Christian Homeschooling...Satan's New Stronghold

By Eric Engle

            The other day I was considering Christian homeschooling and the significance of it in our homes and our society.  Why do we homeschool?  To protect our children from the world’s evil influences, to pull them out of the low academic standards of the public school system, to keep them from being bullied and to instill good moral values; all of which are great reasons.  As we look down the road several years from now, who wouldn’t be pleased with a son or daughter who received high grades, was protected from emotional and physical harm and did not get involved with the world’s garbage, plus they had a very high moral standard?  Employers love this well rounded, well taught employee.  Grandparents love this well adjusted, well mannered young person.  Satan is especially pleased with these accomplishments, because the more we esteem these attributes, the less we have need for the Savior.  When Satan tempted Eve in the garden he twisted the Word of God just slightly to stumble her.  Not a complete lie, just a slight move from the center of God’s Word.  Was she paying attention?  Or was she consumed with peripheral issues to miss the heart of God’s word?  Satan’s best tactic is to get us close enough to the truth that we feel comfortable and safe enough to miss the true message where God is alive in our hearts and truly the King of kings and Lord of lords.

            There are times that I have mislabeled a Mormon as a Christian, thinking they may be a believer because of their moral standards, ethics, and demeanor.  Do they look that much like a Christian that at first glance it’s hard to tell the difference?  Or have we adopted the world’s standard of what a Christian should look like, that it’s hard to differentiate between darkness and light?  What are we teaching our children?  When I tell someone in the world that we homeschool, they say “that’s great”, stating some of the reasons mentioned above.  I justify in my heart that those are great reasons.  But who am I fooling?  Only myself.  Although I want my children to get good grades, be protected, and have good character, those are poor reasons to homeschool if I am missing the primary focus of FIRST training my children to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Mark 12:30  Because if they learn that… and live it out loud for the Lord, there will be no mistaking who they are, and more importantly “whose they are”.

            “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.  If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. 1 Cor 3:11-13

            So why do you homeschool?  Or better yet…Whom do you homeschool for?

Put On Love

"Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection." Colossians 3:12-14
Through the mundane, routine tasks of homeschooling to the voracious storms that trials bring, it is so very difficult to die to ourselves daily to ‘put on love’. Yet, nevertheless, because we are the ‘elect of God’ that is what the Lord is calling us to do in this verse. Sometimes I just want to retreat from all of my responsibilities of being a wife to my husband, a mother to my children, and a homeschool mom, because it is HARD work physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually to continually put others before me. I am a selfish human being filled with sin. As Job said, “I am vile.” Job 40:4 I, too, identify with him.  However, because I strive to obey Jesus’ command to “love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” Mark 12:30 and I want my children to do the same, I chose to ‘put on love’ as best that I can on a regular, daily basis. My encouragement to you is to do your best to ‘put on love’ in your household. The month of February is a great time to work towards being more loving to your family because of the importance that society places upon Valentine’s Day, which is really just another time for the retail stores to make extra money! But because the whole ‘love’ thing is surrounding us during this month, use that to you and your family’s best interest instead of how the world celebrates the day.
The other day I received an email from a homeschooling magazine company advertising a ‘Valentine’s Day Unit Study”. As I scrolled through the email advertisement, it listed all these ways to teach your children about Valentine’s Day, like the history of it and it’s celebration, etc. While I was very enticed by the advertisement and I considered purchasing it, because after all how much fun would that be to teach your children these things along with having some great, hands-on activities; there was a side of me that said I did not need it but there was another side of me that said otherwise. “The unit does not cost very much”, I told myself and I knew in my mind I could certainly justify my reason for purchasing it, but I also knew in my heart that was not something that was truly needed in my homeschooling, nor my family life and here were a few reasons why:

• I could put together my own Valentine’s Day Unit Study (if I really wanted to).
• I should not spend additional monies on more homeschooling supplies (especially since I already have so much to begin with that I have yet to use anyways!) Obviously the children learn most by my actions rather than something written on a piece of paper. Plus, just because we drew a little red heart on it, does not mean that our children will feel loved by our actions nor will that cause them to be loving to others in the process.
• I should probably take the money that I was going to use to purchase that unit study and spend it on my husband instead, so I could show him love, after all, he comes before the children!
• My number one reason for not purchasing the unit study: I would become overwhelmed by all that I am to do. I would feel a sense of responsibility to complete the unit because I would not want to waste the money that God has given to our family. The pressure that comes along with that responsibility will cause me to become frustrated as I teach my children in the midst of all of my day to day responsibilities of living and when I am done with my unit on love, I KNOW I would not be putting on love in the process towards my children. I would lose sight of what God was asking me to do.

