No replies to this topic

[kaseyb (Supermom!)]

A friend sent this to me and I thought some of the thoughts might interest those who home educate here or those considering doing so. It's written by someone named Jonathan Lindvall.


> Top 10 Mistakes of Homeschoolers
>
> I am very thankful the Lord spoke to my heart, as a single man back in
> 1972, that when He gave me children I was to teach them myself. At the
> time I thought I was unique. I had never heard of anyone besides foreign
> missionaries without access to schools teaching their own children. It
> didn’t occur to me that the Lord might be speaking the same word to many
> others.
>
> Later, after marrying and having our first child, my wife and I
> encouraged a few other families to teach their own children. We even
> started a Christian School ministry to facilitate this (we have never
> had a campus--all the students are taught at home by their own parents).
> We didn’t call it homeschooling for well over a year--we hadn’t even
> heard that term yet. We thought we were the only ones in the world doing
> this, and only knew we were to disciple our own children rather than
> send them to school.
>
> We were amazed to later begin meeting many others in diverse places who
> reported that they, too, had thought they were the only ones the Holy
> Spirit was leading to teach their own children. This became one of
> several evidences to us that what God was doing in us was part of a much
> larger movement of God--a sovereign outpouring of His Spirit in our
> generation.
>
> Over the years I have been fascinated to study such moves of God
> throughout history--what have come to be called “revivals.” I am not
> alone in my conviction that homeschooling is part of a true awakening of
> the church initiated in God’s heart. I suspect that the rest of the
> church will one day look back on the history of the homeschool movement
> and see it as a great awakening that shaped and rescued the church.
>
> But just as past “revival” movements were corrupted by flesh and
> compromises, I fear the homeschool movement will one day lose its
> freshness and become another stale monument to what God has done in the
> past. Like previous awakenings, I suspect this one will leave a lasting
> impact on the church (I don’t imagine the conviction of parents
> discipling their our own children will be lost). What God is doing in
> our generation will, if the Lord leaves us on this earth for more
> generations, be another foundational restoration of His purposes for the
> church.
>
> But it is nonetheless tragic to me to see what I suspect are the seeds
> of the death of the freshness of this awakening, already among us.
> Recently a friend encouraged me to make a list of the top ten mistakes I
> think many homeschoolers make. I believe these are things that grieve
> the Lord and undermine the ongoing blessing He intends.
>
> Our compromises and provision for the flesh don’t solely impact us. The
> most grievous result of resisting the Holy Spirit’s leading in God’s
> ways is that the Lord Himself is grieved. Our lives are about bringing
> Him pleasure (Rom. 14:8; 2 Cor. 5:9). The worst thing I can do is
> withhold from the Lord what He longs for and deserves. He is worthy of
> the joy that was set before Him as He endured the cross (Heb. 12:2). May
> we not grieve Him in our lack of yieldedness and insistence on
self-effort.
>
> But our little failures and compromises also affect others. God’s word
> repeatedly reminds us that our children can be benefitted by a heritage
> of godliness or handicapped by our failures (Ex. 20:5-6; 34:4-7; Jer.
> 32:18).
>
> Our precedents will even aide or hinder other homeschoolers, now and in
> the future. Our generation is, by God’s design, to be a trailblazer
> generation for those who follow us. If, as I suspect, homeschooling
> becomes the dominant, assumed practice of the whole church in future
> generations, the patterns we walk out in our seemingly mundane minor
> details, will likely become standard practice and “traditions” for a
> wider circle than we can currently imagine. And the Lord calls us to be
> alert to how our actions affect other saints (Rom 15:1).
>
> In fact, our yieldedness (or disobedience) to the Lord will affect the
> whole world, even non-believers. As the salt of the earth and light of
> the world (Matt. 5:13-15) we are useless if we accommodate our flesh
> rather than wholeheartedly pursuing the Lord and His ways. The Lord
> intends our distinctive surrender to Him to be a striking “fragrance of
> Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are
> perishing” (2 Cor. 2:14-16).
>
> In all this we are not called to perfectionISM, but rather perfection
> that is mature completion (Matt. 5:47; Col. 1:28). It is important to
> keep in mind that there will always be room for improvement (Ps.
> 14:2-3). Yet that should never be an excuse to cave in to less than what
> God shows us of His desire (Rom. 6:1).
