Mindset Shifts for Homeschool Moms

Overcoming negative thoughts and feelings of not being enough

HOMESCHOOLINGFOUNDATIONSELF CAREMOTHERHOOD

4 min read

black pen on white book page
black pen on white book page

Growing up I always wanted to be a mom and a teacher. I was thrilled to land my dream job of teaching kindergarten and enjoyed my career for many years. After we brought our first son home I left the classroom to happily stay home with my baby. I thought I’d go back to the classroom one day but God put homeschooling on my heart before my son entered preschool. So with some reservations I started researching, reading and talking to seasoned homeschool moms. It was so exciting to be learning about educational philosophies that I had never heard of before, I was hooked. And so I entered my next career as a home educator. I was grateful for the opportunity to be doing the two things I had dreamed of my whole life.

We began our journey by creating a preschool co op with friends and then joined a homeschool community and have been going strong ever since. Homeschooling is the hardest and most rewarding job I’ve ever had. I was a pretty confident as a teacher and mom when I had my first child. But then two more sweet boys came along and my world flipped upside down. Suddenly I was unsure about everything! Was this introverted mom capable of raising three boisterous boys and having them home all day everyday? Could I handle the energy, noise and chaos that comes with raising boys who had all kinds of needs including severe eczema, food allergies and ADHD? I wanted to be with my boys, I loved learning and adventuring together, I loved having them home, but I was burning out quickly and allowing negative thoughts to take root. You know the ones:

You aren’t patient enough!

You are failing as a mom!

You aren’t as fun/organized/structured/easygoing…of a mom she is!

You are ruining your kids!

These thoughts went round and round in my head daily. I was tired and stretched beyond capacity caring for three littles, tending to our home, preparing meals, doing laundry and trying to keep my very energetic household together. I was alone a lot as my husband worked long hours. Sometimes for days on end he would leave before they got up and return after they were in bed. That meant I was on all day until bedtime by myself. Did I mention that we were in some state of remodeling our very old house for 18 years, DIYing with a little help from a few family members that are tradesmen? My sensory system was on overload and I had no idea. I just kept pushing through, beating myself up and feeling like a failure in so many areas.

I had allowed these negative beliefs to take over my thinking. I cried myself to sleep many nights asking God to make me more patient, more calm, more like the mom I had always thought I’d be. It took many years for me to replace those toxic beliefs with God’s truth. He began working on my heart and mind but it was a very slow process. I leaned into the Lord and started keeping a journal of scripture verses that He gave me to replace those lies I had been believing for far too long. 

Slowly I started to understand that I was never meant to be enough. I was reminded in 2 Corinthians 12:9-  His grace is sufficient and His power is made perfect in our weakness. We were never meant to be enough on our own, He is at work in and through us, we just need to let Him do the work and be open to what He is doing in us. What a relief! That scripture journal has helped me make some very necessary mindset shifts. I no longer believe the lies that used to keep me up at night. I have freedom from those thought patterns and now after years of parenting and homeschooling I have some helpful insights too.

I also found the Grace and Truth for Moms online course from Connected Families to be immensely helpful on my journey. I have led moms through this course and the amount of insights and heart transformations I have seen take place is truly amazing. Doing this with other moms on the journey is so powerful but you can also do it on your own. I can’t recommend this course highly enough. Seeking God’s truth and making these mindshifts helped give me the peace I longed for and helped me show up as the mom I had longed to be. 

If you struggle with stinkin’ thinkin’ (as I used to say to my boys) I hope you will grab my free download - Mindset Shifts for Homeschool Moms. You can grab a copy when sign up for my email list where you’ll receive a little monthly boost of encouragement. These are the words I needed all those years ago and I hope you will find them helpful too. I’m praying that you will make these shifts too, I’m here for you if you want a little support on your journey. Just click the link below for a free 15 minute consultation, I’d love to share more about making these powerful mindset shifts and the impact that it can have on you and your kids.

It’s so worth it and so are you!

-Marni