Facebook Fast

The urge to log in is strong.

Can I do this? Can I fast Facebook for awhile? 

I deleted the little blue button on my phone. It's a simple download away. I've logged out so getting on is more difficult, more time consuming. The page is there, online, should I need it. 

I have been considering this for awhile. I spent the majority of my life not on Facebook, and I didn't feel as if I was missing out. I didn't feel the urge to know what other people were doing.  I didn't feel the urge to place my life up for the inspection of others.  I didn't feel the need to be distracted for so long every day by endless scrolling.

After reading about Sarah Clarkson's experiment with giving up Facebook for a couple months, and how it brought so much peace to her soul, I knew I needed to do something similar.

But it is SO HARD!

I want to see pictures and status updates from my kids that are grown.  I feel connected to them at a time in their lives when they are busy and working and have full lives.  And yet, that connection is often just a gateway into a habit that is not only time wasting, but causes much stress and anger. I'm always scrolling, reading things that often are pointless or make me angry and upset.  

Late last week I realized how disastrous Facebook can be when I voiced an opinion.  I've tried to be careful the last couple of years about voicing opinions that are controversial, because I know it often leads to pointless arguments where anger takes over and no one wins.  However, this time I didn't heed my usual caution. I got tired of feeling like I can't disagree with current cultural opinions due to the backlash. I have learned that many don't fight fair on social media.  If you disagree with their opinion, and that opinion is currently culturally popular, then instead of a fair exchange of ideas, it immediately becomes an attack.  I have seen, if my view doesn't agree with theirs, I am immediately classified as a person that is spreading hate and fear.  There literally is no way anyone can disagree with a current popular view when the debate turns instantly to shutting down the argument with name-calling and accusation.  Even genuine concerns are dismissed in the battle to be right at any cost.

I don't want to fight that battle any longer.  

I went to my husband and I went to God.  I deleted the post and withdrew, knowing that any response would have only created more problems. My husband supported me.  He shares my view, and he knows that things are out of control in a world where healthy debate has been exchanged for trite sayings about love and freedom. He sees every negative thing that can be dredged up in history about our faith is used as a weapon to destroy, and the good that has occurred... The schools, the hospitals, the charities, the relief organizations, the great men and women that impacted history because of their faith... will be ignored and dismissed as irrelevant with the goal to degrade and debase.  

Despite technology overload, data mining, the studies that say people are more socially isolated and depressed than ever with Facebook, and cyber bullying, the draw to log in is still there.  And maybe I'm part of the problem.  Voicing my opinions on Facebook isn't going to change anyone else's beliefs that disagree. It only serves to bolster me. I get support from like-minded individuals, but then arguments will begin in the comments.  The same name-calling and shaming occurs, and both sides of a debate often act inappropriately. 

No one wins. The divide between people grows.  Families are divided, an example of just how deep the divide in our country has grown. No one wants to listen.  No one can disagree with what is popular in a way that doesn't spark intense reaction. Bolstered by Facebook groups and special interests that feed the battle, the fights continue and animosity grows. 

At times, I've had simple things cause others voice negative and hurtful opinions.  If my littlest is playing dressup and is wearing makeup, I hear how wrong it is for a young child to wear makeup, even though she is playing pretend and hasn't left our home. At times homeschool posts have caused upset, as if I am not allowed to be passionate about something I love and believe in and have dedicated eight years of my life to doing well.

I've learned that many people will always find something to complain about, to criticize, to condemn. I would read my facebook page and not feel encouraged, but instead feel angry and frustrated and hurt.

But I don't want to be an angry person.  I believe things that are sometimes counter-cultural, and one of those beliefs is that Jesus doesn't want me full of anger and strife. I can't be who He created me to be if I am full of negativity and frustration.  

He called me to mother my girls, to homeschool, to engage culture in my home and in my writing.  He called me to Himself, and has set before me life and death.  I'm not seeing a lot of life of Facebook.  And, wound up with emotion,  I wasn't giving life either.  My views may be the same, but airing them on Facebook is unwise.  

Avoid worthless, foolish talk that only leads to more godless behavior.  This kind of talk spreads like cancer..."  2 Timothy 2: 16-17a.  

Again I say, don't get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. 2 Timothy 2:23

I am unsure how long my Facebook fast will last, but when I do return, I believe there will be some spring cleaning done to my site.  I love and care for many people, but I don't need to see all the posts and opinions, and maybe I don't need to share them either.  

There has been some discussion among Christian leaders about our responsibility in engaging culture.  While I agree Christians need to engage culture, I believe that best occurs with our vote at election time, around our dinner tables, in serving at the local food pantries, in conversations with friends, in standing strong in our faith and in our beliefs with a confidence that doesn't lead us into foolish arguments.  We engage culture by  choosing carefully where to spend our dollars.  We engage culture by using our God-given gifts, talents, and minds to create and serve and pray and encourage.  When disputes occur, we engage culture by standing firm, with a quiet faith, respectfully disagreeing.  We engage culture by sticking with our spouses thought the difficult times.  We engage culture by sacrificing for what we believe, and not complaining when the world wants to tear us apart, for we know that we don't ultimately stand alone. 

Finally, we engage culture by disengaging at times.  Disengage from the foolish arguments, choosing your battles and strategies carefully.  Pray for the people that hurt you or disagree with you or insult you, asking for the Lord to open their eyes... and to open yours when you are wrong. Disengage from the wasting the gift of precious time scrolling endlessly.  Live your faith out vibrantly and boldly, with your actions and your example, not with simply your opinions on Social Media. 

Do You Cherish the Word?

http://www.faithit.com/its-just-a-one-minute-video-but-it-totally-wrecked-me-with-the-power-of-something-i-take-for-granted/

In one day I watched this amazing video of Chinese Christians receiving Bibles.  The look on each of their faces just took my breath away.  My heart lurched in my chest.  I have seen little as beautiful as the reaction of these Christians to a box of Bibles.  It certainly puts to shame Bill Nye and all the others that want to trash the Bible as just some book that couldn't possibly be the Word of God. It ranks up there with watching a person give their heart to the Lord, a birth of a baby, a wedding of two God-loving souls in the covenant in marriage, or a baptism in the Holy Spirit. 

Right after I watched that wonderful video, I caught sight of this article by Charisma magazine online:

http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/watchman-on-the-wall/42673-facebook-takes-place-of-bible-in-most-american-s-lives

Sadly, both the video and the article were on Facebook.  The irony was not lost on me, but God wanted to reaffirm a lesson He's been whispering to my heart.

It got me thinking.  Do I feel the same way about my Bible as those Chinese Christians?  I doubt that the Chinese Christians that were hugging and crying over the privilege of having God's Word would put Facebook first in their lives. 

And yet I am free...free to own Bibles, free to worship Jesus, free to speak His name openly...even though there are those that would like those freedoms eliminated here in America.  I am free...but I often check my Facebook in the morning before I open my Bible. 

This past Sunday my pastor stated, "We need more face time with the Lord and less Facebook time.". Little did he know that his words would be brought back to my memory with the viewing of a video and the reading of an article. 

