"Your greatest contribution to the Kingdom of God may not be something you do, but someone you raise." ~Andy Stanley

June 18, 2013

Debbie Strayer: A mentor, evaluator and friend to so many

A gift of God left this earth on Saturday night.
I was completely in shock to learn of Debbie Strayer's passing.
It felt like we on earth were cheated. Definitely cheated.
We, in the homeschooling community still had so much to learn from her. She was a voice of encouragement. Or maybe I should say it this way, she was a voice of enCOURAGEment.
 She certainly gave me the courage I needed to continue on this journey, to accept my kiddos the way God made them and to enjoy every minute of homeschooling.
She watered my soul during our evaluations. I left her office feeling like I was the best homeschooling mom ever, which was the polar opposite of how I'd walk in. She had a gift for making nervous moms and nervous kids, feel completely at ease. She could evaluate children, almost without them even realizing it, because she was just that fun to talk to. My kids loved going to see her. She could correct a reader without needing them to share the book with her. -I remember admiring this skill for basically being able to read upside down, and wished I had it. ; )
She blessed every home school mom she ever spoke to. But at the same time, she didn't sugar coat things. She told you what was what. I remember when she told me that God had not given me 'Abeka children' and that's all there was to it. They were "the hands-on kind" and she encouraged me to do unit studies with them. She loved hearing about every single unit study we did too. The deeper and crazier into a topic we dealved, the better. The more excited the kids were about a subject they discussed with her, the more her eyes sparkled. (and she had THE greatest laugh!) I remember her telling me that when my kids are grown, I will sit and reread all of their portfolios just for fun, and I have no doubt that she is right. She's the reason our school was fun! I think one of the most important things she taught me, was to use these homeschooling years as a tool to build strong relationships with my children that will last long past the 12 grade! She was a perfect example of that very thing.
 I'll always be so thankful for God's voice, speaking encouragement to me through this precious woman.

~Becky

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