Called to Homeschool???

April 6, 2023 / Jodie / Leave a comment

Matthew 14:18-22

New Living Translation

¹⁸One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. ¹⁹Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” ²⁰And they left their nets at once and followed him.

²¹A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. ²²They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.

God called me to follow Him into homeschooling in 2007.

At the time, I had,

-A newborn son who required constant care.

-A non-verbal, sometimes violent, yet musically gifted daughter on the Autism Spectrum.

-A smart, social butterfly daughter who thrived being in the presence of a loving teacher & her very best friends every day in a public-school classroom.

-A natural born, strong-willed leader daughter who felt constant pressure from the system to perform a greater quantity of work in exchange of quality work.

Let me be perfectly clear: I did NOT want to be a homeschool mom! For heaven’s sake, I purposefully changed my major from Music Education to Mass Media Communications because I realized after talking to a long-time educator that I didn’t want to teach bratty kids, deal with ungrateful parents and fight an impossibly rigid public-school system. Plus, we had become a single income household after our 3rd daughter was born, so I logically concluded that we couldn’t afford to pay state taxes for public education AND pay for our children’s homeschool education!

So, I politely told God, “no.”

He laughed.

Several months (and many tears) later, I finally relented to HIS will.

Matthew 16:21-26

New Living Translation

²¹From then on Jesus^[a] began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead.

²²But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him^[b] for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!”

²³Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

²⁴Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. ²⁵If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. ²⁶And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?^[c] Is anything worth more than your soul?

I’ll spare you the gory details of what it has cost me to follow Him into homeschooling. But after 16 years, I say with absolute confidence, HE IS WORTH. IT. ALL!!!

Instead, my friend, I want to ask:

Did the Lord call you?!

IF the Lord called you to follow Him into homeschooling,

(not your spouse/kids/friends/self- wanting an alternative to public or private school)

THEN He will require you to:

(Matthew 16:24)

Give up YOUR way = time, talent, treasure
Take up YOUR cross = train your children in the way they should go (not the way everyone else is going)
Follow Him to YOUR death = as you teach your children, Jesus will teach you how to obey the Father; HIS Kingdom, HIS will, HIS way (not man’s kingdom, man’s will, man’s ways).

IF you chose to follow Him into homeschooling,

THEN you will be a servant who will suffer many terrible things at the hands of:

(Matthew 16:21)

“elders”
“leading priests”
“teachers of religious law”

Many won’t applaud or support your decision to homeschool. That’s ok. Please the Father, not people. He alone will judge us according to our deeds.

IF you will give up your life to follow Him into homeschooling,

THEN you will save it.

(Matthew 16: 25)

What needs to be saved in your life?

Your spirit? (Salvation in Jesus)
Your soul? (Mind, Will, Emotions)
Your relationship with God? (Worshipping Him in Spirit & Truth)
Your relationship with your husband? (Becoming One = body, soul, spirit)
Your relationship with your kids? (Loving them from the overflow of love you receive from the Father)

The cost of homeschooling has been great in my life. But what I have gained far surpasses anything I’ve lost. I pray the same is true for you!

Please share your homeschool story with us! (Comment below)

Uprooting

November 18, 2020November 18, 2020 / Jodie / 5 Comments

John 15:1-8 New Living Translation

15 “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. ²He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. ³You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you.⁴Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

⁵“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.⁶Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. ⁷But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! ⁸When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

Seven years ago, during an encounter with the Lord, I heard the Spirit saying He was uprooting our family- and sending us to a new land (Genesis 2:1-9).

With prophesy, God requires His people to persevere through a process in order to receive His promise. This principle of scripture has proven yet again to be true in my life. I would like to say that I am always willingly to submit to the suffering that is required in enduring, but I’m still immature. My childlike nature often gets the best of me, and in my impetuousness, I try to run ahead of God’s timing. So, when I heard from the Lord in 2013, I immediately announced to my husband, “we’re moving! NOW!” He wasn’t convinced. Nor was he motivated to submit to my timeline (thank God!).

The process continued.

Did I mention it’s been seven years?! (Obviously, the fruit of patience still has opportunity to grow in me). Yet, as I’ve reflected on all that God has done in the waiting, now I SEE that He that began a good work in me will see it to completion (Philippians 1:6). God has been faithful. Even when fear tried to consume me. Even when I doubted. Even when I pouted. Even when I threw a fit in the prayer room. Even when I argued with my husband about who/what/when/where/why. Even when others thought I was crazy.

God has been faithful to His word.

In prayer.

In dreams.

In prophesies.

In circumstances.