A few months ago I was reading about David Wilkerson in another article.  It stated that he made a decision when he was young to not watch television, and spend that time in prayer instead.  It was during those prayer times that he felt led to minister to gang members.  I have to ask myself if that would have happened if he had made the decision to just veg in front of the TV for a couple hours instead.

George Mueller spent much time in prayer.  He saved thousands of children with his orphanage.  He never asked others for money. Instead he prayed and trusted the Lord to provide.  The Lord did provide, often miraculously.  Throughout his life, George Mueller read his Bible over 200 times through.

We want strength to handle the adversities in life. We want joy that isn't destroyed by our tough times and tragedies. We want family members and loved ones saved.  We want God to show Himself in our lives, in our schools, in our towns, in our government, and in our country. 

 We hear stories of amazing miracles happening in other countries, even ones that punish or even kill Christians.  We hear of underground churches held in secret in these places just exploding with growth.  We hear of their hunger and thirst for the Lord and His Word.  And we....

we...

We what?  We turn on another sitcom?  We hit that Facebook app button once again on our smartphone or tablet?  We catch up with others lives, commiserate on the latest snowstorm, or pick a fight with someone we disagree with about some current political hot button issue?

I state this not as a condemnation, but as a confession.  I know I am not alone, but that doesn't change how God convicted my heart.

I am in the Word often.  Bible time with my daughters is my favorite time of my day.  And yet, I don't always take personal time to dig deep into the Word on my own.  After teaching, cooking, laundry, and running errands, I am easily swayed to veg in front of the TV and not do more. It's easy to put off prayer time with, "I'll do it later."

Sometimes I do, and sometimes exhaustion overtakes me and I fall asleep without focused time in prayer.  I don't want my life to be one in which the Lord comes sometime after Facebook.  I don't want Him as simply the start of my homeschool day.  I don't want Him relegated to exhausted prayers by a worn out Mom as I fade out of consciousness.  I want more.

I want to hold my Bible as those Chinese Christians did.  I want to cling to my time with Him, guard it, make sure it isn't a duty but the deepest desire of my heart.  If He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, it stands to reason that things that I allow to steal from the Way, the Truth, and the Life would hold opposite qualities. 

Is Facebook the way?  No.  It's a tool and wonderful for allowing me to feel connected to my grown daughters and other loved ones, but often its way causes conflict and hurt.  It's easy to stir up trouble, to vent without thinking things through, and to cause as more hurt than joy.  I've been there. 

Is television the truth?  Well, if you watch it for any length of time, you will see much that conflicts with the truth of Scripture.  In fact, I would venture to state that the prince of the air loves breeding all sorts of inequities on the airwaves of TV. Like Facebook, television is a tool.  I like a good comedy or drama as much as anyone, but when I haven't prayed, but I have time for that rerun...or even that new episode, I wonder if my priorities are a little eschew.

Neither of these or any of my other pastimes (Words with Friends for me) are the life. They may not be negative or harmful, but they won't bring me the LIFE that is found only in Christ.  

Those Chinese Christians knew the Life was revealed in the pages of the Bibles they cherished.  I don't anticipate they will toss their cherished Bible on the coffee table while they spend hours on Facebook.  I'm willing to bet that they spent hours devouring every word, perhaps copying it onto notebook pages for others that want the Word of God, even if it's just a portion, but have no access. I am willing to bet that they hid those Bibles from confiscation, willing to go to great lengths to protect the precious Word. They knew Life wasn't in their entertainment or their government, but in what had been deemed illegal for them.

If Christians around the world can risk their freedom and their very lives to serve Christ, finding the gift of His Word so life giving, then I am sure I can follow my convictions and truly treasure and relish in my relationship with my Savior and Lord.

Walk the Talk for Jesus

He is a wonderful man.  A soldier that has seen the realities of war, he has retained a zest for life.  He dedicates himself to a higher purpose, that of serving his country.  He is intelligent and capable.

And yet, my heart is broken for him.  He isn't saved.  He believes he grew up in a Christian home because he went to church occasionally. He is a natural leader, a decorated officer, a husband, and loving father.  He is financially stable, and takes great security in that.  And yet, he chooses to form his beliefs on current cultural norms.

I was awakened the other day during a family gathering to the polar opposite differences in worldviews between Christians and non-Christians.  I know they are there.  I know how large the divide, and how it continues to grow increasingly larger.  And yet, to hear the words voiced by a loved one, I can only be grieved.ligious man."

It saddens me.  The crushing of Christian rights, to him, seems as if every situation presented to him, "Couldn't be the whole story."  In his mind, the Christian facing undue persecution for standing by his beliefs, "must have done something wrong."

When told about Pastors facing jail time for preaching a Biblical view of marriage and family from the pulpit, he felt the pastor must have done more than just preach something that offended someone.  After all, that Pastor has free speech. He thought that, again, there must be more to the stories of Christian business owners being fined for not wanting to violate their beliefs in their businesses, whether it was concerning gay rights or the  abortion pill mandate.

To him, it is inconceivable that the country he serves would violate the Constitutional rights that he fights to protect.  He knows that he fights to protect rights, even the rights of those with whom he disagrees.

He has served overseas, in countries where people don't have freedom of religion.  He sees religion as a detriment, a cause of much fighting.  He thinks American Christians don't understand true persecution, and "make mountains out of molehills."

Do we?  By standing up for Constitutional rights, by fighting laws and policies that violate our beliefs, are we hurting our witness?  Are we seen as troublemakers?

I believe we must fight for our rights.  They will be taken away if we don't.  But I also believe that God has a plan that may entail circumstances happening that are not just uncomfortable, but possibly dangerous.  Persecution of Christians happens all over the world.  In persecution, the Gospel spreads.  It isn't silenced or stopped by persecution.  The Gospel grows, causing more souls to come to Christ.  Those opposing Christians should learn this undeniable historical fact.  Oppressing and persecuting Christians often backfires.

There is a HUGE gap in understanding and worldviews between Christians and non-Christians.  Even Christians tend to vary their doctrinal beliefs between denominations.  Christians need to understand that culture over the last fifty years has so drastically changed, we are no longer dealing with a society that holds a Biblical worldview.  When we speak, we make no sense to them.

The early church dealt with this.  When preaching to the Jews, the early apostles used the Old Testament books, all that existed at the time, to show Christ.  That didn't exactly work with most of the Romans and Greeks.  They didn't have the same foundation.  It was nonsense to them.   So, when preaching Christ to the Gentiles, the teaching was not the same.  The message, Christ is Savior, was the same, but the presentation was different.

I have a problem with Christians that get all up in arms about their rights every time a situation occurs that seems unjust, but that's the only time we ring out our voice.  If all we ever heard from someone was angry words, complaining, and fighting, we would not think too highly of that person.  

Christians, WALK YOUR TALK!  We have the right as Americans to stand for our beliefs.  But we must live them too.  I'm not talking about perfection or a set of legalistic rules, but about living daily as Ambassadors for Christ, the Living God!

