Being a Sports Family

We spend most of our evenings on bleachers or lawn chairs. 

As I sit there I can't help but notice that many times my kids are the only homeschoolers there.

I know homeschool parents have different reasons for the things they do and we do not all share the same view on many things. But it saddens me that they are not taking the opportunities that their kids have to learn how to work as a team.
I think in terms of a team in almost every situation in life. I think of my doctor as a teammate and my pastor, my husband and even my children as part of my team. We're all in this crazy game together and I want my kids to be able to move around in these circles supporting and encouraging others. I don't think competition is bad for kids. I think we need to encourage it to an extent so they are able to develop a drive to complete tasks as adults. I also know that winning and losing teaches very valuable lessons. Winning can teach both humility and pride and, maybe even more importantly, losing teaches how to handle disappointment and how to learn from mistakes. However, I am also a firm believer that while sports teach these things there is only a limited amount of time before it is time to move on and live a life that most likely will not involve soccer or softball. I want to help my kids navigate that time as well by giving them a perspective that sports are not EVERYTHING in life.
I don't want the sports my children are in to define who they are, but I am okay with them loving a game and teammates and coaches. I want the sports we play to have a purpose and so far I am happy with the ones that we have chosen to participate in.

Being Compassionate

One of attributes I hope to instill in my children is a love for others.
I want them to love people who look like them and people who do not. I want them to put aside their comfort and try to see life from someone else's worldview. Don't get me wrong I want them to have their own worldview and be proud of it, but I don't want it to blind them to the fact that other people go through different things then them and that it shapes their lives. I want them to know that differences that are made out to be big are small and Jesus loves more than the middle-aged white guys.

When I entered college God started working in my heart by pointing out how limited I was in really understanding other cultures. I knew this about myself and I wanted more for my children. When we made the move to a new church with a lot of different cultures I was hoping I would see their worldview expand a little. So far it seems to be working. They now have lovely faces to go with words like immigrant and black and they see the love and sheer determination for survival come of our people have gone through and they love them for it.

There is so much nasty racism in the world and to see my 14-year old pick up on it and be appalled has been a  blessing. I want to foster in my children an attitude of compassion for all of mankind and broadening their worldview is what I feel I need to do to accomplish that goal. I am hoping to do more of that in the future by taking them to other countries. I want them to see the world so they can love the people in it better.