Thursday, August 18, 2016

The Backside of Public Schooling

My husband and I are starting to walk out the other side of a door called, "Parenting," and into a new room of life. Our last two children are in high school. Our oldest graduated from college. And as we look back, I'm very thankful we, as Christian parents, sent our children to public school.

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Before listing some of the benefits and blessings, let me say that there is no perfect school decision for every child or every family: home school, private school, public school--they all have their place. Let me also mention that we had the privilege of choosing our community. My husband commuted so we could live in a community that was small enough to be a part of, to influence as individuals and a family, and to fall in love with. Before they were even school-age, we chose our community based on the desire to put our children in public school with a purpose.

The Scriptural basis for our decision was Hebrews 5:12-14: For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

My husband, David, may have additional thoughts, but for my part, I wanted our children to learn the Word of God at home and have a place to practice, or apply it, in real life. I wanted them to face 5-year-old problems at a 5-year-old level: bullying, worldly influences, making friends, submitting to authority, learning life skills. In some situations/schools, that's not a wise choice. In our situation, it was a hard, but fabulous, experience. We cried with our children, problem-solved, and sent them back to school. We met with teachers, volunteered in the classroom, and got involved in the parent-teacher organization (see the page, "To Tango with a Teacher" on this site). As older parents, we help in specific pockets of interest, show up at activities to cheer on students, and serve on the school board.

Here are a few blessings--some we intentionally worked and hoped for, others just happened:

- We shared Christ with teachers, staff and children for seventeen years (and counting). Our job isn't to convert anyone, it's simply to be a light and share the Light.

-  We love the people of our community. Ours is a diverse group of people where the majority is minorities. All of us are part of the whole. We have learned new cultures, new languages, and ways of looking at the world. We speak and think of our neighbors and community members with respect, admiration, love and fondness.We belong together. We live together. We raise children and serve our community together.

- Being in the schools gave us the privilege of being a "mom" and "dad" to kids and an open door of friendship with countless parents, teachers, administrators, and staff. As our children grow, our time of school life is quickly passing. We will still be spectators at events and volunteers in our community, but we will lose passport into the daily lives of students and their families.

- Our children have experienced life. The world doesn't revolve around them and they don't expect it to. They have seen, on a daily basis, students with special needs, language and learning disabilities, different values, more skill and abilities, and teachers/friends fighting cancer, losing loved ones, living through divorce, neglect, legal intervention and heartache. They have seen the danger of unhealthy relationships, the brevity of life, the stupidity of drugs, the drunkenness of fame.

- Our children have learned skills and experienced the passion of amazing teachers with different gifts and ways of looking at life.They studied under the literature Nazi, the calculus queen, and the drama guru. They found out they need 14 hugs a day to be strong, thriving children, marched in step and presented at state conventions. They earned respect, learned respect and grew to appreciate its power. They have been privileged to work with and be taught by talented, committed adults outside our family and church who challenged their character, future, and stretched them beyond what they thought was possible.

- Our children are more dependent on God than us. They were offered hash brownies in a back room, head-butted in the cafeteria, cat-called in the parking lot--and we, their parents, weren't there. But we talked about those things, we went to God in prayer for the things we knew and the things we didn't. In word and by example, we turned to God and leaned on Him. We taught them to look for ways to solve problems--asking God for wisdom. That does not mean we were always successful or they never made bad choices, but it was part of the learning process. Now that some of them are off and running, we are thankful for the training ground of life in the real world.

As our daughter left for college this morning, I called through her open window, "Trust the Lord!" David added, "And keep both hands on the wheel!" That's what they've learned: dependent responsibility.

The basis for parenting in a God-centered way is given in Deuteronomy--and it can be part of the public school choice for any Christian parent. Our culture continues to change, and we need make wise decisions, but always with God at the center. Regardless of your choice, it starts with you--the parent.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." (Deuteronomy 6:4-9, emphasis added)

Sunday, August 14, 2016

Worship Outside the Box

Life has been full this summer, but I am reminded this morning that, "Life is worship." If you define worship as specific activities, times or events, let me challenge you to look more broadly.