>
> Mistake #1: Wrong Reasons
>
> I am always excited to hear of Christians teaching their children at
> home, regardless of their motivations. Yet it seems to me this is one of
> the most likely mistakes we, as homeschoolers make--we teach our
> children at home with the wrong heart. While I have seen people
> homeschool initially from wrong motives, it seems the Lord wants to
> refine these to His intent over time. Our motive in everything we do
> must be to bring pleasure and glory to our Heavenly Bridegroom.
>
> It is quite possible to make homeschooling too high a priority in our
> hearts and lives. It must be seen as a means to an end. And the end must
> be kingdom of God. This is what we are to seek above all else (Matt.
> 6:33). Homeschooling, like every other activity in our lives, is not
> really about this earth at all (Col. 3:1-2). Everything in our (and our
> children’s) lives must be about Jesus (Col. 3:17).
>
> Perhaps to clarify, we should contrast this with some of the
> questionable motives we should be alert to. As wonderful as academic
> excellence is, it must not be what drives us. We are not homeschooling
> for the purpose of producing young geniuses. While the scripture
> repeatedly encourages wisdom, knowledge, and learning, it also warns us
> that knowledge can (if not in its proper role) be a hindrance to us (1
> Cor. 8:1).
>
> We all want our children to have the skills and disciplines to provide
> for their families some day. But job preparation is similarly not worthy
> as a primary goal of homeschooling. Jesus explicitly warned us not to be
> concerned with how our food and clothing are supplied (Matt. 6:19-34).
> This, in fact, is the context in which he called us to “seek first the
> kingdom of God and His righteousness.”
>
> There are many desirable, God-pleasing results likely to come from our
> obedience to God in choosing to personally disciple our children. But no
> matter how good they are, if they are the focus, rather than our aim
> being to bring Jesus pleasure, they can become idols for us. Many
> homeschoolers have become enamored with the vision of the long-term
> societal (political/economic) impact our practices can have. May the
> Lord bring all this about, but may our hearts be set on Him more than on
> the impact we can have.
>
> Mistake #2: Lack of Understanding of Parental Responsibility
>
> One of the most frequently-raised accusations and arguments against
> homeschooling is the charge that we are “sheltering” our children.
> Somehow, this has come to be seen as negative in modern society. We
> generally consider it appropriate for parents to protect their children
> from physical dangers, but sheltering them from spiritual, social, and
> emotional risks is perceived as “over-protection.” Spiritually alert
> parents recognize that spiritual harm is immeasurably more dangerous
> than physical harm.
>
> In scripture the term “shelter” is always portrayed positively. The
> Psalmist sings (Ps. 61:3-4), For You have been a SHELTER for me, A
> strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I
> will trust in the SHELTER of Your wings.” God lovingly describes His
> people as His “sheltered ones” (Ps. 83.3).
>
> Despite our cultural abhorrence of potential “over-protection,” I’m
> unaware of a single time when scripture teaches against it. On the
> contrary, there are many instances of scripture lauding God, parents,
> and others in authority for protecting those they are responsible for.
> Jesus taught us to pray to our Heavenly Father (the model of fatherhood
> we should follow), “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from
> evil” (Matt. 6:13). Jesus taught us to “pluck out,” “cut off,” and “cast
> away” things that might “cause one of these little ones to sin” (Matt.
> 18:6-10).
>
> Another objection virtually every homeschooler in western society has
> been confronted by is the “socialization” question. In our society is
> assumed to be essential for children to spend time with peers to be
> properly adjusted. Yet the preponderance of scripture cautions from the
> opposite perspective. Proverbs 12:26 warns, “The righteous should choose
> his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray.”
> Proverbs 13:20 is even more pointed, saying, “He who walks with wise men
> will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed.” Paul was
> apparently quoting an accepted proverb at the time when he wrote, “Do
> not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits’" (1 Cor. 15:33).
>
> No doubt the Lord wants our children to learn to benefit from edifying
> fellowship, just as He wants this for us. However, positive social
> skills are generally not learned from children. God intends for fathers
> (not peers) to shape their children’s values and tendencies “in the
> training and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). This requires
> protecting our children from peer domination, and instead structuring
> our family lifestyles to facilitate intense, intimate relationship
> between our children and ourselves.
>
> Sadly, perhaps as a result of the world’s challenges regarding
> “socialization,” many homeschoolers feel pressure to provide settings
> where their children can spend large amounts of time with peers. Thus,
> over the years we have seen homeschool support groups move from
> supporting the parents to supporting the children with extra-familial
> activities like sports teams, group music experiences, and cooperative
> classes. There are probably times when it is appropriate to expose our
> families to teaching situations where the parents are not necessarily
> doing all the teaching, but it is a significant danger to fall into the
> habit of exposing our children to the addictive peer group influences.