In meetings.

One particular meeting in 2015 proved to be a significant puzzle piece that brought clear vision to WHERE the Lord was sending us (He told us the state 7 years ago, but not the city). It was on a diverted flight from North Carolina to Florida. My man and I were traveling with another couple to attend our friends vow renewal ceremony. Our flight from RDU (Raleigh Durham International) was delayed….delayed… cancelled. After pursuing the ticket agent for more options (they originally rebooked us for the following day), my man secured another flight for us on another airline, compliments of his frequent flyer status. Without knowing it, he had walked right into the will of God! After making it to Atlanta, the 4 of us boarded our final flight to VPS (Destin-Fort Walton). I was seated beside our friends. My man willingly took the seat beside a stranger. Before buckling up, I glanced at the gentleman that would be my man’s travel companion for the duration of our flight. He smiled. I returned the smile, but my eyes were immediately drawn to the worn-out bible he was holding. (You know those sonic boom moments- when you know that something is getting ready to hit in the supernatural??? Yep. Spirit. BOOM!) That man struck up a conversation with my man. (I tried eavesdropping but we were seated at the back of the aircraft so I couldn’t hear over the roar of the engines!!!) Before departing company, he handed us a book. As we deplaned, I laughed out loud when I read the title, “I See a New Prophetic Generation.”

The man was Jeremiah Johnson.

https://jeremiahjohnson.tv

We had no idea who he was. But God did. It was all part of His plan to transplant us.

After devouring that book, I ordered everything Jeremiah had in print. I read whatever I could find about the church, HOTFM (Heart of the Father Ministry) he helped plant in 2010. I attended a JJM prophetic conference in Charlotte, NC with one of my spiritual mommas (2017). My man and I became partners the following year (2018). We were invited to join a Partners Retreat in the mountains of NC the next year (2019), where we met several couples from HOTFM. Later that same year we met even more families when attending a service at Heart of the Father Ministry (on the way back to the car that day, our son unknowingly prophesied, “let’s move here!”). This year, during a repeat visit to HOTFM, one of those couples prayed and prophesied, “divine appointments” (the Lord spoke the exact same phrase through Jeremiah when he prayed over us the year before).

You can’t make this stuff up, people!!!

God continued to confirm what He said through multiple dreams I had, beginning in 2014 (too many to mention here). He also interrupted other people’s sleep to speak to us too! In 2018, another confirmation came through a woman in my small group, when she prophesied during a meeting. She saw in the Spirit that I was root bound. The Lord said I had experienced tremendous growth in the container I was currently planted in, but I was out of room. He was uprooting me. He was going to transplant me into a new container.

I am NOT a landscaper, but I have spent enough time learning from my expert husband to know that the transplanting process is risky, but necessary for growth. When a plant is removed from its original container, the roots need to be pruned or cut in order to prepare it for growth in the new container. Initially, the plant goes through a period of shock in which its ability to thrive is tested. Good soil, plenty of water and sunshine, along with strong roots is required for the plant to survive the uprooting.

Uprooting. It’s where I currently find myself. The Lord is cutting roots that are dead or sucking the life out of healthy ones that need MORE soil, MORE sunshine, MORE water to produce MORE fruit! The process of being prepared for MORE is painful. Obedience always is.

Preparing requires:

Leaving our parents.

Leaving our extended family.

Leaving our spiritual family.

Leaving our friends.

Selling our home.

Selling our possessions.

Closing our ministry.

Closing our homeschool.

Uprooting. It’s a process the Lord is requiring for our entire family. In the midst of the global Covid-19 crisis, God said, “NOW is the time.” My man and I agreed with Him. The kids agreed with Him (all of them). And so… I am excited to officially announce: the Bullard Pack is moving to Lakeland, FL!

We appreciate your prayers as we continue to submit to the process of uprooting from North Carolina to Florida.

We trust the farmer.

We will persevere to obtain the promise.

We will prepare the soil of our hearts.

We will receive the seed.

We will die, so that He can live.

We will grow.

We will submit to His pruning and cutting.

We will produce good fruit.

So that HE may be GLORIFIED!

Return to family

March 30, 2020November 17, 2020 / Jodie / 1 Comment

Luke 15:11-32

¹¹To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons.¹²The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

¹³“A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. ¹⁴About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. ¹⁵He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. ¹⁶The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

¹⁷“When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! ¹⁸I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you,¹⁹and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’

²⁰“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. ²¹His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.^[a]’

²²“But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. ²³And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, ²⁴for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.