We aren't meant to fit in with culture, and yet we don't look much different than any other special interest group out there in the world.  To my family member, we are no different than the groups we oppose.  He doesn't see is as different because, outside of our very vocal views, we live the same as others.  

What if he saw kindness and generosity?  What if he saw kindness and generosity to those we oppose?  What dies the Bible say about how Christians should treat our enemies?  What if he saw joy and peace instead of anger and constant retaliation?

Should we fight for our rights?  Yes, but how we fight should be the same as those that oppose us. In this bullying, winner take all, crush the enemy culture, Christians living the Word is powerful.  Pray for those that persecute you, even if you do have to make a stand.  Be respectful.  Let the hateful, vile-filled, venomous words that are publicly aimed at you not be countered with equal words of hate.  Instead, refuse to sink to that level.  If your life is lived for Christ, it will already be a witness to others.  Those spewing venom will be shown to be the bullies they are.  It's a hollow victory to crush those that have shown themselves honorable and caring.

Understand that our lives won't make sense to non-Christians.  It doesn't make sense to forgive your enemies.  It doesn't make sense to give generously when the economy is down.  But that's okay.  We don't have to make sense.  It's okay for us to be a bit of a mystery.  

And stop trying to fit in to win souls!  Be separate and holy doesn't mean conforming to culture in an attempt to win souls.  Is God so weak that we must compromise who we are, fit in with the unsaved, blend in, in the hopes that we will win them to Christ?  

Conforming makes us fit in, but God created us to stand out.  Why does my family member not see anything in us that he wants?  Because we have tried to look liked the rest of the world. 

Daniel prayed anyway, before being thrown into the lions den, as he always did. Practically, that means that if we pray for meals at home, we can pray in a restaurant.  We can pray at the office, even if on our own.  We can pray at the lunchroom table.  How much opposition would there be to prayer if the Christians politely and respectfully just prayed anyway?  If we stopped worrying what those around us might think, let God handle the opposition, and just have thanks to our Lord; do we believe He isn't a strong enough God to honor that?

I don't want to have my way.  I'm humbled.  I want to show Christ in my life.  I want to stand strong, but be honorable and Christ-like in the process. I want to be able to say, in God times and bad, that Christ was with me.  I want Him to be proud of my actions, not ashamed of my pride.

Is He not God?  Is He surprised by the direction our country is headed?  If He surprised by the immorality that is defended and seen as a right?  Will all our trekking, arguing, complaining, and bitterness change even one heart?  Will anyone be won to the Lord when we appear to use the same tactics and methods as those that oppose us?

I an praying fervently for my lost loved ones.  I'm wondering how to be a blessing to them.  I'm wondering what my example should be, and if I should really consider my attitude in some areas.  How about you?

A Renewed Vision

I have been a stay at home mom for over twelve years.  I have been a homeschool mom for four.  In all that time my husband and I have had many financial ups and downs.  We have had times of good pay and benefits, and times of unemployment.  It has been a challenge many times to continue to be a stay at home mom.  I know that God called me to be home.  I know that He called me to homeschool my children.  It isn't always easy.

There was a time when I was the career woman.  I managed businesses.  I was flown to other states for training.  I had a "professional" wardrobe.  I had traveled all over the United States.  I loved the adventure, craved the ambition, and swallowed the pain of missing my children as I dropped them off at the babysitter.

Knowing that I had the "potential" to make a certain amount of money a year, but feeling that God had told me to stay home, created in me a frustration when our finances were a struggle.  I honestly felt that, if God had called me to stay home, it shouldn't be such a challenge.  After all, I was being obedient!  Right?

Well, God doesn't always do things the way we think should be done.  In fact, I believe He rarely does.

I recently came across some articles and a book that have helped me to change my perspective.  First, I read the book Passionate Housewives Desperate for God.  The wonderful ladies that wrote this book are not of my denomination.  A few years ago, I would have gotten angry at the message they tried to share in this book.  After all, I had been a career woman.  I had gotten the college education and been the boss.  I had raised my older girls to be independent, so that they wouldn't find themselves like their mom did:  divorced by a man that left for another woman, broke, working at a minimum wage job, with children that needed stability in a world where their stability had been ripped away.  However, on the other end of the spectrum, after I remarried I found myself a stay-at-home mom.  I am the housewife that was criticized by other women, even Christian women, for staying at home when my husband and I hit financial struggles.  I am the only homeschooling mom in my church, and that can sometimes be a lonely place.  I am trying to do as God has called me, and even if this season of my life lasts another 12 years (till my youngest graduates), I will still have plenty of time left to work or go back to school or become a missionary to some foreign country or to help my daughters homeschool their children.

One quote that just floored my and brought such joy to my heart was this:  "Homemaking isn't about starched aprons, pearls, and high heels.  It's about doing the will of God even when the world scoffs.  It's about loving the high calling that God especially has given to women.  It's about learning to trust when circumstances would tell us to doubt and fear."

Passionate Housewives Desperate for God was uplifting and encouraging.  It showed me, for maybe the first time, was that my managerial skills are not only about coming up with the homeschool schedule.  It showed me that my job, as the manager of my home, was to make the dollars my husband makes stretch to provide.  That, just because I wasn't bringing in a paycheck, didn't mean that I couldn't put in a few hours a week to find ways to save money and cut corners whenever possible.

 I was researching money saving tips when I came across a blog series that was just awesome!  The Peaceful Mom wrote a blog series entitled Living on Less than $28,000 a Year.  While it is full of money saving tips, what struck me was that the author was very honest that it took her deciding that she couldn't look longingly back to the days when she was a career woman and money was more plentiful.  Her heart longed to be home with her children, and that meant sacrifice.  It meant working toward staying home, even when your husband makes what the United States Government states is poverty level.  She looked hard at every area and found ways to save, whether by consuming less or by planning more.

This then led me to the book Miserly Moms: Living Well on Less in a Tough Economy by Jonni McCoy.  So far, I am only on chapter 6.  This book seems to reinforce the same principle that, by staying home, I can use my managerial skills to find ways to cut costs and "trim the fat".

The truth is, for hundreds of years, women primarily stayed home.  Even during the Great Depression, women might bring in sewing, but the premise was that a woman stopped working and stayed home to manage the house once she got married.  Our culture has changed quite a bit since that time.  If a woman stays home now, she is made to feel as if she isn't using her gifts to their full capacity.  And yet, I've been challenged to use those very gifts that I used in a paying job, to ensure that I can continue to teach my children, be a homemaker, and follow what God has called me to do.

It is sad, in our culture, that even Christian women only feel free to follow what they believe Christ has called them to do as long as that calling is "professional" in its scope.  Meaning, if I was called as a Christian woman to be a worship leader, there are few that would have a problem with that (until they heard me sing, lol). If I was called to be a professional business woman or a doctor or an accountant, I would hear cheers going up from all around.  But, I am a homeschooling homemaker.  That job title has no pay, no vacation package, no title.  It is generally assumed to have no value.  The quote, "The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world." holds no meaning any longer to most mothers.  Staying at home is equated with unenlightened and old-fashioned.  It isn't equated with business man or educated teacher or gourmet chef.

