Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler’s Guide to Unshakable Peace
By Sarah Mckenzie
Reviewed by Ashley Davis
If you’re a woman, especially if you’re a mom, especially especially if you’re a homeschool mom, you would likely describe your daily life as “busy.” Oftentimes, we all wish we could more readily use the words “peaceful” and “restful.” In this short, 77-page book, author Sarah Mckenzie, takes readers through a journey of encouragement to remember the holiness of the everyday work they do in schooling their children and the value of offering God whatever they have (even if it’s not much!).
This book is broken into three parts. In the first part, Sarah turns the reader’s attention to their own work and helps them consider who they’re truly working for. She encourages homeschool mothers, through the story of the little boy with five loaves and two fish, to bring whatever they have to offer to their homeschools and trust God with the results. In part two, the author reminds homeschooling mothers that there’s so much more to schooling than the curriculum. She guides mothers through clarifying their homeschool vision and gives practical tips for lightening the load of curriculum. Next, she provides information about simplifying schedules and doing the right thing at the right time. In the final section of the book, she reminds mothers to be who they are by discussing a variety of ways the homeschooling mother can fill her own cup.
The book concludes with recommended resources and information about Sarah’s other books and podcast. She also offers a Teaching from Rest Companion Journal and an audio collection that is intended to be paired with this book. As an aside, Sarah is Catholic. Her religious associate doesn’t much affect the content in her book.
Here are some quotes I liked from Teaching from Rest:
“But he is not asking me to feed the five thousand; he just wants be to bring my basket of loaves and fish and lay them at his feet” (xiv).
“Rest, therefore, is not the absence of work or a failure to consider and carry out a plan. It is work and leisure, properly ordered. It is doing the right thing at the right time, realizing that our task is to hear God's call and follow His commands, and then to trust that God will be God – to be at rest even while at work” (8).
“It is easy to forget that teaching is holy work. The building up of the intellect –teaching children to really think--does not happen by the might of human reason, but rather by the grace of God” (11).
“If God expected you to get thirty-six hours' worth of work done in a day, He would have given you thirty-six hours to do it. If you have more to do than time to do it in, the simple fact is this: Some of what you are doing isn't on His agenda for you” (38).
“Remember that there are many years that make up a childhood. You can get to other beautiful subjects you long to teach another year” (48).
Audience:
Homeschooling mothers.
Usefulness Rating:
Very useful with a great balance of practical tools and suggestions along with a dose of encouragement.
Entertainment Value:
Have you ever heard stories from a homeschool mom? It’s always entertaining!
Good For Groups:
This book isn’t designed for groups, but it could easily be adapted into a group read for a group of homeschooling moms.
For more information about this book or other reading suggestions, feel free to contact me directly.
