In the past few months I have become aware of some homekeepers who are having doubts. They worry that they are shortchanging their children somehow. They fear that they are not giving their children the best environment to help them succeed. They wonder whether they have missed out on important opportunities. They sometimes feel life is passing them by.

Balderdash, as Bertie Wooster would say.

I don't want to make light of anyone's feelings. We all have them, some times of the month more than others. There may even be seasons in your life when you wake up with those feelings every day and go to sleep with them every night. That's when you need to remember that we walk by faith, not by sight.

A homeschooling mother once called me for advice. Her daughter was not obeying her about doing her schoolwork. After asking a few questions, I determined that her daughter was being rebellious. "Have you tried spanking her?" I asked. "Well, I tried that once, but it didn't work," she replied.

Dear Prairie Muffins, God gives us many commands which we are required to obey, not because they are magic formulas, but because God commands that we obey. We don't try out His commands to see if they work for us...we obey them because they come from the loving Father who made us and takes care of us. He orders our steps and keeps us from falling. We need to stop saying, "Yes, but..." and start saying, "Yes, Lord."

We have many detractors trying to lure us out of our contentment. Some are obvious. We Prairie Muffins have our radars tuned to filter out the feminist foolishness preached by the world. We know that we have a high calling as wives and mothers. But sometimes the doubts come creeping in because of insensitive remarks by other Christians. Other times we cause ourselves to stumble by comparing our lives to others who seem to be...happier, smarter, more organized, more accomplished, calmer, holier and thinner. Fill in the blank.

Let me tell you a little secret. You don't want to trade your problems for anyone else's. Everyone has problems. God designs your problems just for you. He knows what is necessary to sanctify you, and in His love, He will do it.

Let's have some plain talk and put some shoe leather on this. There are no formulas for a perfect life. There are no formulas for perfect children. Andrew Sandlin is right when he says that godly wisdom is necessary for making practical decisions about how to live every day in this culture. But God's Word does give us many examples and directions and even commands about how to live our lives. My husband and I have adopted certain distinctives because we are trying to be as obedient to God as possible. These distinctives include: accepting as many children as God is pleased to bless us with; teaching our children at home in order to teach them God's law and train them to obey it; protecting our children from corrupt culture and providing them with wholesome work and entertainment; encouraging our sons to be manly men and our girls to be feminine with the understanding that our daughters are training to one day be virtuous homekeepers and mothers of many children; promoting modesty in dress and behavior; and striving to obey God and acknowledge His Kingship in every area of life.

You know you're a homeschooler when...your closet contains more than three jumpers. My closet contains more than three jumpers, as well as jeans, overalls, skirts, dresses, hats and too many pairs of shoes. There is nothing wrong with jumpers. They are comfortable, practical, feminine and modest. You shouldn't worry about jumpers branding you with the "homeschooling uniform" label any more than 99 percent of America worries about being labeled cultural drones because they wear jeans. Don't be discouraged by the naysayers who want to denigrate you with their labels. One of their criticisms is that we Prairie Muffins have a fascination with Victorian culture, and we are caught in a time warp which precludes our cultural relevance. I just happen to like poetry that rhymes and pictures of mothers and children. These things were popular in Victorian times. So, to be relevant to this post and culturally irrelevant at the same time, I leave you with this Victorian poem which I found in Homeschooling Today magazine: