I have been homeschooling now for twenty years. This fact amazes me when I recall the statement I enjoyed making adamantly when I was in high school and college: “There are two things I will never do—have kids or teach.”  So I have spent most of my adult life teaching my own children at home!

Homeschooling has been one of the greatest blessings of my life, and I hope of my children’s lives. (All three are wonderfully capable young adults with a vibrant love for Christ.)  I love homeschooling. I write about it; I speak about it; I lobby for it; I emphatically believe in it. This does not mean that homeschooling has been easy. I have had days that I have wanted to quit. I have had days that I have felt personally limited. I have felt boxed in at times. I am an extreme extrovert—and there have been days, especially in the early years, that I was just plain lonely.

It was during one of those days that I “happened” to be listening to Joni Earickson Tada on the radio.  She was discussing Philippians 1:12-14 (HCSB): 

Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has actually resulted in the advancement of the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is for Christ. Most of the brothers in the Lord have gained confidence from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the message fearlessly.

I will never forget Joni’s message that day. She pointed out what the passage said: Paul’s chains, his imprisonment, resulted in the furtherance, the advancement, of the gospel. Then she said that she viewed her wheel chair the same way—as a type of prison. And, yet, she prayed with Paul that her limitations would result in the furtherance of the gospel.

I have never viewed limitations in the same way since that day. Since then, I have prayed hundreds of times that God would take my limitations (my shortcomings and my circumstances) and use them to somehow further His kingdom.

Being financially limited can cause some great things to happen in our lives and in our families’ lives.

1. Financial constraints force us to choose wisely—whether we are buying curriculum or Christmas presents, planning vacations, or choosing extra-curricular activities for the children.

2. Financial limitations cause families to work together as teams. We live in an extremely individualistic society where everyone tends to go his own way and do his own thing. Unlimited finances can fund this type of lifestyle. Fathers and mothers can afford to pursue their own interests and hobbies—and often these interests are not mutual and don’t include the children. On the other hand, limited finances force a family to work together and often the resulting choices enhance a spirit of teamwork and togetherness. 

3. Limited finances keep our children from being spoiled. Also, by example, we teach them the importance of making wise choices.

4. Financial limitations can keep us focused spiritually. “So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen; for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (II Corinthians 4: 18).

5. When we choose to homeschool and to live on one income, we freely choose to limit ourselves financially. We demonstrate powerfully to our children, on a daily basis, that we value them more than we value things.