The Busy Homeschool Mom's Guide To Romance published by Real Life Press is a 176 page book written by homeschool veteran Heidi St. John. In this book, written from a ladies perspective, to other ladies, she addresses a really important topic for busy home school moms – that of keeping romance alive in their marriages. Homeschooling is hard work, and to do it right takes a huge amount of dedication and daily commitment. Ladies often find it difficult to balance all the requirements that life puts on us, and too often we take the easy road of neglecting the relationships that mean the most to us, because there is just not enough of us to go around.
The Busy Homeschool Mom's Guide To Romance addresses those concerns in a real-life, easy
to read manner. Heidi St. John is extremely transparent, sharing some of the
struggles in her own marriage, and the steps she took to overcome them. She
talks about juggling busy schedules, and trying to prioritize ways to keep the
romance in her marriage fresh and alive. I laughed my way through the chapter
describing a typical day in her home school life, and I cried my way through
the story of the passing of her dear grandparents. 
As I was reading this book, several main thoughts became
clearly focused. First, we must realize our own personal identity. Often we
think of ourselves as a mother, a wife, a worker of some sort, or a (fill in
the blank) but our true identity can only be found as a child of God. It is who we
are, not what we do.
Once we identify our own personal identity, we can begin to
prioritize our lives with those tasks that God has seen fit to bless us with:
roles as a wife, a mother, or some other place God has put us.
In our marriages, as our world encroaches in on our personal
space, it is easy to allow all the daily tasks and busyness to cause us to lose
that first love. We often think we are doing the best we can by homeschooling and
throwing ourselves into our routine, but by missing on building and repairing
the foundation of a strong marriage, we are building our little homeschooling
empire on shaky ground.
By faith, we must accept our God-given role and seek to
fulfill all that God has for us as Godly wives. If our marriages are going to
be strong, it will take work and planning on our part. We cannot lose sight of “that
girl” that our husbands first met, and the love and purpose we shared before
all the children came along. The children are to enhance that relationship, not
replace it.
Lastly, consider the legacy that we are passing on to our
children. Though it may feel endless during the middle of the busy home school
years, those children will quickly be grown and launching out into the world to
follow God’s plan for their own lives. What remains will be the relationship
that we have nurtured (or neglected) through the years.
Heidi St. John doesn't give a formula in this book for repairing neglected relationships, but she does give some practical advice (such as making your bedroom a peaceful respite) and time management and communication pointers. The book really seeks to teach why our marriage relationship is important, and helps the reader to seek out personal ways to improve their own individual situation, since everyone is different.
Heidi St. John doesn't give a formula in this book for repairing neglected relationships, but she does give some practical advice (such as making your bedroom a peaceful respite) and time management and communication pointers. The book really seeks to teach why our marriage relationship is important, and helps the reader to seek out personal ways to improve their own individual situation, since everyone is different.
Personal Perspective: I found many ways to relate to Heidi St. John as I was
reading through her book. We have been married about the same number of years,
have faced some similar circumstances, and share similar ministry burdens. I enjoyed this book greatly. The writing is
friendly but pointed. It doesn't have a ton of fluff, but cuts right to the
heart of the matter and really seeks to help busy home school moms with some
practical advice and help. I highly recommend this book for all wives and mothers, not just home school moms.
Connect with Real Life Press and Heidi St. John on Social Media:
The Crew has reviewed six different books from Real Life Press, including devotionals and more for the Busy Home school Mom - click the banner below to read more reviews!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!