Comments on: Sheltered?

By: susan

susan — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:46:03 +0000

Hmm - too European huh? Need to let them know there are some God-fearing, Christ followers in Europe. Some of them aren’t even American. It’s true!

And Thank Goodness we don’t have to worship our President as Father of our Faith. Trust in God, not man. I appreciate your views on this matter.

By: Racer

Racer — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 14:46:22 +0000

As a mom considering homeschooling next year (my girl is in 1st grade) it is a good reminder that ultimately, I have to be aware of the exposure of things I don’t believe in on either side.

By: Sabrina

Sabrina — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 12:10:14 +0000

I was homeschooled from 2nd grade through 12th. I am 28 years old now and would not give anything for my years at home with mom and dad teaching me right from wrong, along with math and science.

I think homeschooling is a calling. There’s this misconception that families that homeschool look down on other families that don’t. It’s not true. God called us to do it. We did, and we received the full benefits from it. Others attend various other schools and they are just as in the center of God’s will for their lives as we were.

Speaking of the “real world”, kids are smarter than you think. Homeschool kids see plenty of the real world, especially us PKs. We just learn to deal with it through our parents guidance. We were always able to get along with people very different from us, because we were rarely with people from our own “grade”.

Thanks for the post.

By: Shelley

Shelley — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:44:17 +0000

And Shaun, I was just curious about who made your denim jumper and what you paid for it. Ya know, were you a good steward of your money and thus bought it from a company that employs children who work under terrible conditions and get paid nothing, or did you buy a horribly expensive jumper made by American union laborers and thus waste money that could have been used to dig a well somewhere?

Just kidding, as you were the first person to get me to ponder such questions and wonder what the right answer is, but for real, I don’t ever wear a denim jumper and I have one in public school one in homeschool (for educational, not religious reasons) and one former public schooler now on the mission field, and I’m really glad to see in your pictures that you don’t wear a denim jumper either....that would be disturbing, on so many levels. LOL

By: Veretax

Veretax — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 12:02:45 +0000

Good post Shaun. My wife and I decided to in essence divorce ourselves from the usual Christmas craze. I’m tired of waking up at X AM in the morning, rush through opening present’s at her moms, then before we are done, get the nagging call from my mother wondering if we’ve left for her mothers. SO we wrap up as quickly as possible, enjoy nothing but a quick breakfast, and off we go to grandmas, and do what? sit there waiting for the rest of the family to show up, who then when it comes time to exchange gifts are so loud that I end up with more of a headache than a joy.

As I often tell my wife, I’m not buying the store it up for Christmas routine. If its in my power to do good or give a gift to someone that they can use now, I see no reason to wait until Christmas.

(We did the same thing for thanksgiving this year, and it was the BEST thanksgiving I’ve had since I was in secondary school. Stress Free Hallelujah!)

By: Stretch Mark Mama

Stretch Mark Mama — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 06:21:19 +0000

Okay! The key words are not just “denim jumper.” They’re “denim jumper” AND “barrette.”

AND the secret handshake!

We homeschool and recently moved from the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest—boringly enough—the evangelicals in those two regions are NOT one and the same. I have a number of Christian friends who voted for (!!!) Obama. So the alarmist thing is kinda shocking to me now.

LOL, prom and organized sports.

By: kim

kim — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 02:49:45 +0000

ohhhh..... I completely get this. Our kids have been attending a Christian school, and while I’m extremely grateful we are a part of this school, I do find it tricky to explain to my 10 year old how & why we don’t necessarily agree with the alarmist stream within the Christian community. Some of the alarmists have even stopped wearing the denim jumpers and are opting for, like, normal clothes. So now it’s harder to identify them. Until about 3 words into a conversation during a presidential campaign.

Thanks for this post.

By: Karen Hokanson

Karen Hokanson — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 02:00:17 +0000

I’m a lurker, but amen and amen. In our attempts to “control our outcome”, we diminish the power of Jesus to do what He does best! LOVE! God has already won the battle, despite our misguided attempts to help Him!

Karen in CA

By: Texas in Africa

Texas in Africa — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:30:42 +0000

Wow. Glad kids out there are learning that their faith should always be dependent on what the Wal-Mart checker says to them when they’re buying sweatshop-produced t-shirts and a box of kleenex.

I’m not a fan of homeschooling, but respect each family’s right to make that decision for themselves. I’m glad that my parents sent us to public school for the express purpose that we would learn to get along with people who are very different from us. It’s a skill that has served me well in life.

By: Shelley

Shelley — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:09:16 +0000

Gee and I always thought the word holidays came from Holy Days. I posted on my blog recently about how I wish Merry Christmas was not in store advertisements. I really don’t think shopping and Christmas need to be associated with each other.

If Christianity becomes suppressed under the new politics it might be just what we need to light a fire under our butts to get out there and love people. I have sent Bibles to Russia because they let people who visit their schools hand them out and yet Bibles are no longer welcome in most American schools, go figure.