commandments, and feed my sheep. How hard can that be? I say I have the Lord first in my homeschool, but do I really? I recently had to change my schedule to reflect that. I now have morning devotions first thing by myself, and then with my children, before any schoolwork.

Now my part is being obedient to what He gives me the desire to do and then make it happen. We want immediate, complete, and cheerful obedience from our children, yet lack the wherewithal to give the same to the Lord ourselves. It's a wonderful thing that His mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness.

Are you feeling confident about this new school year? You can have confidence that you are doing the right thing if you are doing the important eternal things, and that God will be in you to perform it.

"For in Him we live, and move, and have our being . . ." Acts 17:28

"Be confident of this very thing: that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6

We desperately need to pull our hearts back in line, so that we not only honor God with our mouths, but in daily reality with our lives and homeschools as well. We want to teach the fear of the Lord, not just the precepts of men.

"Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men . . ." Isaiah 29:13

My new goals for this year: Love God with all I've got, keep His commands, and feed His sheep!