New Site for Lutheran Home Educators

By Deaconess Mary J. Moerbe

There are a lot of women who went to college, got degrees, and then, whether by design or development, stayed home following marriage. Some call themselves professional homemakers, emphasizing home over house. I'd like to suggest that those who homeschool can also consider themselves professional homeschoolers.

Does that mean I think you can make money by opening your home as a mini-school or one-room schoolhouse? Not necessarily. At the same time, what we do within our vocations is not a hobby. We are not hobbyists, but professionals!

There is not particularly job training for marriage or parenting. After all, our vocations cannot be boiled down to general or vague steps to follow. We serve our neighbor and that is about as narrow and specific as it can get! And the reasons that drive us to homeschooling may mean that typical secular educational training is not the training we actively pursue.

Others may not understand our desire to stay home. They may not be able to imagine our desire to stay home with children who can admittedly run us ragged. And, frankly, those children can make any amount of housekeeping and homemaking sometimes seem like a lofty and unattainable desire. Still, we are working at it. We may have no office but our home, but we wake up, face the day, and accomplish what we can.

Although we can get tempted to undermine ourselves with constant and ever-changing job self-evaluations, neither those goals nor our "success" is the point. Even those who are not full-time homeschoolers are teachers and providers for their children. Children learn at home whether one claims to homeschool or not. And the men and women in that home are placed into a teaching role by none other than God Himself so that we cannot help but teach. So what do we teach?

My favorite subject has to be that although we sin and fall short often and in so many ways, in Christ we are forgiven, restored, honored, and safe. Not only do my children learn that on an ongoing basis, but I do, too! 

Other than that, however, I get to use my background and various trainings and lessons to love and serve my children. I can try to keep up on the reading material and developments in my field if I can manage it, yet, at the same time, I can relax, knowing that ancient parents loved and served their children with far less than I sometimes dream of . . . and they did so successfully!

It is God who ultimately raises children. God grants and sustains life, not only in the womb but each and every day. It is God who provides our time together and His good gifts to share.

As society changes, more and more Christians are homeschooling. This can raise some tension between retreating from the world and preparing to engage it. Yet, I've recently stumbled onto an idea that may help with that and many other little practical worries and concerns professional homeschoolers can have.

I'm a Lutheran author and a blogger a little obsessed with resources, so I asked myself the following questions:

·         What would happen if Lutheran homeschoolers had their own place to leave comments about non-Lutheran curricula that could use some Lutheran tweaking?

·         What if Lutheran homeschoolers could share what they develop for use within their own families with larger communities at large?

·         Could Lutheran homeschoolers really unite in such a way that we can pool our educational and creative resources?

The answer to all of those is that I want to find out!

I've put together a brand new website: LutheranHomeschool.com. It's in its infancy and it could benefit from a community of professional homeschoolers looking it over and raising it to become the Lutheran resource it can be.

There are pages for recommendations and requests. There is a marketplace where we can either freely share or sell downloads individuals develop. We even have a list of conferences, in case that interests you.

You'll have no pressure or job evaluations from me. But, if this can help you in any way, or if you think you may be able to serve others through helping this project along, look it over. New things are already in the works.

I tip my proverbial hat to all my fellow professional homeschoolers, even as I pray that the truth, wisdom, and comforts of Lutheranism can be spread far and wide—thick and heavy!—both in our homes and out of it.

Thank you, whether you are a homeschooler or not, for being in the vocations God has given you. He has placed you in it for the greater good.

Yours in Christ,

Mary J Moerbe

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Mary  is a Lutheran deaconess, author, wife, mother to six, and blogger at maryjmoerbe.com. Her new website is LutheranHomeschool.com.