“If there is any post of duty above another which requires a cultivation of the mind, where the intellectual and physical powers require healthy tone and vigor, it is the training of children.”  CG 67

I went to school at the University of Michigan (Go Blue!) where I studied to be an elementary school teacher.  I taught for 3 years at Ann Arbor Adventist Elementary School before having our first son, Imanuel.  After he came into our lives, we made the decision that I would stay at home and not teach anymore.  I believe God honored our decision because right after that, Israel received his first call into pastoral ministry here in the UP.  I had been making more money than him (-he being on a meager stipend) and our health insurance was under me.  We weren’t sure how we would manage financially nor how we would get health insurance.  But God took care of our needs in a most unexpected way.  Israel became a pastor and we became yoopers.

I was excited to be starting a new chapter in our lives.  It was a slower-paced life.  I didn’t have to wake up as early to get to school.  I didn’t have to write up lesson plans for nearly every subject for up to 5 different grades every day.  No correcting papers and no lesson prep.  Staying at home has lots of responsibilities as I mentioned before.  It is busy…perhaps even busier than an elementary school teacher.  But I can get away doing many things without much preparation.  As a mother, accomplishment comes to me in many forms.  If the kitchen is clean, the laundry folded and put away, if the boys have eaten and are playing together nicely, when I’ve responded to every GYC email/call…these things seem little, but they soon become the world of a stay-at-home mom.  It is easy to go from day to day just maintaining the happenings at home.  But it’s a vicious, never-ending cycle.  No substantial progress or visible achievements.

There is one enormous danger to living this lifestyle.  Our brain goes dormant and we forget how to think.  It seems we can no longer read through an entire book.  In fact, we might have a stack of books by our bedside because we started each of them, but didn’t have the discipline to finish any of them.  We may resort to Facebook to get the latest news.  I am totally guilty as charged.  Particularly in this day and age where most of us women have been blessed with higher education, we really have no excuse.  I’m more convinced than ever that Satan wants our brains to die.  I believe he particularly targets us women because this will not only disable us from society and in our marriages, but it will unquestionably disadvantage our children.  This will kill the Church.  There is a necessary need to guard our brains and sharpen our minds.

When I was a teacher, there was no way I could “wing it” in the classroom…at least with a clear conscience.  Teaching involved studying the lessons, doing extra research, searching for the best hand-outs, creating new hand-outs, incorporating different styles of learning, and figuring out the best form of assessment for each.  On top of that were all of the in-services, professional development, and staff meetings.  And I wasn’t satisfied until all of my students were successful at learning and growing.  In other words, I was constantly growing and developing as a teacher gaining new ideas and learning new things in order to benefit my students and because my job required it.  What does God require of me now? 

Four years of college prepared me to be a teacher.  God spent my entire life preparing me to be a mother, but there is still plenty of professional development credits that I need to take care of.  I want to take my job seriously.  Whether it be thoughtfully studying and researching for worships/activities or reading books to enhance my knowledge of the world, I want to be mentally strong so I can effectively train and teach my kids.  If I was willing to spend hours prepping for my students as a teacher, it would only be expected that I step it up to the next level as a mother.  I need to remember that I’m not just working part-time or full-time.  I’m working for an eternal life-time.  And I want job security that lasts forever.  Who wouldn’t?