Welcome!

O blest the house, whate'er befall, 
Where Jesus Christ is all in all!
 Yea, if He were not dwelling there, 
How dark and poor and void it were!
 
 O blest the parents who give heed 
Unto their children's foremost need
 And weary not of care or cost. 
May none to them and heav'n be lost!
 
 Then here will I and mine today 
A solemn cov'nant make and say:
 Though all the world forsake Thy Word, 
I and my house will serve the Lord.
 
 Evangelical Lutheran Hymnary, #190 v.1,3,5 

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there are a lot of homeschoolers out there.  I suppose they were always there, but I made it through my first twenty years of life without having ever met any of them. (Well, as far as I knew. Turns out I actually had several homeschooled acquaintances in college, but they blended in so well that I had no idea at the time. Huh.) Just a few short years after my first in-person encounter with a real, live homeschooling family, I found myself embarking on my own unexpected journey as a homeschooling mom. I felt comically inexperienced but cautiously hopeful. And I wasn’t alone. Several young moms I knew, many of whom had attended brick and mortar schools and probably had at first envisioned that their kids would as well, were also giving homeschooling a go.

There is no question that the number of homeschooling families in the United States has increased dramatically in the last twenty years. So, too, in our confessional Lutheran circles homeschooling is a growing trend. I’m not alone in pursuing this road. But sometimes it feels pretty lonely. Even as homeschooling allows us to center ourselves in our homes and pour ourselves into our families, it also isolates us from each other. I hope this blog is a place where Lutheran homeschoolers can share ideas, commiserate, and encourage one another. I hope it is a place where those considering homeschooling can find answers to the questions with which they wrestle. I hope it’s a place where our friends and family can come to understand us a little bit better. Most of all, I hope it is a place where we are encouraged in our vocation as parents and refreshed with clear law and gospel messages.

This blog is titled Blest the House, not because a homeschooling household is somehow more blessed than any other – certainly not! Regardless of how, or where, our children are educated, our homes are blessed when Christ dwells in them. As we go about our daily lives, striving to keep Christ at the center of our parenting choices and seeking his forgiveness when we fail, I pray that he would bless our houses and keep our children ever in his care.

I’d love for you to join us on the journey!

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