About You

You are LOVED by God. There is nothing you can do, or can't do to make him love you more or less. He loves you because he loves you. Because you are His child.

YOU ARE~
Redeemed
Worthy
More then your past
Forgiven
Whole
Enough
Worth it
A treasure
Righteous
Free
Accepted
You matter.


Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Why I homeschool

Above all else, I love my kids and that is the biggest reason why I homeschool. They deserve the very best that I can give them. I enjoy them, and enjoy having them around, I want to watch them grow up and be a big part of shaping them, and of who they become as adults.
I want them to love eachother and love family more then peers. I want them to grow up watching people who are trying to live for the Lord, and teach them that HE is most important.
I don't want them spending 40 hours a week in a place that deny's Christianity.
I have to stand before God someday and will be judged how I took care of the gifts he gave me, how I discipled them to grow in a relationship with the Lord. If I caused them to sin or if I didn't. I'm responsible for their holiness.
God entrusted these kids to me, they are a gift. Do I know that God loves them more than I do? You bet, but that doesn't mean I can just say, "Oh, God will watch over them at school". I need to do my part in taking care of their faith, helping them grow in the Lord, giving them influences of people that are living for the Lord and not sending them out in a fallen world to find their way when they are young.
I compiled a list of verses to look back on, and some other thoughts, and some quotes from books that I've read to come back to on days when I forget why I am doing this. Days when no one wants to do school, or listen, or days that don't go like I would like them to. I know I will need to look at something that reminds me why I am homeschooling.
Romans 12:2
2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. [
a] 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Proverbs 13:20 (New International Version)
20 He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.
Ephesians 6:4 (King James Version)
4And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
( Are a few hours a week sufficient?, when we give our children over to a public school that is constitutionally prohibited from being for Christ, we have made an anti-Christian institution our child's teacher. That is missing the mark- it is likely to cause our children to sin.)
Matthew 18:6 (New International Version)
6But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

2 Corinthians 6:14 (New International Version)
Do Not Be Yoked With Unbelievers 14Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?

1 Corinthians 15:33 (New International Version)
33Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."
Colossians 2:8 (New International Version)
8See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. ( youth are taught anti-God, anti-biblical, worldly beliefs all of which contradict the Word of God at public schools!)
John 17:15-16 (New International Version)
15My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.
Romans 14:13 (New International Version)
13Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.
Psalm 127:3 (New International Version)
3 Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.
Matthew 6:24 (Amplified Bible)
24No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise and be [
a]against the other. You cannot serve God and mammon ([b]deceitful riches, money, possessions, or [c]whatever is trusted in).
Matthew 12:30 (New Living Translation)
30 “Anyone who isn't with me opposes me, and anyone who isn't working with me is actually working against me.
( Christ tells us that we can't claim to be neutral with respect to him, we are either for him or against him. Education is no exception.)

2 Corinthians 10:5 (New International Version)
5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Galatians 6:9 (New International Version)
9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
John 15:18 (New International Version)
The World Hates the Disciples 18"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.


Apart from working out our own salvation, we as Christian parents, have no more important task on this earth than raising our children as the bible commands us. If we are giving our children over to an anti-Christian school for their education, we are failing to be faithful and we are haring our children spiritually, morally, and intellectually.

All public schools teach the irrelevance of God as a fundamental doctrine. Every day for 12 years the content and context of public schooling says there is no God, and even if there is, He does not matter. Ultimately, children learn these lessons from their public school teachers ~ Faith is private, subjective, and compartmentalized. Truth is relative, situational, and individualized. They teach virtues of openness, tolerance of things God hates. public schools are actively and aggressively non-Christian. They are training Christian children to be secularist- unbelieving believers.

The reality that Godless teaching and inappropriate conduct occur daily in public schools across the nation is a fact that is widely known and well documented.
The public school system has implemented policies that require teachers to instruct students that all life and humanity resulted from a cosmic accident that began billions of years ago, this instruction is stated as "scientific fact". According to 2 Corinthians 10:5 this mandatory instruction by the public school which contradicts the word of God is evil and reflects the hatred of God.

When parents place their children in the public school and the door is closed, they relinquish their authority to a system that has expelled God and instead, has embraced the teaching of worldly philosophies that directly contradict the teachings of the bible and the Lord Jesus Christ. Col 2:8.