²⁵“Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, ²⁶and he asked one of the servants what was going on. ²⁷‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’

²⁸“The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, ²⁹but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. ³⁰Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’

³¹“His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. ³²We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

During this season of #covid-19 as our government mandates #socialdistancing in NC, people from the mountains to the ocean have come home…. and returned to family.

At the same time, I believe our Father in heaven is inviting His children to come home….and return to family.

fullsizeoutput_5d2a The Bullard Pack has been responding to that invitation since 2007. When the Lord called our children home from public school, He simultaneously called me to be a full-time teacher, to “train them in the way that they should go.” Let me be perfectly clear: I did NOT want to #homeschool. Just like many of you who have been mandated by the state to do so because of the #pandemic, I feared I didn’t have what it takes. I was afraid I wasn’t smart enough, patient enough, blah, blah, blah. It’s true, I wasn’t. It’s the reason for the call. The call to homeschool was a call to follow Him. A call to know the Son. A call to know the Father. A call to receive more of His Spirit. A call to be a daughter. A call to be a wife. A call to be a mother. A call to become a family.

In 2018 the Lord would call our family again. It was a call to leave everything and everyone to follow Him on a new path through the desert. That call, for me, has been excruciating (you can read more about it, here). The call uprooted us from something familiar and transplanted us into something new. When we left the mega church system we also left our friends, our platforms and our positions to return home. The call was an invitation to return to family, an invitation to return to the upper room, an invitation to become one, as the Father, Son and Spirit are one. Dads, moms, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters now meet together each week in our home to worship, pray, study Scripture, share communion and a meal.

We’ve returned home.

We’ve returned to family.

A family that is called to love one another, build one another up, encourage, and strengthen one another (Yes. That includes correction and rebuke!) Last week I was prompted by the Spirit to do something. I immediately obeyed. But… I can be a bit impetuous, like Peter and DO before I think, so my spiritual mommas offered a course correction; wisdom on how to dothe thing. I’ll admit, the spanking didn’t feel very good in the moment, but this little girl quickly realized it was for my good. Because they love me, they were parenting me, in love. And I know they love me, because they spend time with me……talking, praying, studying Scripture, worshipping, sharing communion and meals. If they weren’t family, I would have taken their correction as rejection, like an orphan. An orphan without spiritual parents. An orphan who feels unloved and unwanted when religious leaders use and abuse them to build their empires. An orphan who is commanded to serve and use spiritual gifts, but never invited to be a part of the family. Sadly, many religious leaders are orphans themselves. They don’t know what they’re doing. They don’t know that they are part of a system that produces religious slaves, not sons and daughters in the Kingdom.

Despite the harsh reality that many orphans are still in bondage, making bricks in Egypt, there is also a remnant, a Church, a body, a Bride, that is returning to the promise of family!!!! A family where moms and dads are building up sons and daughters that know the Father, Son and Spirit!

It’s now 2020, and the Lord is calling our family- and yours to come home. To return to family.

It’s time to come hometo the Father. It’s time to come home to the Son. It’s time to come home to the Spirit. Come home! Return to family.

It’s time to come home to your spouse. It’s time to come home to your children. Come home! Return to family.

It’s time to come home to spiritual moms and dads. It’s time to come home to brothers and sisters in the Lord. Come home! Return to family.

Matthew 12:46-50

⁴⁶As Jesus was speaking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. ⁴⁷Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, and they want to speak to you.”^[a]

⁴⁸Jesus asked, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹Then he pointed to his disciples and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. ⁵⁰Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!”

Ecclesiastes 3

3 For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.
²A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
³A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
⁴A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
⁵A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
⁶A time to search and a time to quit searching.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
⁷A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
⁸A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace.

Without Power

September 15, 2018 / Jodie / Leave a comment

Luke 9:1-6 (NLT)

One day Jesus called together his twelve disciples^[a] and gave them power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases. ²Then he sent them out to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. ³“Take nothing for your journey,” he instructed them. “Don’t take a walking stick, a traveler’s bag, food, money,^[b] or even a change of clothes. ⁴Wherever you go, stay in the same house until you leave town. ⁵And if a town refuses to welcome you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.”

⁶So they began their circuit of the villages, preaching the Good News and healing the sick.

