In this closing keynote address, Glenn Kimber shares his insight on how to live our lives in wisdom and in order—particularly as it applies to the LDS homeschooling family. By the end of the conference, we hope everyone feels uplifted, full of new ideas and inspired with regards to your family’s homeschooling journey; however, sometimes we also feel a bit overwhelmed by it all, or slightly inadequate as we think about trying to implement all we’ve learned. Many parents are working so hard to meet so many obligations that they may be burning the candle at both ends and still wondering if they are accomplishing all that the Lord wants them to. All of us have these feelings at one time or another. Glenn addresses these thoughts and helps us see that we don’t have to “run faster than we have strength.” We don’t need to live up to the world’s expectations, or even our own. We only need to live up to the expectations of a loving Father in Heaven. Brother Kimber reminds us to seek His will in all things, trust in His counsel by taking time to develop our relationship with Him, and to bring our families’ challenges to Him daily.Bro Kimber also reminds us of the importance of quieting our homes, of turning down the “noise” (TV’s, stereos, computer games, etc.) thus enabling us to better hear the sweet whisperings of the Spirit. He shares valuable insights for quieting our schedules—slowing down the “running around” in order to make our homes a sweet place of refuge and peace. President Benson once counseled the Saints that if they put God first in their priorities, all other commitments would then “take their proper place or drop out of [their] lives.” Glenn admonishes us to put our Heavenly Father first in our home and let His counsel dictate the way we live, thus nurturing our children in a Zion-like environment.In the April General Conference in 2003, Elder Hughes taught us: “When we live righteously, when we have done all we can do, one of the gifts we receive is confidence. The Lord tells us, ‘Be still and know that I am God.’ In the midst of chaos, we must pause. We must listen for the Spirit to tell us ‘All is well!’ just as the early Saints had to do.” This is the message Bro Kimber instills in us—not a feeling of “how can we do all this?” but rather “We can do this!” when we build our confidence through the daily choices we make regarding the priorities of our home.