When we Christian parents send our kids off to public school, we can only attempt to counter the secular teaching and influence to which the children are exposed to daily. They must also work hard to oppose the negative peer pressures brought on by the unbelieving companions who the kids associate with each day. It's not only important for kids to learn what the bible teaches, but it is also important for them to witness a godly lifestyle lived out in front of them on a daily basis. No one leaves a new born baby on it's own, believing it can fend for itself, the same attitude should apply to spiritual babes in Christ. parents are called to disciple their children, we should strive to be living examples of Godly disciples.


It's the parents whom God addresses in the training up of their children . (Proverbs 1:8 and 6:20, and Psalm 78:5, and Ephesians 6:4)
Proverbs 1:8- Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching
Psalm 78:5- 5 He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children
Ephesians 6:4-Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

The schools are deliberately
de-christianizing, did you notice that Christmas isn't Christmas anymore? It's "winter break" or "winter party" Or there's no Easter party or Easter break anymore? Now it's "spring break" "spring party" .

Quotes from a book~
***" We are starting with the wrong question when we ask: Is it a sin to attend public schools? Better questions are- How will public schools disciple my children? How will public schools influence the lifestyle and worldview I am transferring to my kids? How will the content and context of public schools honor the Lordship of Christ in the education of my children?
Because the anti-Christian bias in public schooling is often subtle and implicit, many parents think it is also harmless. These moms and dad's may get concerned when teachers start handing out condoms, but they do not bat an eye when secularism saturates every book and class."

"Many concerned Christian parents are now "trying" Christian education with the caveat that they can always return to public school if it gets too hard or costly. This is similar to entering Christian marriage with the conscious thought that one will get a divorce if things do not work out. Christian parents should see choosing a public school as analogous to choosing a divorce, a grievous, heart breaking decision made only as a last resort. Public schooling is simply the wrong answer for Christian families. We should not line up at the public school trough just because the swill is familiar, convenient and free"

" We are to cast down every high thing exalting itself against the knowledge of God. (2 Corinthians 10: 4-5) Therefore, we must recognize and treat public schooling for what it is- a modern day Tower of Babel."

"When Christians educate their children in the same manner as non-Christians, they send an undeniable message of agreement with non-Christian values, beliefs, and practices taught in public schools. Conformity does not witness to the lost, but falsely reinforces their unbelief.
Instead Christians should reflect God's grace and truth by demonstrating biblical alternatives to the bankrupt philosophies around us. "

"The biblical injunction to be "salt and light" in a dark unsavory world is not fulfilled by embracing the public school but by engaging the public square. We are responsible to give an account for the hope within us, and this includes being able to explain and demonstrate our principled rejection of public schools. Presenting a gracious antithesis to the secular confusion around us is a bold and necessary witness."

*** " The technicality of having no 11
th commandment explicitly prohibiting the use of public schooling is a sad defense for poor biblical exegesis. Notable passages such as Deuteronomy 6 and Ephesians 6 clearly make Christian education a biblical imperative and parental responsibility."
Yet most Christian parents behave as if there are passages in the bible instructing them to give the education of their children over to anti-Christian government schools and telling them that exposing their children to Christianity tow or three hours a week is good enough.

Clearly there are many ways to lead a Christian child to sin, but none is surer then placing them under false teaching.
Every passage that mentions education of children makes it clear that parents are responsible. In
Deut 6:6-7 the Lord tells PARENTS to teach their children. In Proverbs 22:6 PARENTS are told. Ephesians 6:4- FATHERS.
Proverbs 1:8-9 children are told to hear the instruction of their PARENTS.

When people say that my children should be "salt and light" in the schools, I think they are wrong. They can be salt and light in the neighborhood, or at the Y, or go to visit old people in a nursing home, anywhere in the community I take them.
Christ was not speaking to 5 year
olds, 10 year olds or 15 year olds when he gave the Great commission, or when he described his disciples as "salt and light". Christian adults bear this responsibility, not children. In fact, the bible is quite clear that children require nurturing, training, and yes, even being "set apart" for a season. As Psalm 144:11-12 tells us.