>
> Mistake #3: Overlooking Gender-Specific Roles
>
> One of the issues the Lord has used homeschooling to confront in the
> church over the last several decades has been the creeping androgyny
> infecting our culture. Many of us remember that when we were children,
> at least in the church there was a fairly clear distinction assumed
> between the roles of men and women. But over the last couple of
> generations, as western culture has abandoned any vestige of biblical
> moorings, the notion of full-time motherhood has been disdained.
>
> The church initially resisted this trend, but eventually capitulated. By
> the 1970's and 80's it seems the majority of Christian mothers were
> employed by others outside their homes. This became a generally unspoken
> impediment to homeschooling, which logically required the presence of at
> least one parent with the children. Many courageous Christian families
> withstood the scorn of the society and embraced the call of Titus 2:4-6
> for the women to be “workers at home.”
>
> However, another trap went largely (thought not completely) unnoticed.
> Homeschooling began to be perceived as something mothers do. I have
> repeatedly been asked if my wife homeschools our children. I try to
> respond graciously, but refuse to allow this assumption to be
> perpetuated. Certainly my wife is very involved in our homeschooling
> activities. But God has called FATHERS to accept the responsibility for
> teaching their children (Eph. 6:4). I recognize I can’t do it all, and
> thankfully God has provided me a wonderful helper. But in many
> homeschool families the father is seen as his wife’s helper. She is
> perceived as the one who is carrying out the homeschooling, with his
> permission.
>
> As persuaded as I am of the benefits of homeschooling, I have counseled
> many wives who have been given permission, by their husband, to
> homeschool their children, not to do it. A mother who homeschools with
> only her husband’s approval, is constantly laboring under a sense of
> being on probation. She is subconsciously aware that her husband’s
> authorization might be revoked if he determines she is not doing an
> adequate job.
>
> Instead, if the father is the one who is persuaded of homeschooling, and
> accepts responsibility for leading his family in this, his wife can
> fully and freely help him without fear that he will withdraw his support.
>
> Let me risk taking this a step further. The homeschool movement has
> become largely a women’s movement. Most homeschool support groups are
> made up primarily of women, and led by women. These dear sisters have
> much to give, and are called to teach younger women in the ministry to
> their families. However, there is a latent unscriptural feminism that we
> can inadvertently become vulnerable to, if we are not careful. I
> encourage homeschool groups and ministries to seek the Lord about being
> led by men, not just in name, but in fact. This will make it more likely
> that other men will embrace God’s call to truly lead their own families
> (1 Cor. 11:3).
>
> The gender issue is impacting our children, as well. We all know that
> God has designed boys and girls differently. The distinctions are more
> than just physiological. We do our children a disservice when we train
> boys and girls identically. It makes no sense, for example, for boys and
> girls to have the same curriculum.
>
> In Titus chapter two, Paul instructs certain people to teach certain
> things to young women, and other people to focus on distinctive things
> with the young men. One of the tragedies I observe in many homeschool
> communities is the encouragement of young ladies to aim themselves
> toward careers outside the home, rather than following in their mothers’
> footsteps as homeschool moms.
>
> God has always desired for the genders to maintain their distinctives,
> even in the way the look (Deut. 22:5). But today girls are being
> masculinized and boys are being feminized in our culture. For example,
> most institutionally-schooled boys spend virtually all their time under
> the influence of women (mother, teacher, cub scout leader, Sunday School
> teacher, etc.). I thank God for the influence of godly homeschool
> mothers in boys’ lives, and God clearly uses that (2 Tim. 1:5; 3:14-15).
> But I frequently hear such mothers longing for more male influence in
> their boys’ lives.
>
> Many homeschool families have found that as they press into the Lord’s
> ways, not only does mom want to be home with the children, but dad also
> has a similar longing. A phenomenon has been increasing, in which a
> growing number of men are seeking (and finding) ways to meet their
> family’s financial needs while still being accessible to their children
> throughout each day. Some are tele-commuting. Others are becoming
> self-employed entrepreneurs who can determine if and when their children
> can be with them. Thankfully, a growing number of boys (and girls) in
> godly families are able to spend lots of time with their fathers. God is
> turning “the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of
> the children to their fathers” (Mal. 4:6).
>
> Mistake #4: School Rather Than Apprenticeship
>
> Most of us were ourselves educated in institutional environments, and
> have very little (if any) model of how to homeschool. We all had
> parents. Even a poor parental model is better than no model. We are
> being called to recover a lost heritage from nothing more than
> scripture. (Can you think of a better source?) But instead, our natural
> inclination is to look elsewhere for our model of how to educate our
> children.