Here is one of the reasons that homeschooling your children has such advantages over the public/private school system…YOU get to determine what you want to teach your children!!!! Now, was there something inherently wrong with me teaching my children the history of Valentine’s Day or it’s celebration, etc? No! Can I still teach them about the subject matter without purchasing a unit study and spending a lot of money or time? Of course! But I get to make the decision as to what is best for my family and so do you! If you go back to scripture and read what the Word of God says as to what is best for you and your family, it is to ‘put on love’.
My exhortation to you is to find a way, whether that is just through your godly countenance or through your acts of service, to ‘put on love’ towards your family this month (and of course all of the other months) as best as you can. While we know that no one is perfect, we strive to be like Christ, who is PERFECTION. “But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.” Colossians 3:14

Praise Him In the Storm

All of us have trials from time to time and some trials are greater than others. As our new President takes office we know it will bring about change and uncertainty for our country and our family. Our parental rights are being threatened and we have concerns about the future laws that our children may have to live with. The economy has become worse and worse. Foreclosures are everywhere. Many people have anxiety over job stability. Financial difficulties are becoming a way of life for some. A marriage becomes increasingly more difficult. Conflicts with others are not being resolved. Some fret and worry about the way they are training and teaching their children. Another may have on-going illnesses for either themselves or their children. In-laws or neighbors threaten your homeschooling decision. The list of trials could go on and on.

The world we live in right now is just falling apart. Everyone seems to be affected by it in one way or another, although, the severity may not be the same. You may not be experiencing a trial right at this moment, but we know we will not be without them in our lifetime. Jesus has said, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Even though we know what the Word of God says, sometimes life is so difficult that it is hard to endure the trial set before us. The trial is so big it has become a great storm in our life.

Jesus’ disciples experienced a great trial too. As they were in the boat and the great storm took place on the sea, they cried out to Jesus saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” It was only natural for the disciples to fear for their lives based on the situation they were in, however, they had Jesus in the boat with them! What did they have to fear? Not only was Jesus in the boat with them, but He was taking a nap. Jesus was so comfortable with the situation that they were in, He was sleeping!

“Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" But He said to them, "Why are you fearful , O you of little faith?" Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.” Matthew 8:23-26

As Jesus awoke and rebuked the winds, He also rebuked the disciples with their lack of faith. Jesus was not surprised by the trial that was set before the disciples. Neither is He surprised by the trials that many of us are currently going through.

You might be wondering why I am writing an article about trials and what they have to do with homeschooling. Well, if you believe homeschooling is a way of life like I do, then trials and homeschooling will most definitely go hand in hand! We can’t avoid the storms in our life, but what we can do is have the right attitude while we are going through them. When Jesus was in the boat with the disciples, He was sleeping. He wasn’t fretting or walking back and forth pacing in the boat, no, He was sleeping!

I know when I am in the midst of a storm, I try to have the perspective that “I am sleeping in the boat with Jesus”. I don’t want to freak out or walk around as if I have no joy or hope, (which at times I certainly do feel that way)! However, I do not want my demeanor to always be without joy and hope when I go through a trial, because I personally feel that I am being a bad witness as a believer. I have an opportunity to praise the Lord in the midst of my storm or I can go through life blaming someone else or just plain wallowing in my despair. It is easier for me to do the latter, but wallowing is not something I want to show or teach my children when life gets difficult. We have an opportunity to teach our children about trials as we go through our day. We are able to pray with them and explain to them that Jesus is in control of the situation, He hears our prayers and He loves us more then we love ourselves.

When our children get older they will face trials too. Just because we shelter our children from negative influences today, that does not mean we will be able to shelter them from a trial they will experience as they get older, and perhaps we should not. We go through trials for a reason. They strengthen us and shape us into the character that we have today. Trials refine us and help us to rely on the Lord for our strength as opposed to our own strength. “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” James 1:2-4

Trials bring about the workings of the Body of Christ as we are in the middle of our storm. The “Body” helps to bear our burdens. “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2 The Body of Christ is exercising their gifts as they serve the Lord by serving others; this is a beautiful picture of Christ’s love for us and we ought to expose our children to such a wonderful experience. They should see others helping you and you helping others. They should be by your side as you make and serve dinner to a family that is ill or a family who just had a new baby. They should be included and prompted to pray for someone who is in need. Not only will you start to see your children’s spiritual gifts starting to emerge, but this helps to strengthen your child’s prayer life too. Share with them also the answered prayer requests so they can see and hear how God has provided a miracle for the situation.

