A Curriculum for Mother

A while back I was chatting with some online mom-friends, forum style, about the idea of developing a Curriculum for Moms.  I really like this idea. My reading habits are of the kind that I prefer to have several books going at once. A few reasons for this:

1. I like the variety: All You Can Read Buffet for the mind.
2. I need the variety: This momma only has so many minutes of quiet reading time in a week.
3. Brain Conservation: With repeated seasons of sleep deprivation and hormone tweaks, I need to be sure my reading selections fit my comprehension ability. Often, that's pretty low.

So, thinking on developing a sort of curriculum for myself, tailoring my titles to have a goal or a path they are leading me on, that's a pretty good idea, especially for the Brain Conservation.

I landed on the notion of using the verse in Titus 2 that instructs women seeking the Lord as a framework for my new Curriculum.

"...train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled." Titus 2:4-5

I now have a list for choosing and planning titles: (yes, I'm still putting myself in the *young women* category. )

1. Titles that teach me to grow as a disciple of Jesus
2. Titles that teach me to love my husband
3. Titles that teach me to love my children
4. Titles that teach me to work hard keeping my home

With this list in mind, I built my own little library of reading materials.  If I've got a title for each number on the list, I've got a balanced curriculum for year 'round learning.  When I finish a book, I get another from off the shelf to replace it.  If the shelf is empty, I know I can borrow one from a friend or the library, or even pinch a few pennies for the thrift store shelves.  There's never a shortage of great books to feast on. :) 

I encourage you to work at building your own reading plan.  You'll have a tool for discerning the titles and authors you choose to learn from. You'll feel great knowing that your reading time is working to accomplish all the Lord's purposes in your life. You'll enjoy the rewards of another year of learning and growing closer to your Savior.

That's the best use of any curriculum I've ever met.

(Titles pictured above: Sex and the Supremacy of Christ-Piper; Are You Serious About Marriage?-Keepers of the Faith; The Secret of Communion with God-Matthew Henry; The Hidden Art of Homemaking-Schaeffer; The Ministry of Motherhood-Clarkson; Sentenced to Die-Todd Wilson -that's a fiction title that I'm no longer reading. I very rarely find a fiction book that keeps my interest; and my personal journal for bible reading)

 

"Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning." Proverbs 9:9