>
> As we have embraced the term “homeschooling,” this has been initially
> helpful in dealing with professional educators and other inquisitive (or
> even hostile) observers. However the term has become a handicap for most
> of us as it produces a set of assumptions that draw us away from
> scripture. (Note that the word “homeschool” is never found in scripture.
> In fact, the notion of “school” in any form, as we know it, is
> completely absent from scripture.)
>
> A mistake virtually all of us stumble into, to one degree or another, is
> letting the educational assumptions of our culture dictate how we
> disciple our children. I believe God is calling us to let scripture
> shape not only the content of our children’s education, but also the
> methodology. We are not called to mimic the school at our own home.
>
> Most Christian homeschoolers have recognized the need for
> Biblically-based educational content. However, few of us have questioned
> the underlying methodology we were taught with. Our culture’s
> educational paradigm has been largely shaped by the Greek system of
> thought, as brought down through the Prussian school structures emulated
> in American schools in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
>
> What kind of education did children in the Bible receive? Interestingly,
> most of the Jews of Christ’s day were literate. Yet they weren’t
> educated in schools. Even those who were educated by someone other than
> their parents, like the apostle Paul, were trained using a completely
> different methodology from that of the Greeks.
>
> To the pagan Greeks, the goal of education was for the teacher to
> package knowledge he possessed and somehow transmit it to the students.
> They thus contemplated a body of knowledge and sought an efficient way
> to carve it into manageable segments. They increasingly minutely divided
> knowledge into disciplines, courses, lessons, and specific task
> instructions. Thus the focus was on curriculum.
>
> Most of us today would not hesitate to question either this aim or the
> process. But the Biblical Hebrew approach to education is completely
> different. They were confident knowledge would be transmitted, but that
> was not the primary thrust. To the Hebrews, the goal of education was to
> shape the life of the learner, rather than simply his mind. Jesus said
> that “everyone who is perfectly trained will be LIKE his teacher” (Luke
> 6:40).
>
> This resulted in a methodology far different than that embraced by the
> pagan Greeks. In the Biblical Hebrew culture the focus was on
> relationship more than on curriculum. As a boy, Paul was taught by
> sitting “at the feet of Gamaliel” (Acts 22:3). His education was shaped
> by “hanging out with” Gamaliel, listening to whatever he talked about,
> and watching whatever he did. It was dealing authentic life rather than
> artificially contrived learning experiences.
>
> I often have young families just beginning to homeschool a five-year-old
> ask me for advice about curriculum. I will ask them what they’ve been
> using up to that point, and they say something like, “We’re just
> starting out. We haven’t used curriculum.” So I will facetiously reply,
> “So your child doesn’t know anything?” They immediately exclaim that
> their child actually is quite bright and has learned a lot. I ask them
> to give examples, and they begin enumerating some of the things the
> child knows. I dramatically marvel at how knowledgeable the child is,
> and express surprise that this was accomplished without curriculum. I
> then gently suggest that if their current approach is working well,
> perhaps they shouldn’t change course. They have taught much without
> curriculum, relying on relationship. This is what the Bible portrays of
> discipleship.
>
> Today, most homeschoolers are strongly focused on curriculum. This is a
> common question raised when one meets another homeschool family. Imagine
> asking Jesus such a question. Jesus was the best teacher of all history,
> and yet, from the scriptural account it is clear He didn’t rely on a
> curriculum. We don’t even have any accounts of Him leading a Bible
> study. Instead, his approach was relational. He called His disciples to
> “Follow Me.” He invested time in them, and had them study Him, rather
> than focusing on theoretical propositions.
>
> If we follow the model we grew up with, we will try to reproduce the
> institutional classroom in our homes. This is a mistake that will become
> a huge hindrance to what God intends as His best. He is calling us to
> disciple our children relationally, using the Biblical methodology, as
> well as content.
>
> Mistake #5: Focusing on Outward Appearance–Neglecting the Heart
>
> We all enjoy hearing the feedback of relatives, neighbors, and friends,
> as they comment on the fruit of our homeschool efforts. And certainly we
> want our children to display good behavior and project maturity to those
> around them. If we are not careful, though, we become addicted to the
> praise of men.
>
> God looks on the heart, and wants us to learn to focus there, too. Paul
> told us that true godliness is not about what we look like, but it is a
> matter of the heart (Rom. 2:28-29). Peter encouraged the women to focus
> on “the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a
> gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God”
> rather than the outward beauty seen more immediately by others (1 Pet.
