Homeschooling is a lot like being self employed.  You have to keep yourself motivated, 
set your own schedule, decide what tools are the best for your situation, manage a budget, 
manage and motivate your “employees,” evaluate your results, and make changes accordingly.
The thing is, I am not self employed.  I have an invisible Head Master, Who is intently 
interested in what my kids are learning and doing and is sometimes,
for me, hard to hear through the noise of life. 
Having a type “A” personality I often don’t want to wait on Him, but want to 
get things done now.  Many years, I impatiently struck out on my own with my own plan 
and fell flat on my face.  The kids wouldn’t cooperate.  The curriculum I bought stunk.  
We were all miserable. 
So after many years of this, about 9 years ago, I learned to put a lot of prayer 
into the following year.  Usually starting about this time of year, I start praying 
while spring cleaning, washing dishes, folding clothes, gardening…  
Then I pray some more, and some more; sometimes I get answers 
and sometimes, I loose patience and try on my own again and fall flat on my face AGAIN.
So, through all this, I’ve learned to DESPISE striving.  
When I start, I get this uncomfortable feeling.  I want to stop.  
Sometimes, I do stop and pray.  Sometimes, I still don’t know what to do.
These verses about going on in our faith apply to everything we do from intersession,
to homeschooling, to parenting, to being a wife, or a just a good friend; to EVERYTHING.
Philippians 2:13 [Not in your own strength] for it is God Who is 
all the while effectually at work in you [energizing and creating in you the power and desire], 
both to will and to work for His good pleasure and satisfaction and delight. 
Philippians 1:6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you 
will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3
Trust in Christ, Not the Law
 1 You crazy Galatians! Did someone put a hex on you? Have you taken leave of your senses?
Something crazy has happened, for it’s obvious that you no longer have 
the crucified Jesus in clear focus in your lives. 
His sacrifice on the cross was certainly set before you clearly enough.
 2-4 Let me put this question to you: How did your new life begin? 
Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding 
to God’s Message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? 
For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts 
what was begun by God. If you weren’t smart enough or strong enough to begin it, 
how do you suppose you could perfect it? 
Did you go through this whole painful learning process for nothing? 
It is not yet a total loss, but it certainly will be if you keep this up!

I love this last one in the Message.  

We have to keep Jesus in clear focus in our lives.. 
focusing on our own efforts is craziness!  
Did I go through this whole painful learning process for nothing?
Lord, deliver me from craziness,
Jenny