It's OK to Say, "No."

Saying "no" is usually something I repeat all day long. Questions are asked for permission to do something not in my time table. And no becomes a word I say way too often. And then, do my dismay, I change my mind because I realize I should of said yes to start with. Oh, this is a battle I face almost daily.

So, today I said, "No" to me. I said, "No, we don't have to do math."

"No, I don't have to clean the kitchen right now."

"No, making the bed can wait so a little one and I can snuggle as I read later."



As a homeschool mom, with a Type AAA personality, this is difficult. But when I have a 10 year old who fights every second of school with loud protests, temper tantrums, slamming of doors, etc., I need to do this more often.

So today, I said, "Yes. Let's play a game." "Yes, climb up on the bed with me." We dove into a book that I had sitting on my shelf that I had read to my other lambs but had forgotten about. The Dangerous Journey is a picture
e story book of Pilgrim's Progress. So for 2 hours we laid there and read. Rather, I read and she colored. And we talked about the slough of despond, about the burden that Christian carried and how he needed to get to the place of the cross quickly. We talked about how Mr. Legality would look. We talked about why the burden was so heavy. We closed our eyes and imagined what it would be like to be drowned in think dust, as Christian did in the Interpreter's House. Then we also imagined feeling the water being splashed on us as the dust dissipated and we could breath. The Breath of Life.

This is what school looked like today.

I know every day can't be this way. That's why we are trying out traditional school next year. But for now, I will treasure the rest of the next couple of months. I will strive to make time to make a difference. Just not on paper; but maybe on her heart.