Wednesdays with Words: Fine Balance

I have, perhaps, gushed too much about Sarah Mackenzie’s book Teaching from Rest. 

I’ve quoted it a number of times: twice before on Wednesdays with Words (To Those Ends, Surrender … Take On), just this past Monday on my Daybook, and you can’t forget Instagram where I snapped a pic of the page I was on because it was just what I needed to hear in that moment on Tuesday. (also, not the first IG thing of Sarah … book, casting classes from the Read Aloud Revival site, and an us-ie at the Cinci convention)

Just to be clear, I think Sarah is awesome.

And I think she deserves all the accolades she gets.

I told my friend Heather that I think Sarah is great at the quotable quip; she is clear and concise yet provides a mental picture that stimulates your thinking to hang the quote upon. The pithy is strong with her.

Just like today’s Wednesdays with Words quote:

Photo credit: DorkyMum via VisualHunt / CC BY-NC-ND

Teaching from Rest strikes that wonderful balance between reliance upon God for everything while maintaining man’s responsibility for continuing to work. One of the key themes in the book is that, as teachers, we ought to know who we are – in Christ, our desires, our gifts, our abilities, our deficiencies – so that we can put them to work in an appropriate way.

In Christ: we are His. He loves us, he equips us, he asks us to bring the things he himself has provided so he can do work through and for us.

Our desires, gifts, abilities are those things he provides; he has given us exactly what we need for the end He has determined: His own glory from us and our children.

He knows our deficiencies and gives us the means to change, to grow – He gives the sanctification.

This quote speaks to that. Know thyself … use virtues to overcome sin, but don’t let your vices make excuses to sin.

I think about this with MBTI. Each personality has it’s own good sides and each has it’s own down sides. If we use the test and wallow in our inability – “Oh, I’m an introvert, I can’t go to that gathering.” rather than as information to know how to regulate our participation in the gathering, we aren’t using the information appropriately.  If, however, we take that information and think, I know I can talk with Sally and Joe and Mary while I’m there and go in with a plan to improve the situation, we’re making progress in growth.

Virtues and Vices are like this. We can grow or we can wallow. Our choice.

I would unreservedly recommend Teaching from Rest to any Christian homeschooler – Protestant or Catholic, Mackenzie is herself Roman Catholic. She has many wise things to teach and a facility with language that is engaging, encouraging, and energizing. Five Stars.

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