Hi Reader,

Sometimes I get the feeling that people think I wrote a book called Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler’s Guide to Unshakable Peace because I’m a naturally peaceful person.

That is… not true.

[We can pause for a moment while my closest friends erupt in hysterical laughter 😅]

Actually, I remember quite vividly the first time I heard the phrase, “teach from a state of rest.” I was pregnant with twins, and my other kids were 11, 9, 7, and 1.

I was homeschooling.

I was pretty sure I was doing a terrible job of it.

And I was very, very tired.

So tired. 🫩

On this particular day, I listened to a homeschool interview while cleaning out my 7yo son’s closet.

(Full disclaimer: I wasn’t listening carefully, because I was also sorting hot wheels from legos, vacuuming up year-old cracker crumbs, and filling a trash bag with unidentifiable objects.)

I think the conversation was about how to teach literature, but it wasn’t until the very end of the interview that it stopped me in my tracks.

“As we wrap up, one more question,” the host asked, “If you could tell a homeschooling mom just one thing, what would it be?”

The man being interviewed didn’t miss a beat: “Teach from a state of rest,” he said.

Well.

I paused the audio long enough to shout down the hall for the kids to stop slamming the front door. Was someone keeping an eye on the baby? And what was that burnt smell coming from the kitchen?

Clearly this man has no idea what he’s talking about, I thought.

(Okay, if I’m being honest, I don’t think I was wrong. 😅 I bet a single day in the life of a typical homeschooling mom would send most men straight for the smelling salts. But I digress.)

Here’s the thing, though. Something resonated inside of me when he said that phrase. Teach from a state of rest.

He went on to say that by “rest” he meant “peace.”

The interview ended, and I finished cleaning the closet. But I couldn’t get the phrase out of my head.

Not when I changed the baby’s diaper, or started the pasta for dinner, or bandaged my daughter’s scraped-up knee. Not when I wiped down the bathroom, or moved the growing pile of laundry from one sofa to another, or stared at my lesson plans, trying to figure out HOW ON EARTH we’d ever finish this school year on time.

Here’s what I knew for sure: I wanted peace more than anything.

Here’s what else I knew: the Lord promises “peace that transcends all understanding.”

I just didn’t know how to get it. My actual life was… not peaceful.

See photos below for details.

(Okay those photos are from after the twins arrived, when things got markedly less peaceful. But. You get the idea.)

Anyway, that single phrase, “teach from a state of rest” sent me on a journey.

Because if there was a way for me to have unshakable peace in my homeschool—to really and truly teach from rest…well, I wanted it.

So… how? That’s what I set out to discover.

But this email is long enough, so I’ll come back and tell you more about that in a couple of days.

For now, I want you to know that if you’ve ever wanted a peace-filled, joyful school year but felt like it might be out of reach, you aren’t alone.

Me too, same, 1000%.

And what I discovered next is worth paying attention to. I’ll come back soon to share it.

xo, Sarah Mackenzie

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