Mysterious Way, It's How God Works - A Review

I rented the movie Mysterious Ways, It's How God Works from Netflix.  At first, I was afraid the movie wasn't going to be very good.  What I got was a movie that, though lower budget, was one of the best movies I've seen in awhile.

The movie is about the Harper family, a Christian family that is dealing with some tough issues.  Their oldest son, Buddy, is a boy trying to live out his faith in a public middle school.  After he gets into a disagreement with his teacher over religion, and gets caught posting the ten commandments on a bulletin board amidst abortion fliers, he is suspended for ten days.  This all happens on the same day that the dad, Jim, has his job cut due to restructuring or downsizing.  The parents meet with the school, but the meeting does not go well.  Brenda, the mom, wants to quit her job and homeschool her sons.  At first Jim is reluctant.  There is a scene with the two having a serious and even a bit heated argument about homeschooling that is just wonderful.  So many of the arguments I hear today are brought up in this scene.  Jim agrees to the homeschooling, but things get very twisted when a power hungry social worker who is against homeschooling makes trouble for the family.  The social worker trumps up charges, lies, has the father arrested, and even files papers to have the children taken from their parents.  Needless to say, that is where the adventure begins.  The parents must decide if they believe in what they are doing, and how much they are willing to sacrifice to homeschool their children.     The change in lifestyle is not always easy, but the surprises and blessings are funny and wonderful to watch.

I watched this movie with my children.  We loved it.  My ten year old was a little disturbed by the eating of rabbit, but it was a learning experience for her.  She never knew that some homeschool families could have things so rough.  Homeschooling families are often portrayed in a negative light in our culture, if they are portrayed at all.  This movie was refreshing.  I definitely recommend it to all that homeschool and even some that are considering homeschooling as an option.  I even recommend it to those that have never thought much about homeschooling and those that aren't sure they agree with people homeschooling their own children.  This movie might answer some of your questions.