People tend to see the public schools as the enemy instead of a place where the enemy lives. It needs to be enveloped with the love of Christ. It is a battlefield and Christ does not call us, as adults, to withdraw into our Christian circles but to be warriors in an eternal battle for the souls of these children and their parents. At the same time, being examples of a fearless parent to our children, willing to advance the kingdom through discipleship and obedience on the battlefields of our home and our culture.

Are We Wasting What We've Been Given?

I have read articles and books about people in other countries and times in history and how they have suffered, and wondered why God put me in America in this time period. It just didn't seem "fair" that I would have it so well, while others suffered so horribly. These people used those horrible circumstances to bring glory to God and to give thanks in all things.
Joni Earekson Tada, a quadraplegic, says in her article for Answers Magazine, " I'm convinced my response to my wheelchair has a direct bearing on my capacity for joy,worship, and service in heaven. Of all the things I may waste here on earth, I do not want to waste my quadriplegia!" John Piper writes in his article "Don't Waste Your Cancer" on http://www.desiringgod.org/, about 10 ways to waste your cancer, to not utilize the crisis that God has put in your life for His glory.
I don't have any of those problems. Isn't it even more evident that I should not waste being an American? Having the liberty to share the gospel freely and in the public arena, including the schools? And taking advantage of opportunities that lay themselves at my feet?
God has put me in America in the 21st century to NOT waste what he has given me. He did not put me in America during the Civil War to be a part of the underground railroad, or in Berlin during World War II to hide Jews. But he has asked me to adopt a sibling group of five children, to share the gospel in the public schools and to trust Him more in ALL circumstances. I see everyday how I have wasted opportunities, my money and my time on things that just don't matter. Ellen Vaughn in Time Peace, tells us that "God gives us enough time each day to do His will for that day." We all are here in America for "such a time as this". How much of your time,which is given to you by God, are you wasting?


This blog is about ways that God has shown me to NOT waste the opportunities which have been given to us in America.



Tuesday, January 26, 2010

How to go to public school successfully

There is only one book, that I can find, that deals with this issue. It is a book entitled, Going Public, by David and Kelli Pritchard. This is a MUST read for anyone with kids in public school or planning on having them attend. I ran across this book as I was preparing to start this blog early last year (yes, I have not been diligent in getting it started!). It was one of the impetus' for us to pull our middle school kids out of public school, because I saw what we had NOT done as parents in training our kids, effecting how they were able to handle (or in our case, not handle) the school environment and especially peer pressure. What was that? Instant obedience. I have been reading alot about this idea within the last few years. Why didn't I think of that or hear about it before now? It makes sense. I always counted to three, but when they would respond at the count of 3, that was not obedience but delayed obedience which is really disobedience. Do you think we are to respond to God that way? Or does he want a moldable, soft, obedient heart to be sensitive to His commands? An obedient heart is a heart God can use. Because my kids were not obeying instantly, but grudgingly, at best, God could not use them in the public school environment. There is much more to the issue than just this one concept, but it was a key that I had not seen before. I am a very involved parent at school and I just couldn't figure out why my kids were not acting the way they should be acting. This book helped to shape my thinking on this very important issue. Please get this book and mark it up as you read the pages. Hopefully, you can make changes earlier in your family that we could in ours but it is never too late! I have seen significant improvements since we started implementing some of their ideas.
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