> 3:3-4).
>
> When we focus on outward appearances, we typically fall into judgmental
> legalism, both of ourselves and others. Rather than harshness, the Lord
> calls us to a heart-based gentleness flowing from merciful hearts that
> loves God’s righteousness.
>
> Mistake #6: Biblically Principled
>
> We are not typically trained to think in terms of cause and effect. But
> the Bible (particularly the book of Proverbs) calls us to connect the
> dots of how our actions affect the things we experience. Paul further
> warned against the deception inherent in overlooking that “whatever a
> man sows, that he will also reap” (Gal. 6:7).
>
> There are many families who recognize the possibility of falling into
> legalism, and thus react against any emphasis on living life by
> principles. In fact, Christianity is about relationship with God rather
> than living our lives according to a code of conduct (even a Biblical
> code of conduct).
>
> However, there are universal laws of cause and effect that impact our
> fruitfulness and happiness. It is not legalism to embrace these “laws.”
> It is a huge mistake to neglect the principles God has ordained. The New
> Testament warns against “lawlessness” and neglecting principles. Peter
> described the oppression resulting from the “conduct of unprincipled
> men” (2 Pet. 2:7) and warned against being “carried away by the error of
> unprincipled men” (2 Pet 3:17).
>
> Sadly, there are many Christians who have a real relationship with God,
> but lack integrity. For example, God calls for His people to be
> principled enough to keep their commitments, even when this brings us
> loss (Num. 30:2; Ps. 15:4). We are not under the law, but neither are we
> to live “lawlessly” (Tit. 2:14).
>
> Such lawlessness is an easier trap to fall into than most people
> realize. We certainly need to be dominated by our love relationship with
> Jesus in the Spirit. But He also desires for us to love His word and be
> instructed by it. The purpose of scripture is to shape our “world-view”
> into a Biblical paradigm that interprets every experience in light of
> scripture, and anticipates the Lord’s leading according to scripture.
>
> Mistake #7: Led by the Spirit
>
> On the other hand, there are many homeschoolers who are so focused on
> living their lives by scripture, and impress this deeply on their
> children, that they neglect to emphasize that Christianity is about
> relationship with the living God. Jesus told the religious leaders of
> His day (John 5:39-40), “You search the Scriptures, for in them you
> think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But
> you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.”
>
> Like the Pharisees Jesus dealt with, we can unwittingly focus on the
> letter of the law (and our interpretational schemes) that we lose the
> life the scriptures are meant to point us to. Christianity is not about
> our self-effort to fulfill regulations! It is about a living
> relationship where we are actually led by the Spirit. This is not to
> deny the importance of being instructed by scripture, but to clarify
> that the source of life is in the relationship with God.
>
> Certainly there have been many who have claimed to be led by the Spirit,
> and have clearly displeased God. Yet there are also those who have
> twisted scripture to derive erroneous “principles” God never intended.
> If there is one message in the New Testament that is unequivocal, it is
> that the children of God must walk in ongoing communication and
> relationship with Him. Paul said (Rom 8:14), “For as many as are led by
> the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” He had previously (verse 9)
> said, “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the
> Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of
> Christ, he is not His.”
>
> It is not enough to know and follow scripture. Paul even argued (2 Cor.
> 3:6) that “the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” Paul loved
> scripture, but the key issue of the reality of the Christian life was
> whether or not someone was living with God in the Spiritual realm beyond
> the temporal plane. He told Timothy “the law is good if one uses it
> lawfully” (1 Tim. 1:8). When the scripture is used as a replacement for
> relationship with God, it is an unlawful use of scripture. The scripture
> is to lead us into communion with God.
>
> Paul loved the law, but He knew its limitations. He said, “But if you
> are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law” (Gal. 5:18). We must
> teach our children to love the scriptures, but we must also teach them
> to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Without this
> all the scriptural knowledge in the world will only produce death.
>
> Mistake #8: Isolationism
>
> Many homeschoolers have found that the most insidiously negative
> influence in their children’s lives comes in the context of their church
> experience. God has clearly called us to protect our children. This has
> prompted many to withdraw from the vulnerability of what their children
> are exposed to in gathering with other believers. This can be a subtle
> trap. Proverbs 18:1 says, “A man who isolates himself seeks his own
> desire; He rages against all wise judgment.”