Kids need time to grow and develop before facing a hostile and sinful world on their own. Child hood is a time of
discipling.
Children don't have the experience to be evangelists for the Christian faith, given the onslaught of secular humanism, and demand for conformity in public schools.


Our God is a jealous God. We may not put other gods before him, and we cannot be double minded in the way we live our lives. As Jesus said in Matthew 12:30, "He who is not with me is against me." an education that attempts to distance itself from a commitment to Christianity, and to treat all religious beliefs as equal, is profoundly anti-Christian.


It's proven that
homeschoolers outperform public school kids, hands down. Colleges seek out homeschool kids.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Desires

For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.~ Philippians 2:13, NLT

This was my bible verse I got today in email. It hits home with me, mostly because God has put so many of HIS desires in my life this past year.
He constantly amazes me at how he changes me, to want things that he wants. Things that I would never imagine myself wanting or doing. He actually makes my heart ache for things that I wouldn't have dreamed of only a short year ago.
It reminds me of the verse,
Psalm 37:4- Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.
I think people use that verse in the wrong way, (myself included in the past) thinking that if you delight in the Lord, that he will give you what YOU want, or the desires that you yourself have. Unless those desires are to please him in some way, you've probably got it wrong, but the funny thing is, when he gives me desires that please him, it in turn is something that pleases me too. Take home schooling for instance, granted this is my first year, and I might grow weary of it, ( I hope not) but this is something I never desired to do, wasn't one of my top 10 things to do before I die, I used to just think, when my kids are all in school, I can have time for me! I can attend bible studies, mom time, exercise, clean the house and not have to worry about kids! But now I think so much differently, he puts that desire in me to home school, opened my eyes to things that I was blind to before, and now I am passionate about it. How amazing is that? On days when I find myself being prideful about homeschooling, and wondering why more Christians don't homeschool, I have to remind myself that it was HIM, not ME, that changed my heart and opened my eyes, it was HIS doing. HE get's the credit, not me. He's the one that get's the glory, not me.
Or before last August I was desiring a bigger house, now I'm wondering if we should downsize and use some of that extra money to help someone else. I hardly think that desire came from me. How could a desire like that come from a selfish, sinful human like myself? I enjoy our house, and our yard and the neighbors, but I think, is this all so important? Do we have excess that we could be sharing? That is God putting his desires into my heart, I love that. He will have me be content, keep me joyful, doing things he wants me to do, and living like he wants me to live. God is so cool. He has given me a heart for others, to want to help other people instead of being selfish and fulfilling my own needs. He has given me a desire to disciple my own children so they can teach their children how to love the Lord with all their hearts, he has helped my marriage by helping me to not think about me and my needs all the time, but my husbands needs and my kids needs. All these thoughts out of one bible verse sent in my email. The phrase that God is love rings true, because all the desires that he puts in my heart are desires to love others, and that makes me a happier nicer person in return!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Cherish time with my kids....

