Be Yourself

I went to a home schooling conference this past weekend.  It was 3 days full of speakers, ideas, products, old and new friends and thoughts.  I walked away with a wealth of new treasure.  I'm pondering over all the things that were said and people that interjected different thoughts into my life.  I love that we are all here on this planet together figuring things out!  I have a little piece of truth and you have something different.  And when we put them altogether the whole world fills in with light and understanding!

I can't wait to apply some of these new gems to my life and family, but at the same time I feel this sense of caution...we all have to be careful in how we receive these new things that come into our life.  Careful that we don't rush home from a conference thinking that we've got to be exactly like "that family" that just spoke from the platform about their "amazing" life.

No family is called to be exactly like another.  No matter how true or how magical one family's method may have been for them, it can never be replicated exactly in yours.  And it shouldn't be!

I think God has designed us to only be truly "magical" when we are completely unique.  We can adopt an idea here and there from each other and add to the tapestry that God is creating in our own family, but we can never duplicate.

He likes to create something uniquely different in each family.  It's almost as if, He foibles the plans for us to try and copy one another too closely because in His eyes that would be a shame.  It's like our children.  We don't want two of the same.  We love them because of their differences.

So, go to conferences, read books, share in others lives, embrace the individual giftings that we can each share with each other and help each other along the way.  Add a little here and a little there; but REMEMBER to continue to embrace exactly, uniquely the amazing picture of what God wants your family to be!