>
> God has clearly called us to walk in fellowship with other saints. The
> New Testament warns against “forsaking the assembling of ourselves
> together” (Heb. 10:25). We are to walk in fellowship with other
> Christians, yet we must not lead our children into temptation by
> exposing them to ungodly influences. This is a dilemma.
>
> Note that the scriptures do not tell us to “attend” church meetings, but
> rather to “exhort one another.” Many people never miss a meeting, but
> never experience the mutual exhortation the scriptures prescribe. God
> wants us to walk in authentic fellowship with others of His people. John
> describes “walking in the light” (1 John 1:6-7) and says fellowship will
> result. We must not hide in isolation, but rather find other believers
> to walk and confide with.
>
> In the New Testament the churches were dominated by relationships rather
> than programs. The fellowship relationships flourished in the context of
> home-based hospitality. The apostolic epistles repeatedly call believers
> to hospitality. Paul wrote that we are to be “given to hospitality”
> (Rom. 12:13). Peter told us to “Be hospitable to one another without
> grumbling” (1 Pet. 4:9).
>
> God calls us to avoid isolating ourselves from non-believers, too. We
> need to protect our children from vulnerability, yet position ourselves
> to “be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the
> hope that is in you” (1 Pet. 3:15).
>
> Mistake #9: Short-Sightedness
>
> Wise parents look ahead in the lives of our children. None of us knows
> the future, but based on our own experiences and insights, we can
> predict the issues our children will face, and prepare them. Proverbs
> 22:3 says, “A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, But the
> simple pass on and are punished.”
>
> One of the evils we must foresee is the fruit of failing to direct our
> children. Many parents are fearful of their children’s responses. They
> become child-centered rather than Jesus-centered. Like Eli, we end up
> honoring our We often
>
> When our children are young, we need to be alert to the precedents we
> are setting for our children’s futures. We must be assertive in
> forthrightly training our sons and daughters. We need to be aware that
> the older children will be examples (either positive or negative) to the
> younger ones. The younger children will follow in the footsteps we allow
> our older ones to walk in. The older ones will unwittingly be part of
> the training environment that shapes the younger ones.
>
> Another trap is failing to foresee the negative peer-influence of youth
> groups. Our young people certainly need to enjoy Christian fellowship,
> but most youth groups are tainted with influences that make the young
> people vulnerable to the enemy. Paul says the young men are to be
> exhorted to “sober-mindedness” (Tit. 2:6). The young people are
> frequently tempted to flirt with experimental romances they will later
> regret, even if they succeed in maintaining physical purity.
>
> Mistake #10: Fear of Further Leading
>
> Most homeschoolers recognize that even today what they are doing is
> contrary to cultural norms. Sometimes they feel they are on the fringe
> edge already, and fearful of what the Lord may lead them to next. In
> fact, this is a realistic fear, and tests our willingness to surrender
> all to Jesus.
>
> We see other homeschoolers becoming increasingly radical in areas that
> seem unrelated to homeschooling. Our natural inclination is to fear the
> Lord may lead us the same way. We watch as first it is the mom staying
> home rather than having a job. Then perhaps the parents begin to ponder
> the family’s diet and opt for eating more healthy foods (first whole
> wheat, then home-made, then grinding their own wheat, and so on). Then
> they begin considering more natural health remedies (herbal medicines),
> and perhaps even opting of home birth of new children. Then maybe the
> whole family begins wishing dad would stay home, too. So the whole
> family begins exploring ideas for home businesses in which each person
> has a role. Maybe the family even opts to begin gathering with other
> Christians in a house church.
>
> As we see other homeschool families take increasingly counter-cultural
> steps, we become frightened, and at some point draw a line in our
> hearts, saying, I’ll never go that far.
>
> God is faithful to take us beyond what we thought possible, but it is a
> mistake to fear that He has us on some sort of “slippery slope.”
> Certainly we want to guard against eccentricity for its own sake. But
> the more in love with Jesus we are, the more abandoned we become in our
> commitment to yieldedness. The key is to position our hearts to be open
> to whatever He brings to us, with caution as the Bereans (Acts 17:10-11)
> who compared everything to scripture, but with open hearts to every new
> adventure He wants to lead us in.
>
> Never say “No” to God. Rather, may we all be willing to be taught and
> persuaded.
>
> I’m sure there are other mistakes we all make. Perhaps my list will
> prompt you to meditate on this question and the Lord will reveal unique
> pitfalls your household should avoid. May we all love and learn from His
> word, and be led by the Spirit in this pilgrimage, for Jesus’ pleasure &
> glory, and our families’ good.