Don’t hide the storm that you are going through from your children, unless of course it is a marital issue that is not appropriate for them to hear. Go through the storm with Jesus and your family. Teach them that you are relying on the Lord to help you with your situation. Your children will never be able to learn how to go through a real life trial by reading a story in a book because the book could never fully describe the emotion, concern, and distress as much as what our children will witness in real life. Our children will learn how to handle a trial by watching us. If you constantly hide your concerns and emotions from your children, they will never learn from you, other than that you always remained quiet about a situation. As I write this, it is a reminder to myself to pull my children in closer to me as I go through life, the good times and the bad. Again, make sure you use discernment about what is appropriate to share with your children and what is not. Obviously a child under the age of 4 will not be able to comprehend as much as an 8 yr. old or a teenager, but you don’t need to go into great detail as your share with them. You could just tell them that Mommy is having a hard day because she doesn’t feel well, but let’s pray and ask Jesus to heal Mommy, etc. When you feel better make sure you let your child know that Jesus healed Mommy. Continue that pattern as your child grows older and expand the details as appropriate.

If the storm in your life is so great, remember, “the LORD is near to those who have a broken heart.” Psalm 34:18 Don’t be discouraged if you have not been able to teach much history or science to your children while you have been in the storm. The LORD knows what your children should be learning and when they should be learning it. Perhaps He feels they should be learning more about how to biblically handle a trial and how to praise the LORD while we go through them, rather than learning about World History right at this moment!

Praise Him in the storm and show your children how to do the same.

How I Hindered My Child From the Kingdom of Heaven

I will never forget the day that I brought my child to tears, the day that I made him cry over something as silly as a reading lesson. It was a day where I had placed a higher emphasis upon his intellectual abilities rather than on his heart and emotions. It was a day I hindered him from the Kingdom of Heaven.  It was a usual morning at our house; we were sitting on our couch going over our reading lesson again. Although it was an ordinary day in general terms, what was not ordinary (at least in my mind) was for my child, who was 7 yrs. old at the time, was not able to comprehend how to blend the basic phonetic sounds in the English language. Over the years we had spent many hours playing phonetic-based games, hands-on projects, phonic DVDs and computer games, etc. We had tried every type of learning tool we could find to teach our child how to read.

On that particular morning I had resolved myself to making sure that my son was going to master the subject before him, so I dug my heels in and put aside everything else in my schedule so I could devote my time to teaching him to read. It went something like this: I pointed out the letters and the sounds that each made, M-A-N. MMM AAA NNN, Man. “Now you try”, I said to my child. His response was mmm- aaaa- rrrr- nnnn, Marn. Marn? “No honey, there is no ‘r’ in the word, Man.” Over and over we tried. M-A-N. Again and again we practiced. I was determined to not give up until my child could master blending simple words. I pushed and pushed and became evermore forceful. Then next thing I heard from my son is, “I can’t Mommy.”  “Yes, you can.” I said with a loud, angry and frustrated tone. My son started to cry and then I realized that I had broken his spirit.  Now, this particular child of mine is not known for being very sensitive and I thought to myself that it was rather odd that he responded that way. I sat there pondering his reaction and I can still remember it years later.

Within minutes, my husband, who was at home at the time, came out of his office and asked what the problem was and I told him. He said, “It’s simple, let me do it” My response was, “Gladly”.

As he attempted to teach our son to read, he was faced with the exact same response. Our son could not get it and he started to cry again.  As I sat there looking on, I realized that my teaching priorities and goals were outside of God’s Will. I deemed my child’s reading abilities more important than my child. If Jesus were the teacher that morning, He would not have brought this precious child to tears just because he was not able to read the word, ‘man’.  God’s Word is very clear when it comes to His perspective about His children, “Jesus said,  “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14 Jesus’ motivation is for all children to feel loved and accepted by Him. He does not want them to be put aside because of His busyness or agenda, nor would He want the children to feel like they could not measure up to His standards. He wants all of His children to be a part of His Kingdom.  Just thinking about our Savior should bring us to a place where we feel protected, accepted, loved, and wonderfully created.  If Jesus were sitting next to us right now, would we ever feel as if we had any short-comings or defects in our abilities? Of course not! After all, He is the one who made us and He is the one who made our children. Jesus would be patient with us and He would be patient with our children no matter how long it takes them to read! He desires our children’s hearts and obedience so they can ultimately spend eternity with Him.

As I look back to the year that I was forcing my child to read, I realized there was a reason why I pondered the situation my son was in and why the Lord has allowed me to remember it; it is so I can share my own personal failures as a mother/teacher as well as share the things that the Lord has taught me with respect to teaching my children.

Perhaps you are trying to instruct your child on how to read or to understand a new math or science concept, what ever the subject is that you are trying to teach them, remember the most important subject to teach your child about is Jesus Himself, and the desire He has for your child’s salvation and their faith in the Lord. The actions that we display before our children on a day to day basis will determine whether or not our children will want to follow our Savior.

While teaching our children how to read is a very important and needed skill, however, that is not the most important thing in life, what is the most important thing is having a saving knowledge of faith in our Creator. My goal in teaching my son to read is so he can read the Word of God, first and foremost. While this is an honorable and noble goal, if it is done without love, it will hinder my child from entering the Kingdom of Heaven.