And yet, I feel challenged now, encouraged, in a way I haven't been in a long time. I see that, to limit the meaning of my role is to say that God's plan has a flaw.  I thank God for leading me to the wonderful articles and books that have showed me that staying at home is not only okay, it is a job that, by looking at my work as for the Lord, will have eternal rewards.  He has renewed the vision of My Home Mission Field.

As Natural as Breathing

 

  As I've been praying and planning our curriculum to use for, not only next year, but for the rest of this year, I've had a few standards that the different curriculum I looked at had to meet.  The main one is that it must be God-honoring.

Often, on different forums, I read of Christian parents searching for curriculum to homeschool their children that is "as secular as possible".  I've read that parents want to "keep education separate from religion".  When I read these things from Christian families, I get a little sad.  It feels to me that people believe as atheists, that secular is better than Christian.

The reasons for homeschooling are vast, even among Christians.  I don't mean this as an attack in any way.  I know that many homeschoolers use secular materials for their own reasons.  Some want or need the economic benefit of a free curriculum.  Others want the accreditation that goes with a secular program.  A friend of mine used a secular program because she was only homeschooling temporarily while her daughter was going through a tough time.  After a semester, the girl went back to public school.  A couple of friends use secular programs with their children because they homeschool for safety reasons.  Their child was being bullied at school and it wasn't being handled properly.  

Homeschooling wasn't simply a decision my husband and I made as simply an educational choice.  Instead, it was a calling from God.  I fought God on it at first, not out of disobedience but out of fear.  My husband had to pray about this decision.  There are still moments when we wonder if we are crazy for homeschooling these children, but we keep pushing forward.

Now, God-honoring doesn't mean that we can't use a product that isn't Christian.  It is just that my choices are usually guided by prayer and serve a purpose.  I have delved into several different curriculum choices.  The math I am currently using for one of my girls isn't a Christian choice, but it is very good.  My 5 year old and I have read many, many books this year from the library.  They usually aren't Christian, but there aren't things in them that I would object to, like wizards and witches.  We do have some decidedly Christian books mixed in, however.  We daily read Bible stories, devotionals, and Christian-published science and history books.  

I also picked a phonics program that is secular.  I mostly did this because the Christian programs were so expensive.  I also liked the DVD lessons and computer games that came with the program.  However, Megan reads all sorts of books as she learns to read.  I have picked up Christian readers here and there to supplement.  

I guess my point is that, the foundation of our homeschool is decidedly Christian.  I will use secular materials, but not because they are secular, just because they fill a purpose.  I can't imagine choosing materials that teach the opposite of what I want my children to know.  (This does NOT mean that I refuse to teach my children evolution.  I just refuse to teach it as fact!)  I don't homeschool to just get my children out of the public school system.  I don't homeschool with the intention of ever sending them back to public school. I don't homeschool with the goal of giving my kids a top-notch secular education so that they can compete with their public school peers on college entrance exams.  I believe my children will be academically solid.  If God leads them to college, they will still receive a solid score on college entrance exams because I don't believe we have to sacrifice quality for Christianity.

Even when it is a sacrifice, I don't mind paying for quality Christian materials.  There are free, secular options out there, but they don't meet the goals God placed in our school.  If they meet the goals of others, that is fine.  God directed me down a certain path with my children for a reason.  It isn't always easy or the shortest route.  In fact, often it is difficult.  And yet, when the light bulb goes off in my children, and a spiritual connection is made, when God reveals Himself to my children in their history or science lesson, or in Bible Time, it is SO powerful!  It makes the joy of learning a difficult math concept or enjoying a fun story pale in comparison. This is the path God has chosen for us.  Following the direction of Christ, for us, is as natural as breathing.

"Here Is Their Saul"

 The following was a Facebook post from a Pastor friend of mine.  While some may disagree, I think some out there will find this post plucking at that heart strings that has been grieved since the election.  Forgive the spelling or grammatical errors as I assume this post was probably written in a rush and possibly on a cell phone. 

 Regardless of what party you are for; Republican, Democratic or other, I want to share with everyone what God spoke to me in prayer. My prayer was, "Lord you know our future so regardless of who wins this election, I want to make sure I am doing my part in service to you!" "I am not responsible for the actions of others only my own." As I was sitting their watching the votes come in, the announcement

 came and at the moment I heard that President Obama was re-elected the Lord said to me, "Here is their Saul, but don't lose heart, my redemption draws near!" I pondered on this Word and was taken back as I recognized that, as David grew in popularity, Saul grew in anger and even tried to kill David. I am speaking Biblical, right now at this moment we are living in a divided nation. One could speculate that the time President Obama realizes that he can't get the support of the entire nation, he will burn with anger and enforce that "if you don't support me you will reap the consequences". (From an article I read today) "All through the Bible we see God set up kings for a purpose, and take them down for a purpose. Sometimes God will raise up a ruler to bless His people, like He did with King David. And sometimes He sets up a ruler by whom the people will be judged, as He did with Saul." As of today, we are a nation that is drowning in a debt so large that it numbers, nearly 20 trillion now, but it seems no one cares. Each year nearly 400,000 babies are executed for convenience’s sake, but our processes of electing leaders are solely based on what they can give me instead of electing them on biblical values. We have no respect for God’s word; Sunday is treated like any other day of the week. Even if we believe it, we dare not speak out loud that Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven as the bible declares Him to be. We have lost the ability to discern between good and evil. We expose children to endless ads for alcohol and tobacco. Our society is saturated in sex and violent imagery. Nearly half of all the movies made in the last 10 years have a demonic theme to them. We wouldn’t know God if He showed up in any of our churches, and neither would we want Him to be there." Christian hear my heart, I want to encourage you to stand firm in the principles of God and pray for our nation and her leaders. I am not writing this to argue political views! I am writing this in hope to awaken God's people in view that if we are not grounded in God's principles we will be easily uprooted. So, to set it straight, President Obama is not our enemy or the problem for that matter. The problem lies within the hearts of the American People. We voted him in because he is the manifestation of what is inside our hearts as a nation. He is the embodiment of our spiritual dysfunction, the living, breathing representation of our disdain for the commandments of the Holy God of Israel. If we want to see the America our founding forefathers fought, bleed and died for, we need to look within ourselves and turn our OWN heart back to God again. Jesus said the end would come as it did in the “days of Noah”. You can see the Ark in front of you, and you can almost feel that first raindrop begin to fall. In your heart you know what’s coming. I beg you to run into the Ark of Safety! All that is important now is your salvation! It doesn't matter if you like the President or not! What matters is when the trumpet of God sounds and Jesus splits those Eastern skies to call us home you find yourself with the Lord forever more! The sad truth is when those who were given multiple chances to follow Jesus but chose to ignore it, find themselves crying out for another chance but there will be none to give. In closing, when you live your life selfishly you will reap eternal judgment but when you live for Jesus you will reap eternal life in heaven. It is a choice you have to make personally. By our own actions we will chose Hell or Heaven. Listen, Jesus is coming soon to take with him those who chose to serve him. I pray you are one of those! I end with this; As for me and my house we will serve the Lord!!!

