I have a story to share. I don’t think I have shared it on the blog before…
Hmmmm…..do I tell the long version or the condensed one….let’s get started and we will see how it goes…
The name…Beverly Bradley.
I first became aware of Beverly and her husband, Reb, when I was first researching homeschool…
In Washington state, you have to be certified to homeschool. To be certified, you have to comply with one one four requirements:
- Have 45 college credits
- Meet regularly with a WA state teacher and have her sign off on your lesson plans
- Meet with the school superintendent and get his/her approval to homeschool
- Attend a college approved homeschool course
Even though I had the college credits, I did not feel like that made me any more qualified to teach my children. So, my other option was to take a homeschool course. Most of the options that I found were ones that covered two full weekends. I just thought this was not ideal. I mean, if I was going to homeschool, wasn’t there some sort of study that I could do at home?
Then I found it….a correspondence course written by Barb Shelton, and approved by a Bible college in Kelso, WA.
After reading through her very thorough course overview on
Homeschool Oasis, I signed up.
The course required reading many, MANY, books. The course was self-paced, but she encouraged me to take it slow and let the Lord speak to me in how I was to proceed with homeschooling my children. I ended up taking eight months to complete the program and it is a journey that I will always be grateful for. This course laid the solid foundation for which I can confidently go forward in educating my children.
As a part of the course, a couple of the Bradley’s books was required reading. Both of the Bradley’s have books published, and both spend much of their time traveling and speaking at homeschool and Christian conferences.Fast forward about five years and we move to California. Our small group decided to do a study on courtship vs. dating and wanted to use the Bradley’s curriculum for it. I thought, “Great! I already did that for the homeschool course, and it would be nice to have David go through it as well.”
We completed the video series and study. Then, shortly thereafter, I learned that Beverly Bradley was going to be speaking at a local homeschool bookstore in our town. I thought it would be nice to hear her speak, but did not think to much more about it.
The evening of the talk, almost one year ago, I took one look at Beverly, and the Lord distinctly shook my soul and said, “Leigh, you need to pay attention. Stay present. Listen.”
I spent the rest of the evening like a deer in the headlights, listening for what the Lord had for me to hear through Bev. Truth be told, I don’t remember a single thing she said that night.So, I started to pray, “Lord, I know I heard you. What is it that you want from me that has to do with Beverly?”
I then learned that Beverly lived just 30 minutes from me and comes each month to speak at this bookstore.
I kept praying. “Lord, I know I heard you. What is it that you want from me that has to do with Beverly?”
I heard…” Serve her..”
Serve her?! WHAT?! What does that mean? Serve her?Kept praying…
The Lord made it clear I was to serve her and to be open about what that looked like. OK….
The following month, I invited Beverly to join me for dinner prior to her speaking at the Bookstore. She graciously accepted. We sat down, I took a big gulp, and shared with her the divine experience I had the month before. I told her what my skillset was and if there was anything I could do for her…
…and a beautiful relationship was formed…it has been almost a year, and I have served Bev as her Retreat Coordinator and Communications. In the past year, we have put together a women’s weekend retreat, a marriage weekend retreat, and two or three women’s day retreats. It is a lovely synergistic relationship, where iron sharpens iron in our faith, and I attend to the logistics that frees her to encourage, speak, teach, listen, and share as the Holy Spirit calls her to.
These are pictures from a women’s day retreat that we had in Auburn, CA. a few months ago….Hospitality Queen, Barb M. managed the breakfast room…
Beverly, in front of the registration table…the focus on the retreat was resting in the Lord. Resting in our tongues, our minds, and our souls….
From the planning of this retreat, I met a precious new friend named Stephanie. She gifted the retreat with lovely handmade bracelets that each lady could take home as a remembrance of this special day. The bracelets were stunning and probably cost more than the cost of each individual retreat registration itself. Soooo special and appreciated.
The ladies got to each pick their own bracelet.
