“How do you homeschool? I could never do that.”  If I had a quarter for every time I’ve heard this . . . Then the mom seems to want a pat on the back and reassurance that she is doing the right thing and that her child will be a warrior and her work in the classroom is sufficient to erase what the kids and teachers and curriculum will do to their kiddos.  I started off my homeschooling time full fledge on fire with passion and the unmistakable calling of the Lord on my life to protect my children and bring them up in the fear of the Lord. I have notebooks full of verses that have shown me what God says about my role as a woman with my husband and my children, of my husband’s role as leader and head of our family, and of my children and how they will walk and grow.

Somehow, over the years, I have mellowed. A change occurred. I realized the unspoken battle of electricity that crosses between the institutionally schooled and the homeschooled.  Private or public, Christian or Secular, it didn’t matter. Schooled vs Unschooled. Somehow, over the course of the years, moms I loved and respected had a change in their family and had to have their children taught by others. My hard core speeches dwindled, as I supported those I loved.

Now I have found myself in a pattern of almost apologizing for teaching my children at home and through co-ops. I have felt convicted of this recently. The mentors that the Lord has placed and continues to place in my life spoke truth about their lives without apology.  They showed truth from the Word that supported their convictions. They did not back up their choice with excuses of time, money, disabilities, distance, etc. Home schooling did not come from excuse, it came from a prompting by the Word.

I read a blog this past week where the writer obviously has fallen into this trap of excuse. The entire first paragraph was an apology to her institutionalized friends.

So I am making a stand! I do support what ever way you lead your family, but know that you are leading them. You are bringing them to a different world view and allowing other people to shape their lives. You are feeding them to the wolves. You are letting them be taught by people who do not love the Lord and do not love your child. You are having your children separate what their lives in the world will be, their speech, their tolerance, abuse of others, an to others, and what their life on Sunday will be. You will teach them to categorize their speech and their friends. So – if you are one of my friends who believes differently than I do about how to teach children – You may not enjoy reading this blog. I am going to continue on the path of showing how we home school middle school boys. I am going to continue to try to show through text and pictures what that looks like.

I feel now more than ever an urgency in my Spirit of being ready for the Lord’s return. I feel that every moment of the day should be in preparation of that moment. Being Ready. Lamps Lit. Preparing for the battles yet to come in our country and towns. It is time to choose sides.  Living a life entirely for the Lord, or for material gains. Living a life pleasing to the Lord, or pleasing to man. Living a life of faith or confidence in your abilities to act. Living a life – day by day – for Him.