America's Most Biblically-Hostile U.S. President

America’s Most Biblically-Hostile U. S. President When one observes President Obama’s unwillingness to accommodate America’s four-century long religious conscience protection through his attempts to require Catholics to go against their own doctrines and beliefs, one is tempted to say that he is anti-Catholic. But that characterization would not be correct. Although he has recently singled out Catholics, he has equally targeted traditional Protestant beliefs over the past four years. So since he has attacked Catholics and Protestants, one is tempted to say that he is anti-Christian. But that, too, would be inaccurate. He has been equally disrespectful in his appalling treatment of religious Jews in general and Israel in particular. So perhaps the most accurate description of his antipathy toward Catholics, Protestants, religious Jews, and the Jewish nation would be to characterize him as anti-Biblical. And then when his hostility toward Biblical people of faith is contrasted with his preferential treatment of Muslims and Muslim nations, it further strengthens the accuracy of the anti-Biblical descriptor. In fact, there have been numerous clearly documented times when his pro-Islam positions have been the cause of his anti-Biblical actions.

To read more go to:   http://www.wallbuilders.com/LIBissuesArticles.asp?id=106938

NOT Child Abuse or Brainwashing!!!

 

A few months ago I read some articles by Ken Ham on His blog Around the World with Ken Ham.  These articles were disturbing to me, but I blew them off thinking that the incidents were isolated, and not a true measure of how most Americans feel.  The articles concerned how more and more the teaching of Christ to children is being labeled Child Abuse.  I was astonished at the outright attack against Christianity in America by the secular media.  Yet, I also reasoned in my mind that those making the accusations were not going to be taken seriously. 

After all, what could happen if it was taken seriously?  Churches would have to shut down.  All homeschoolers that homeschooled their children with one of their motivations being to give their children a Christian education would be forced to send their children back to secular, humanistic public schools or follow a state curriculum teaching what the law required.  Our Constitutional rights would be violated.  After all, the First Amendment states:

Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Ken Ham has stated the following in his blog:

"Recently, in what is becoming increasingly normal language for some secularists, AiG and the Creation Museum have been accused of abusing children because we are teaching them God’s Word is truth—starting in Genesis. In fact, these secularists accuse Christians in general of abusing children because they are taught about the God of the Bible and salvation in Christ." - Abusing Children? January 14, 2011
http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2011/01/14/abusing-children/

"Secularists are using the term “child abuse” over and over again. I believe this is a deliberate ploy—if they say something enough, they think their repetition will convince more and more people to believe it regardless of the truth."  Teaching Sunday School and Child Abuse - January 28, 2011
http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2011/01/28/teaching-sunday-school-and-child-abuse/

"Over the past year, we have seen an increase in the number of accusations from secularists that what AiG teaches children is “child abuse.” This term of “child abuse”’ is being used more and more in general about Christians teaching their children. These secularists are not only intolerant of the absolutes of Christianity (despite their frequent calls for what they call “tolerance”), but they are intolerant of Christians. We have seen much name calling and personal attacks in recent times. Certainly the absolutes of Christianity are intolerant of the secularists’ moral relativism, but as Christians, we should not be intolerant and hateful of the person who has these views."  Warning All Christians - April 4, 2011
http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2011/04/04/warning-all-christians/

I encourage you to log on to the Ken Ham blog and read these articles for yourself.  Like I said, I believed these were isolated incidents where action violates the Constitution.    However, I have run into this viewpoint personally.

A young man recently began attending our church with his mother, a recently re-committed Christian.  The young man's father completely disagrees with Christianity.  He has called church a "social club".  He has stated that Christians target young children and teens to "brainwash" them early.

I woke up at that moment.  We are in a spiritual battle, fellow Christians.  This point of view is often looked down upon by non-Christians.  Most of the parents of the children I teach are either Christians, or are supportive of their children going to church... even if they don't attend themselves.  To actually have a parent state such negative things in rare.  Most don't have that ambivalent attitude toward Christ and His followers... or if they do they are more respectful and less outspoken about those views.

I often wonder how tough things have to get in America and the Western World before the Christians wake up and see what is going on.  Does teaching Christ to children have to become illegal, as it is in China and other nations?  Will teaching Christ to children have to become known as Child Abuse or brainwashing?

I'm sorry, but I'm going to rant for a moment.  I have dealt with the repercussions of real child abuse.  I have dealt with what happens to a child that has been abused in many ways, including sexually, and how that haunts that child and the entire family that loves that child.  I have seen a child called a liar for telling about the abuse, and no one... including those in official positions... help her.  I have seen a child have to deal with Social Workers, Lawyers, Judges, and counselors just to try to feel safe and be protected. 

To hear that teaching about Christ is child abuse angers me.  Why don't we actually protect children from predators that want to steal their innocence and harm them, instead of going after those that believe that there is a God that loves them.  Why?  Because, Satan loves darkness.  He wants the innocence of children shattered and the light of God obliterated.  If he can screw up the priorities of those that don't follow God, and make following God the evil instead of the actual evils that exist, then his plan will be working.

Teaching Christ is NOT Child Abuse or Brainwashing!!!  I will continue to teach my children about JESUS!  If someone disagrees, and feels that violating the Constitution is fine, then maybe it is time to realize that this country is not a Republic any longer, but a Socialist State.   Right now the Constitution and the Law protects my rights to not only teach children  in church, but also in my home.  I have the right to homeschool my children and teach them the Bible.  I will fight to keep that right.  I have millions of homeschooling parents that agree with me.  We are NOT a silent bunch either.  Our children are leading the way both in our faith and academically, according to statistics. 

The right to call us Child Abusers may also be protected under the Constitution under Free Speech.  Just remember, our right to Free Speech also exists.  It is not a hate crime to state that we believe the Bible, Love Christ, and will defend our rights to raise our children how we feel God has told us to.

Divorce and Darkness

If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

1 John 1:6

I was divorced.  That is not something I am proud of, nor something I would ever want to live through again.  My children have paid a high price for mistakes that had nothing to do with them.  This has formed and shaped my opinions about divorce.  I have seen the consequences to a family and to children long term... and it is not a pretty picture.

The divorce rate, according to the Barna Research Group, is higher in conservative Christian marriages than in that of Atheists and Agnostics.  Despite this high divorce rate, which should prompt some tough questions in the church, I have still felt the sting of comments made because I divorced.  I had a Biblical reason to divorce, but I hesitate to use that as an excuse since I wasn't walking with Christ.  The Bible wasn't something I even thought about at the time.

I like the verse above. 

"If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth."  

Have you ever blindfolded yourself and tried to "feel" your way around the house.  It's a game I played as a kid a lot.  I still do it at home, at night, making my way from to and from the bathroom in the dark.  I have to go through my children's room to get to the bathroom.  I usually don't wish to wake them by flipping on the light, so I will "feel" my way... and pray I don't trip over a toy.

