What's in a Name?

As I contemplated creating a blog about our family's home schooling journey, I cringed at the thought of giving it a name.  I am terrible at naming things.  I analyze the possibilities until I've talked myself out of every option I once considered reasonable.  I couldn't begin to count how many hours I spent searching names on baby naming websites when I was pregnant with each of my children.  It doesn't matter how big or small the naming task, it is always painstaking.  In all of my planning over the summer for beginning school I was excited to get started blogging, but I couldn't settle on a name.  I even consulted a few family members for suggestions, but nothing resonated with me.

Since I wanted the blog to focus on home schooling, I decided that using the thesaurus may prove useful.  As I examined the entries that resulted from searching for "educate", the word "cultivate" caught my attention.  It is a word that I think of as usually being associated with gardening, however the other meanings listed are what caught my eye. The first definition is "to prepare or work on in order to raise crops", but the other meanings beyond that include "to develop and improve by education or training", "to promote the growth or development of", "to devote oneself to", "to seek to promote or foster."  These words did resonate with me.  I couldn't think of many more that would encompass the goals of a homeschooling family.  Cultivate, however, is not a catchy name for a blog.

That settled, I decided to give naming a rest.  I hadn't given much thought to naming the blog for some time and in an ordinary moment one day in the car with my kids I stumbled upon the answer I had been searching for.  The children have a CD of "Sunday morning songs" they love to listen to in the car.  As they often do, they asked if they could listen to it on the way to wherever we were headed.  The third song on the CD is called "I Am a Promise" and is one of my favorites.  I'll share the some of the lyrics. 

I am a promise
I am a possibility
I am a promise with a capital "P"
I am a great big bundle of potentiality
And I am learnin' to hear God's voice
And I am tryin' to make the right choice
I am a promise to be anything God wants me to be.

I love this song!  Every time I hear it, I am reminded of the tremendous potential that I have been entrusted with as I care for my children daily.  It is easy to lose sight of "the big picture" in the day-to-day tasks of raising children, but this song reminds me that God has a plan for each of them, and for me, far beyond what we can see in the here-and-now.  Our children are promises entrusted to our care.

Finally!  The blog has a name.  I must admit...I named the blog awhile ago.  In the meantime, our family went on vacation, school started, and life has happened.  Six weeks later, here I am!  I am still excited about this new venture.  We get asked so many questions about home schooling and so many people want to know how it is going.  I hope that I'll be able to give you a glimpse into our sometimes crazy, but always rewarding days of cultivating promises.

Let the Blog Begin!

Earlier this week my sister updated the blog she started 5 months ago, and I noted her comment that she may be the last one on Earth to start a blog.  As far as I can tell, I now may be the last one, but my intention has been to start one since before we began home schooling in early September.  (Anyone who reads this and has done or is doing school at home will know why it has taken me so long to get started!)  I was (and still am) excited at the prospect of sharing our home school journey.  It has been a tremendous experience for myself and the children so far and my hope is to be able to share a little of our family's experience with our friends and family.  I hope you'll check back often for updates on our school days and maybe a few family happenings too.  With an inquisitive five year old, a tenacious two (about to be three) year old, and a curious, busy one year old there are sure to be plenty of noteworthy accomplishments to share.