All across the state, many of my fellow North Carolinians have been without power as we continue to endure heavy rains and gusty wind from #HurricaneFlorence2018. Even though FLO has been downgraded to a tropical storm, she is slow moving and her circular bands are dumping record numbers of water onto our already saturated land.

without power.jpg We were without power last night for a few hours. Yes, only a few hours. But lemme just go ahead and confess this to you: I’m a wuss without power. Born and raised in Southern, CA, this city girl, who was transplanted to the country in the late 80’s, is NOT equipped to live like a pioneer. Sure, I can go tent camping. I even enjoy “roughing it” for a few days. But at home? Uh. No. It’s like I forget how to function! Without powerI can’t cook, do dishes, wash clothes, turn on the fan (this is VERY important for hot flashes!!!), use my computer, iPhone…wah, wah, wah. I have become much too dependent on electronics that are useless without power. Electrical power helps me be productive in my role as Home Manager, Homeschool Mom, and with At Home Ministries. The same is true in my relationship with the Lord, and in what He has called me to do. Without His supernatural power, I’m unable to fulfill His plans for my life.

Such is the case with the church in America. She, in many instances, is trying to function without power. She has equipped herself to preach to the multitudes on Sunday mornings by using electrical power to brew fresh coffee, show videos and announcements on the big screen, stream children’s curriculum, share on social media, amplify instruments, and project people’s voices on microphones… But none of these things need supernatural power to perform. Supernatural power doesn’t need to be plugged into a sound system. Supernatural power simply needs disciples who know Jesus. Disciples who know Jesus andhave been given His power and His authority to cast out demons, heal the sick and tell others about the Kingdom of God.

Without power, we, the church, cannot PREACH the Kingdom of God.

Without power, we, the church, cannot PRAY for others to be healed from disease and set free from the demons that torment them; body and soul.

Without power, we, the church, cannot LOVE our neighbors, as we love ourselves.

Without power, we, the church, cannot LOVE God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

Jesus didn’t send His disciples out into their community to PREACH & PRAY until they knew Him andHe equipped themwith His Spirit & Authority (Luke 9).

Jesus didn’t send His disciples out into their communities, their nation, or the world to PREACH & PRAY after His death, resurrection & ascension until they knew Him andHe equipped themwith His Spirit & Authority (Acts 2).

Jesus still doesn’t send His disciples out to PREACH & PRAY until they know Him andHe equips themwith His Spirit & Authority (Hebrews 13).

My fellow disciple,

Are you trying to fulfill your calling without power? Are you preaching the Kingdom of God as a spectator of Jesus Christ instead of His friend? Are you praying for others so that they can be healed, or because you want to be their savior & lord? Stop. Confess. Repent. Be still. Know Him. Then….He will equip you with His Spirit & His authority.

My fellow North Carolinians,

I sincerely apologize for my whiny-ness of being without power. I am acutely aware that many of you have been devastated by this storm. You’ve lost loved ones, homes and all your earthly possessions. My heart grieves for you. May the Lord be with you as you endure the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, and may we, the church provide what you need to rebuild.

-Jodie

Cut & Prune

April 23, 2018 / Jodie / Leave a comment

John 15:1-8 (NLT)

15 “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. ²He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. ³You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. ⁴Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

⁵“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. ⁷But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!⁸When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

Recently, we hired a local tree company to prune and cut several trees in our yard that were dead or destroying our dwelling. Along with another homeschool family we watched in amazement as these professionals wielded their chainsaws, bucket lifts,
ropes to cut down 5 towering trees with expert precision.

At the end of the day the sun shone more brightly through the newly opened skyline and the breeze blew more effortlessly through our little plot of city sized land. The sweat also flowed more freely as my big, strong man and our kids chopped firewood to be stored for winter (just so ya know: I did split and stack a few logs!!!).

Prior to John Chapter 15, Jesus had promised the gift of the Holy Spirit to His disciples after shocking them with the news that one of them would betray and another would deny Him. Using imagery, He explained the reasons why trees must be cut and pruned. Jesus declared that those who received His message of salvation would be pruned and purified for eternity. Then He gave a key to the Kingdom of heaven that if used, would be unlocked on earth: remain rootedin Him (receiving love and returning love through obedience) and remain refreshed by His Spirit (life giving power to make disciples). This, He prophesied, would bring the Father great glory!

True disciples have the same promise today.

If we:

believe and confess Jesus as Savior,
receive the gift of His Spirit,
remain in relationship with Him, (bible, prayer, obedience…)
remain refreshed by His Spirit, (confess, repent, forgive…)

then we:

will produce good fruit, (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness & self-control)
others will see good fruit,
others will taste the goodness of the Lord!

then He (our Father, the gardener) will:

cut what betrays Him as Savior, (lust of the eyes, flesh & pride of life) and throw it into the fire.
prune what denies Him as Lord, (time, talent & treasure) so that more fruit will grow from the branches that have been refined through suffering.