Life before Christ is like that feeling your way through the dark.  You know there might be things in the way, but you hope you don't trip.  You "feel" your way.  If it "feels" right at the time, if it "feels" like a good thing to do, then you trust that.  I didn't find the light of Christ until after I was divorced and remarried.  Until that time I "felt" my way through life... and tripped... A LOT!  

My husband and I both admit that we made many mistakes before finding Jesus.  Those mistakes hurt our children, our family, and the consequences will always be in our lives. Three of our five daughters have step-families and two sets of parents.  I'll be honest, we do the best we can, but it is a horrible way to raise a family.

We walked in darkness.  Others tried to tell us what obstacles were coming, what was probably going to be in our way, but we couldn't see for ourselves and, despite our fumbling about trying to keep steady, we still tripped. 

I thank God we found Him and He shone is light on our lives.  Now, we have a Light, the Bible,  that gives us a path to follow.  We might not always know the obstacles we are going to face, but now we don't face them alone.  God's Light also shines on our past... with 20/20 clear vision.  Now we see our sin for what it was, and have repented.  We still repent, every time we face yet another split holiday, every time I see my older girls feeling rejected by their father, every time my step-daughter has issues at her home that we can't help solve.  No statistic is as powerful as the look on a child's face when what she wants isn't as important as the court order that must be followed.

We walked in darkness, and that darkness still tries to invade the light.

What I don't understand is those that condemn actions taken in the darkness as if they happened in the light.  Yes, I divorced.  I have been happily remarried now for 11 years, and a committed Christian for nearly seven years.  I understand if, as a Christian, I "walk in darkness, lie, and do not the truth", that something is very wrong.  But to blame a non-Christian for living like the world and listening to the world is like blaming a blind person for tripping over an obstacle.  Whether they were told or thought it could get in their way, they still had to keep walking.

If only some acts committed in the darkness can be forgiven by Christ, but others cannot, then His death was in vain.  His death was not then powerful enough to erase the sin.  But that is not what the Bible says!  Terms such as "new creation", "cast into the sea of forgetfulness", and "adopted by God" all mean that our past is washed away with the cleansing of Jesus' blood.  It doesn't mean that the consequences just go away.

I pray daily for my children, for the generational curse of divorce to not touch them in their future marriages, and for the scars of the sins of their parents be healed.  I would change things in an instant.  In fact, I strongly believe that divorce is one of the great plagues of our nation.  It goes along with another one, fatherlessness.  So many children of divorce lose their fathers, and then spend their lives wondering why they weren't good enough to stick around for.  Then, they wonder if God will stick around, when their own father didn't.  Yes, divorce has eaten away at a lot of what God wanted to do in my family.  Both as a child and as an adult, divorce has shaped my life.

Jesus' death on the Cross covered each and every one of my sins.  And because the truth of the darkness was revealed to me in the Light, I am a person that hates divorce.  God hates divorce because it rips apart the family.  I have seen what a ripped apart family looks like in my own children, and it is devastating and long-term and crippling.  I do not depend on grace for a free pass.  I believe being under grace makes us long for a higher standard.  Where I tripped in the darkness and took my children with me in the fall, I hope to let Christ lift up in the light and turn around for His good and His glory. 

Beauty for ashes.

I will stand for marriages.  I believe they are a union created by God for the formation of family.  I will stand for the fatherless children, and tell them that God loves them and wants to be their Father.  I will train my children in God's Word, and I don't care if it sounds hypocritical.  I am okay with telling my children to do what I say... what the Bible says, and not what I did.  For what I did was done in the darkness.  It was sin.  It has been forgiven, and I don't want my family from my children through all the future generations to be plagued by the curse of divorce any longer.  God has such a more glorious plan and path for my daughters and their children.

Revelations of Modesty part 1

Megan LOVES dresses!

My beautiful daughter Megan is a princess.  She wants to wear a "princess" dress every single day. She doesn't care if it's cold.  Pretty much any pretty dress is a "princess" dress,  though if the dress twirls, it's even better.  This phase began a year ago, and she has been a dress girl ever since.  However, this phase, along with some of the teaching I've been reading and studying, has gotten me to thinking and researching and asking questions.

Megan in her "princess" dress

Modesty is such a touchy subject.  The teaching I've had on modesty, even in church, has consisted of keeping certain areas covered... for the most part.  I come from a denomination where "legalism" used to be very prominent and abusive.  Women wore dresses all the time.  They couldn't cut their hair.  They didn't play cards or go to movies or dance.  Some sects of our denomination still hold to some of this, and some have broken away to more modern, culturally current views.

My younger girls in Easter dresses

As I get older, and as I spend more time with Christ, I realize that modesty is important.  I spent a year watching Little House on the Prairie with my family.  We saw the styles and customs of the time period.  The distinction between male and female was obvious.  Women worked hard, often just as hard or harder than the men, just to survive... and they did it all in a dress!   In fact, the one episode where a lady was wearing trousers, she looked totally out of place.

From my research, women primarily wore dresses until WWII, when many of them went to work in factories with their husbands off at war.  The dresses were getting caught in machines and were posing a danger.  The women began wearing overalls at work, but changing into their dresses when they were done.  Culturally, a woman wearing pants was not fashionable.  In fact, it was considered unattractive.  According to my grandmother, no one even thought about it much then.  Hollywood stars began wearing pants, and some of the women began to copy them.  

I guess I never realized that, in the 2000 or so years since Christ walked the earth, women wearing pants has only been a cultural norm for 50-60 years.  However, does that mean that wearing dresses is the only "right" and "Godly" thing to do? 

My grandmother as a young mother

I began to look at my family history.  My family line (on one side) consisted of preachers and evangelists.  The pictures of my grandmother in her earlier years showed her in beautiful dresses.  Then, throughout the years, things changed.  Churches watched the women change their dress to coincide with the current fashions.  Some of the churches didn't like the change, so they imposed rules about wearing pants.  Some churches still believe that wearing pants are wrong, and they sort of back it up with scripture and original Hebrew and Greek meanings.

As a woman, and as a mother of girls, I never really considered this issue.  I spent most of my life as a mom not following Christ.  Then, when I was finally saved, this issue wasn't really ever broached... even in church.  The few times it was even touched on, it was in a very negative light against "old fashioned, legalistic values".  We are a "blue jeans" family.  We rarely have worn dresses.  Each of my girls went through a dress "phase" as little girls, and then promptly grew out of it as they got older and began school.  None of the other little girls wore dresses all the time, so they didn't either. Dresses were saved for special occasions.  We didn't even wear them to church.  Dress pants were fine.  Then, even jeans were fine at church as long as they were nice and you added a nice shirt and shoes.

My grandparents, mom, and uncle in the early 60s

A preacher I heard once broached this issue in a conflicting manner.   He talked about how the values of the church in general over the last hundred years has blended with the culture, making it hard to tell the two apart.  For instance, the divorce rate in the church is currently matching or even a little higher than the divorce rate of those who don't go to church (of the world).  The point the preacher was making was that the church is not supposed to be so flighty, so compromising.  It's why we don't have much impact in society anymore, because we talk a good game, but we act just like everyone else.  In the eyes of many, that makes us worse than those who don't profess faith in Christ.

