As I sat at the table at Tuesday night's Lighthouse "Teacher
Appreciation Night", asking the other moms when they were finishing
their homeschool "year", I was reminded of the many years when the end
of our school year was marked by "Conference"!
I went to
my first NCHE homeschool conference in 1994, a few months before we
actually started homeschooling. I was eager to start but my husband was
very hesitant about the whole idea - however attending Conference,
seeing all those families and their kids (and it was a fraction of the
number that now attends), seeing all that was available in the vendor
fair, and hearing encouragement from the speakers gave him the
confidence to give the green light and agree that we should try
homeschooling for at least a year. 
For
the next 23 years, the NCHE Conference in Winston-Salem was an annual
"must do" on our calendar. We considered homeschooling my career, and
because we wanted me to be as equipped and informed as possible,
attending these workshops was part of my "professional development". A
couple of times we went as a couple for a weekend getaway. A lot of
years we all went as a family - with strollers, backpacks, snacks,
Odyssey tapes (yes - cassette tapes! ) and coloring books. Other years
it was a girls' weekend for me - sharing a hotel room with my homeschool
peeps and talking late into the night about curriculum, homeschool
philosophies, and parenting challenges after long days at the book fair
and workshops. Later, it was me and my teens who enjoyed a weekend
together - well, we slept in the same room at night and ate meals
together - as they attended the Teen track workshops as part of their
school requirement for the year while I went through my checklist of
workshops and book fair time. 
Some
years was like drinking from a fire hose, and some years it was dainty
sips of refreshment. But I always came home with nuggets of wisdom,
encouragement and insight that made me a better teacher and homeschool
mama. It was motivation to stay the course. It was conviction to make a
change. It was affirmation of my desires and encouragement for my
doubts.
Even today, now that all five of my children are
graduated and in their 20's and 30's, I get a thrill of excitement as I
read through the list of workshop titles, and I'm tempted to attend
Conference for at least one day - or maybe three- to sit in on some
workshops and soak in all those good homeschool vibes. I might browse
the vendor hall, and with great restraint choose one or two books to
take home for me. And maybe one or two to tuck away for that first
grandbaby and future homeschooler on the way.
Do
it. Go to Thrive! or go to another homeschool conference. Invest in
yourself and your decision to educate your children. Strive for
excellence. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you and direct you. Don't
think you aren't ___ enough and that's why you have to send them out or
sign them up for other people to teach. Sending them out or signing
them up could be part of what you do this year, but make that an
informed and intentional part of your homeschool, not a desperate move.
Remember
that Jesus used one little boy's lunch of a few fish and some bread to
feed thousands. Bring Jesus your lunch and watch him multiply it and do a
miracle.
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