Public School

I am enjoying a blog by a woman named Teri Lynne Underwood. She loves Jesus, is a gifted writer and a public school mom! Yippee! She wrote a great post last year about public school. Thought I would share it! Click here!

Dan and I have prayed about our decision to CHOOSE public school and we are SO thankful that our boys are getting a good education and seeing what breaks God's heart, lost souls!

Our youngest son is attending a local public school. There are lots of Christian families in our neighborhood that are living here for ministry. Many of them have chosen that school for their children. It is an ideal of holistic ministry. I love that the school is being support by prayer. I have been helping in a 5th grade classroom. One of my neighbor kids is struggling with her reading. Her teacher, Ms. K., is a believer and a wonderful teacher. She wrote a diary, Diary of a 5th Grade Teacher, about her winter break. All of her students had a chance to read it. My little neighbor friend and I read part of it together. In it she talked about the true meaning of Christmas. I thought it was a great way to be a witness to her students.

Our two older boys are attending a charter school with an interesting twist! They are on location M-W and Th-F they are home working online. I enjoy that they are home two days and that I am more involved in their education. At the same time they are still in public school. My oldest son has an interesting group of peers which include a Muslim, a Jew, a Buddhist and an atheist. It has lead to many conversations about faith and the Bible. The atheist has been very antagonistic but we have been praying for him and reminding our son of James 1:2-3:

"Consider it pure JOY, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance..."

I pray over my boys daily. I pray specifically that God would give them a filter for their minds, that they would see what breaks God's heart and they would be protected from the lies of the evil one.

God has placed us in a wonderful church. Approximately 80% of the families in our church use public school, including our Senior Pastor. Matt and Erika feel it is important that their children be in public school since their lives could be so easily wrapped in a Christian bubble. They both volunteer and have gotten to know many families in their community. Despite the call to Shepherd a flock they actively seek to be amongst non-Christians. They are a wonderful example! I am SO thankful.

I attended a Christian school from K-12 and there were definitely bad influences (sex, drugs and drinking, yep, it was all there!). I know a personal story of a young man who was home schooled and ended up finding pornography on the internet. He was not influenced by any outside source he just was curious and googled "pornography" one day, at age 13. Satan's influence and lies can reach our children anywhere. So whatever the choice of schooling it is SO important to be praying over our children.