Jasmine, my blue jean girl

However, this preacher then went on to talk about being relevant, and how a lady with her hair in a bun and a dress to her ankles could still possess a seducing spirit. It seems to me that we either cling to a past and risk losing the ability to relate to others and win them to Christ, or we slowly compromise our own values in some areas, closing a blind eye to the other areas that are affected.   This is an issue that affects not only dress codes but preaching and music and parenting styles.

I would listen to this man's wife.  She is a beautiful woman that I watched on videos and heard in teaching tapes and read her books.  Then, she came to a convention.  She was still a great speaker, but I only noticed one thing... she was dressed in tight jeans with a flashy belt buckle.  She dressed like friends of my daughters that were trying to impress the boys.  It just struck me as confusing.  Like her husband, it seemed somehow contradictory.   Did I expect her to dress like my image of a 50 some year old woman when I was at the convention in jeans myself?  Was I being hypocritical?  Was it just the style of the jeans?  It really had little to do with  her wearing a dress, but how she presented herself.

The Blue Jean Family

In Bible times, men and women both wore robes.  Men wore shorter robes with pants (breeches) underneath that they could tuck the robe into when they needed to climb or run.  Women wore longer robes.  In many societies today, if a woman is required to wear a robe, we call it an oppressive society.  This, of course, is compared to our society where women show nearly everything and leave nothing to the imagination, where modesty is "old-fashioned" and swimsuits show more than underwear.  So, obviously, this isn't an issue that can be decided by any one person!  Some believe that wearing dresses is the only way to be modest as a woman.

Nearly forty years ago, a woman went home one night in slacks.  Her husband, believing that this was inappropriate and sin from how he had been taught, wanted his wife to wear dresses.  Instead of praying it through or doing any of the hundred things that would have been appropriate as a husband and wife, he beat her instead.  She left him the next day.  This is a true story, and it shows just how abusive the wearing "dresses only" rules of the past were handled in many denominations.  Now, the few denominations that believe in wearing only dresses for women take a lot of criticism because of the abuses that occurred.  However, even today there is some issues.  A young lady that has been staying with us homeschooled with a strict, conservative, "dresses or skirts only" family.  This young lady was totally turned off when this family was very judgmental about others that didn't believe as they did and discussed it in front of her.  In fact, because this girl wore pants, she was often treated in a negative manner.  This totally changed her opinion, not only of those people, but of God.

"God Looks on the Heart"

What do I believe?  This is an issue that, to my surprise, has gained some attention in my heart.  I have been led to read and study and see what the Bible says verses what I believe.  I have prayed and asked God to reveal to me how He wants me to glorify Him... which is the whole point!  I know that this is an area of growth for me.  Christ is concerned about our hearts, whether we are dressed in rags or in expensive finery.  If our hearts are wrong, it doesn't matter if we are wearing a dress to the floor and veiled, or if we are wearing a pair of jeans.

In my home mission field, I have a responsibility to guide my daughters in their dress, as well as honor God myself with my own appearance.  This is a growth area for me, as I asked God to open my eyes.  What I have noticed shocked me.  I'll report more on what God is telling me in an upcoming blog post.

Christian Schools Needed

Where's the passion?  Where's the attitude?  Where's the courage from within?  Where's the boldness of Christ?

Homeschooling gives me the chance to re-educate myself.  Not only do I get to review all the math facts and grammar rules, but I get to relearn History. I get to read all these amazing biographies of amazing Christians from all over the world.  I get to learn about history and science from a Christian perspective.  In truth, it is amazing to me.  I feel like an uneducated person.  Why was I never introduced to the people I am being introduced to now through educating my children?  Why were these books, like In His Steps, never on any of the reading lists I had for my College Bound English Classes?

The more I read, the more I find myself just plain frustrated.  What is wrong with Christians here in America?  Seriously, have we lost EVERYTHING that made us great?  Have we lost our passion for JESUS?  Have we been so indoctrinated by humanism and secular teaching that we have forgotten how to live by our beliefs?  Do most of us even know what we believe?

It's easy to be a Christian in America.  Maybe it is too easy, because we have been lulled into complacency and feel there is nothing to fight for.  Most of the time we are too busy fighting amongst ourselves than to take a stand for Jesus.  We've allowed for our Lord and Savior to be removed from all areas of our lives.  The education of our children?... He's not there.  He was removed years ago.  Our entertainment?  Jesus is only there when we search for Him.  Most of the time, when you turn on the TV, you are not looking at anything even resembling Christ.  Sometimes I wonder if He is even allowed in some of our churches?

Here's an idea.  Why don't Christians stand up?  How about, as one of our mission fields, we decide to open Christian schools around the country.  I was impressed with the statistic that stated that, in colonial times, when the population of an area reached 50, an elementary school was opened.  When the population reached 100, a high school was added.  Seriously?  Why can't our churches do the same thing? Open some schools, fellow Christians, and let's see to the needs of our children.  Oh, I can hear the arguments starting already.

An education used to be respected only if that education was based on the Bible.  Now, we think we have to have all the perks.  We have to have all the extracurricular activities and elective classes.  Our children get a broad spectrum education in most public schools, but according to standardized testing, these same American children can not compete internationally... even when the education is wrapped around preparing for these standardized tests.

I am a homeschooling mom.  I believe in homeschooling.  While I think homeschooling is possible in more situations that people think, I also know and understand that there are people that can't or shouldn't homeschool.  Here is where having affordable Christian schools around would be beneficial.   I see a sad lack of Christian schools where I live.  There is one about 40 minutes away, and a few around an hour away.  The starting tuition for the closest one is $8000 per year.  To me, that seems ridiculous.  If I can homeschool my child for a few hundred dollars or less each year, then I think a church school should be able to run for not much more than that.  If Christians gave to these schools, like giving to a mission field, even children that can't afford tuition should be able to afford to attend.

According to the Barna group, two out of three kids will walk away from church when they finish High School.  In 2002 the Southern Baptist Council on Family Life determined that 88 percent of teenagers who are involved in youth group throughout the four years of their high school, will walk away from the faith once they graduate from high school.  However, the statistics I read state that 93% of homeschoolers stay in church and keep their faith after they graduate High School.  Christian schools can and should be available for those where homeschooling isn't available.  How can we complain that our children are taught a godless education in public schools, and then leave our children there?

I want to fight back, with my prayers and with my actions.  My daughters are homeschooled.  However, a lady I know has had a dream of opening a Christian school for many years.  She is willing to raise funds and work for nearly nothing.  She shouldn't have to do that.  Christians should see the importance in what she wants because a Christian education is the only foundation that a child can take with him to heaven.  What could happen if our children were educated in Christian schools instead of in the public school system.

First of all, if enough Christian parents pulled their children from the public school system, the much needed funds for those schools would not be there.  The schools would either have to allow God into their schools or close.  Sadly, many would close.  Second, Children receiving a Christian education would have a foundation based on the Bible, God's Holy Word.  How many pastors, missionaries, and christian leaders would emerge to reach this mission field not only in America, but in the world.  Better yet, how many Christian business men and women, Christian lawyers, Christian doctors, Christian teachers, and Christian professionals would influence our society.  The most profound to me is, how many future Christian moms and dads would have firm foundations for their own homes to raise up more and more children for Christ.