Jesus was defined by obedience and suffering (Heb. 2:10-18, 5:8), In and through all of life, He depended on His Heavenly Father. The gospels note nights spent in prayer, moments of prayer, teaching on prayer. Peter tells us that through the most excruciating time of His life, He depended on the Father (1 Peter 2:23). And God was pleased.

What if worship is not what we do, where we are, or when we are, but "how" we do the where, when and what? If that's true, calling a friend is worship; in an attitude of prayer, I can please God with my words and actions. Serving my family is worship; with prayer and a thankful heart, I can prepare meals, wash dishes and laundry, or clean the house as an act of worship. I can worship as I love my husband, read the newspaper, sort the mail, return emails and make appointments.



And when that is the case, when all of life is about pleasing the Lord, there's no pressure to perform--I'm accepted, loved, and forgiven--vanity is replaced with purpose; joy and contentment are constant companions. Yes, there's disappointment, sorrow, frustration, anger, and despair, but in and through it all, the God who provided salvation also provides grace. Grace for the moment.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:58)


Friday, July 8, 2016

A Life-Threatening Prayer

It was a beautiful country with military strength, political security, and financial wealth. Its leader was known for taking initiative, making visionary alliances, and building campaigns, but when the focus shifted from national concerns to religion there was only one acceptable answer. Those who served the Lord God, Yahweh, were were hunted down and killed. Many hid or fled the country altogether.

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All but one. He did not instigate a coup. He did not run for office. He did not slander or begin a mudslinging campaign. He prayed. He prayed; not for better choices, a repentant nation, or a return to the good ol' days. He prayed earnestly--earnestly--that it would not rain.

Earnestly. Not once. Not twice. Not with an agenda of his own or a desire for a better government. He prayed that it would not rain. What was he thinking? Perhaps his thoughts went like this:

No rain = no food. No food = no health. No health = no wealth. No food + no health + no wealth = Desperation. Brokenness. Death. Famine. Drought. Anger. Fear. Loss. Terror. Destruction. Need. Repentance. Turning from false gods to the One, True God. Dependence. Humility. Trust. Honor. God's name revered; His truth embraced.

That was Elijah's request--God's glory. Over and above all possible outcomes, Elijah's desire was that the name of God be known, respected, feared, and admired. He was not in it for his own comfort or convenience--he would suffer with the rest. He did not seek the "best" earthly candidate or global reputation. His future, his life, was caught up in God's. As a matter of fact, his life was under contract for years. He endured hardship, thirst, and hunger. He was fed by birds of prey and a foreign widow woman. How humiliating. And that's the beauty of Elijah's life and prayer. It wasn't about him. It wasn't about him at all.

As I think about Elijah's reaction to perhaps the most wicked leader in Israel's  history, I have been challenged. Am I willing to sacrifice my (unknown) future for God's glory? What would it cost me to pray that His will be done at the expense of our nation's reputation, glory, and power? What is paramount--God's name or my comfort? And the queasy, questioning part of my heart asks, "Is that really necessary? Have we really gone that far? Isn't there more to be done?" Perhaps, yes. But I am convicted that my heart is not yet in the right place. This is not about God striking our nation with lightning or destructive force in response to my prayer as much as it is a question to my heart about what I value most. Do I honestly love Jesus Christ and His glory more? More than _____ (fill in the blank).

This, then, is a most unpopular--and deadly--prayer request. Not one of judgment or malice, but with a face bent down, knees on the ground, heart broken--after having done all, said all, prayed all, lived all, for His name and reputation, not my own. So I ask, "Is there an authenticity in my life that leads me to seek God at the risk of everything?" Sola Scriptura, Soli Deo gloria, Solo Christo, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide.... (By Scripture alone, for the glory of God alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone.)

I hear, and my body trembles;
    my lips quiver at the sound;
rottenness enters into my bones;
    my legs tremble beneath me.
Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble
    to come upon people who invade us.

Though the fig tree should not blossom,
    nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
    and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
    and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
    I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength;
    he makes my feet like the deer's;
    he makes me tread on my high places. (Habakkuk 3:16-19)