Jake just left for school. The morning was the same as most, I get up, get coffee made, go wake him up, then come down and start listening to a sermon. He gets dressed, eats, and is ready to go. He comes in by me, says he's leaving, I give him a kiss, say, " I love you, have a good day Jake" and he says, "ok" and walks out the door. This morning I felt sadness. I have done this for years and today I felt sad when he left. I feel like I'm just sending my 12 year old out into the world, I have no idea what he's doing all day, what he's learning, who's talking to him, and I see him again in 9 hours. He comes home, does his homework, and usually has a little time with his friends, and we do a little bible study together and we go to bed. This is how much I see my son during the school year. It's sad to me. For all these years past, that just seemed "normal" to me. That's just "what we do" go to school. The thought of home schooling never occurred to me all those years, I just did what everyone else did and sent my child off to school for the day.
Maybe it's hitting me more now because he's reaching his teen years, time has gone SO fast, and now it's just 2 years of middle school, 4 years of high school and my boy is gone. I feel I am missing out on important years that I have left with my son. I feel I missed out on so many years of getting to know him and being closer to him. I wish the home schooling thing would have been on my heart 10 years ago so I wouldn't have wasted so much of my son's life sending him off to be with someone else all day. As I sit here, teary looking out the window at him at the bus stop, I can't help but wonder, is this really how God wanted it? That we send our children off to be with someone else for 8 hours a day, 10 months out of the year? I missed so much. He's going to be 13 next month, a teenager, and all those years he was gone for all those hours. Thankfully Jake is great kid, he's sweet, kind, has a great sense of humor, he loves his family, has lots of friends, God has blessed him, watched over him, nothing "bad" has come of him being gone, but the relationship that I could have had with him~ it's not what it could have been. Sure, he's only 12, I still have time to get to know him better, to enjoy him while he's still a kid, but now are the years he wants to be at school, wants to be with friends, because that is what I taught him was normal. He'd rather go play with friends then spend time at home. I wasted precious time. It reminds me of how when people see me at the grocery store with 4 kids, and they say, "oh, enjoy them when they are small, time goes so fast" and I always say, "I know." Because I've heard that so many times, and even my dad has said it, but did I really think about it? I enjoy the little ones, and I am thankful that I have the opportunity to home school the little 3, and be a stay at home mom, but some days, do I really cherish the time I have with them? Probably not. But I am going to be more intentional about that because it won't be long and they will be 12 going on 20. I am missing my Jake today. I wish the past was a bit different, wish I would have done things differently with him, but all I can do is love him as much as I can now, let him know how much I love him, and steal as much of his time as I can. I'm pretty sure God gave us these babies to enjoy, to spend time with them, to love them up and keep them home as long as we can. When I would get the "something's not right feeling" when I dropped him off at daycare when he was little, and the "world" would say, it's ok, he'll be fine......or when they'd cry in their cribs and the "world" would say, It's ok, let them cry, it's good for them, or leaving them in a nursery, and they'd cry, and someone would say, it's ok, they'll be fine....or watching my little 5 year old girl getting on a bus last year, and I got that feeling that something is just not "right" with this, she's only a 5 yr old baby girl! but the "world" said, that's what we do...... Maybe all along, that "feeling" I got was not just a motherly feeling, it was God saying, you don't have to do what the world tells you to do......

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Giving it God

I am sitting here, just feeling numb about the past few weeks. It has been a whirlwind of emotion for Jake and I, God laying it on my heart to home school Jake, trying to talk to his dad about it, trying to let a 12 year old make a huge decision on whether he schools at home or at a public school. WAY to big of a decision for a 12 yr old, but that was my only choice. His biological dad said he was only ok with it if Jake was ok with it. Jake decided to try it out, he said God changed his heart and he thought he should home school. But then the first day of school came and he cried when he saw his two friends get on the bus to go to school. He seemed sad. I cried with him. Sometimes when God asks us to do things, it is not easy or pleasant at first. Monday night I just got on the floor and cried out to God for him to take this because I don't know what to do anymore. A few weeks of trying to explain to Jake why home schooling is good, praying tons about it, what to do, what curriculum to use, seeing my son crying, I just couldn't take it anymore, I handed it over to God, I threw up my arms and said please take this! His dad came over Tuesday and told Jake not to let Kevin and I influence his decision, so Jake decided he wanted to go to school. This morning I watched him get on that bus and sat here and cried. I had a friend that wrote something that I really liked, she said, Jake is taking a detour, and we don't know why it's happening, but God will get him back on track.
I also read a post by my friend Debbie this morning that touched me. She was talking about the different names of Jesus, and asked, "What is breaking your heart today? and have you taken it to your El-Shaddai, your all sufficient God?
She gave names of God, which I knew, but don't use enough, those are Jehovah-jireh: The Lord Will Provide ~ Jehovah-shalom: The Lord Is Peace ~ Jehovah-rapha: The Lord Who Heals, and ~ El-Shaddai: The All-Sufficient One.
I should probably paste these up on my board so I can see them everyday. Even though I sent Jake to school today, I gave this problem to my El-Shaddai on Monday night. God is sovereign and he will take care of what I couldn't take care of by myself. Because of Jake's biological dad, I couldn't just keep Jake at home, But God is able to do what he wants with Jake. HE will take care of Jake. Whether it be bringing him back home some day to school, or helping him not to conform to the world, he is sufficient to take care of this. He loves Jake more then I do, which seems impossible but I know it's true. That post she wrote came at a perfect time this morning. I need to trust God. I did what I could do, and I need to let God do what I can't. I will seek him, pray and let God be God.