A Christian mother told me recently, "Public School was good enough for me, it'll have to be good enough for my daughter."  I so wanted to argue with her.  I wanted to ask her if she wanted her daughter to go through the same struggles that this mother has dealt and is dealing with.  I wanted to ask her at what point does the public school become not good enough.  What is the line they have to cross?  We were discussing homeschooling, but I wondered if there was an affordable Christian school in the area, if that would have made a difference?

I am blessed to be able to educate my own children.  I can ensure that the education my children receive is based on the Bible.  I may join my friend in her quest to open a Christian school, even if my children continue to be educated at home.  I can see that reaching children for Christ is a mission field.  Allowing Christian education opportunities, in the form of schools or encouraging homeschooling, is a big way to influence this world for Christ.

Education and the Founding Fathers - A Review

I picked up this old VHS at the library yesterday.  The title intrigued me.  Made in 1991, which was the year my oldest daughter was born, I was expecting a rather cheesy video.  Instead, I was impressed by the content. 

Made by David Barton, this video is full of excerpts from literature written by the founding fathers.  Those excerpts are full the thoughts, opinions, and actual words of the beliefs of many of the founding fathers' beliefs about Christianity and Education.  The education that the founding fathers is also examined.

One of the undeniable truths presented in the video is the fact that the Bible was the foundation of early education in America.  In fact, most of the few other textbooks schools used at the time were based on the Bible. 

The founding fathers and many early Americans were given an education that today would blow the young people out of the water.  I've seen examples of this before when I've come across a sample of a test given a hundred years ago.  A lot of the questions I didn't even understand... let alone the answers.  The children of that day were challenged, and it was expected that they would excel.  Many of the children weren't expected to use that education to attend college.  Most families couldn't afford college.  These were children from simple homes, children of farmers, and they received a top quality education. 

The reasoning behind children receiving a top quality education was simple.  Literacy was important.  It wasn't important for the same reasons as today.  It was important because the Founding Fathers knew that, for our country to be great and avoid the problems they had left behind in England and other places, everyone should be able to read the Bible for themselves.

I am saddened that our educational system has gone so far downhill.  It's easy to see why, since the Bible is no longer allowed to be the foundation for our education.  Instead, our foundation in public schools is humanism.  The quality has gone down, or has been "dumbed down". 

I am glad that I can do things differently with my daughter.  We read the Bible every single day.  What is amazing is that, despite the spiritual reasons we read the Bible, the other effects are apparent.  Laura is learning her Bible like none of my other children had the chance to.  Her vocabulary is greater.  Her attention span is longer.  Her grasp of the truths and how they apply to her own life is growing.  She doesn't have to wait for a pastor to tell her what a verse means.  She is learning how to do this, slowly, for herself.

This video was quite informative.  I am making Tasha watch it right now.  The history lesson alone is impactful and amazing.

Re-Establishing a Legacy for Christ

This picture was taken a four years ago, not long after my husband and I recommitted our lives to Christ.  Over the last few years, God has added another daughter to our family, and changed us in so many ways.  He has challenged us as individuals and as a family.  He has led us to be different than we ever expected,and loved us more than we ever thought imaginable.  We have been through tragedies and triumphs, but things have been different with God on our side.  We fight our battles, no matter how tough, on our knees, with Jesus by our side.

Both my husband and I grew up in church off and on.  Truthfully, it was usually more off than on.  My husband's father eventually fully committed his life to Christ and was called to become a Pastor.  By then my husband was a grown man and it was tough to accept at first that his father was different... even in a good way.  For me, I have a grandmother that used to be an evangelist.  She loves Jesus with a deep. abiding love.  It stands strong through thick and thin.  She took me and my sisters to church when she could.  She would read to us Bible stories and talk to us about God.  Yet, I walked away.  The influence of the world and not having stable Christian parents was too much.  I just couldn't trust God as a teen.

Fast forward fifteen plus years and my husband and I were at rock bottom.  We were going through impossible circumstances.  We blamed each other and fought all the time.  My husband called his dad for advice, then talked to his dad's pastor.  Next thing I know my husband has gone back to church, found a faith he'd only glimpsed as a child, and was acquiring something deep within him that I knew I wanted for myself.  It took time for me, but the power of God's call was too strong.  I'm kind of an all or nothing girl, and this time there was no playing around.  I gave my life to Christ as well.

How this has affected us as a family cannot be described in words.  My youngest, Megan, will never know the mom and dad that the older children remember.  She won't ever remember or know the angry, bitter people with the somewhat wild lifestyles.  The older girls do, however, know the transforming power of God because they have seen it with their own eyes and experienced it in their own home and lives. 

My husband and I were talking last week about our lives, our ministries, homeschooling, and our families.  During the middle of it all, my husband really understood.   He got it.  The directions God has led us may not truly benefit us.  We are being obedient so that our children, and their children, can have a legacy of faith.  The legacy that should have been their from my grandmother and my husband's father was almost obliterated by the devil and the one generation that went it's own way.  We are re-establishing it for our children.  We are training our children in Biblical values.  God is using us to fix, to redeem the path where we strayed and even where our parents strayed.

Why did God lead us to homeschooling?  God knows that the pressure of public schooling is high, and that we were in the world a very long time.  He knows that our children are susceptible to the same pressures and temptations that we failed to endure.  He wants us to raise our children away from some of that, so that we might establish the correct patterns in our own lives and in the lives of our children.  As I teach my children, I learn much about the Lord I serve and a Biblical worldview.  I learn as I teach, and I grow with them.  It isn't just for my children that I homeschool.  It is for me and for my husband and for our own growth in the Lord.

I read most of the books my children read.  I learn with them in history and science from a Christian point of view.  I read the Christian stories that touch hearts and lives for Christ.  Stories like The Green Little Frog, biographies like George Mueller, events like the Great Awakening; none of these were in my public schooled text books.  Reading about them now has inspired a deep longing to know more.  I have independently read about the Christian roots in our country's formation.  I have drawn closer to God in the process.

There are many reasons God calls families to teach their children at home.  The government wants to fight homeschoolers.  They are using many methods to try to get homeschooling families to cooperate:  Mandatory testing, core standards for everyone, even free programs that use the public school curriculum.  However, they are often surprised by the tenacity of homeschoolers to fight these options.  On one income, they will struggle but refuse funding from the government.  Why?  They don't want the government to tell them how to educate their own children.  Government officials don't get it.  Most of the homeschooling movement has been driven by Christian families.  There are families that don't homeschool for these reasons, but a large percentage absolutely does.  All the attacks on homeschooling is looked at as persecution for Christ, and that we will endure.  We will fight for our right to homeschool no matter what, because when you are called by God to do something, obedience comes first, even if it means defying those that want to take away our rights.  To us, those rights are God-given, and that is more important than the opinions of a few that want to control us.