Wanna Be a Steader!

The Call of Educate for Eternity

Psalm 78:5-7 -- He decreed statutes...He commanded our forefathers to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.  That they would put their trust in God and would not forget His deeds but would keep His commands."

Part of what I do as a co-ordinator is help new homeschool parents get started in the adventure of educating their children at home.  To me, this is the best part of the job description!  In the process of talking with these parents, usually the moms, I get to know them a little; I learn what brought them to the decision to homeschool.

Honestly, I am most encouraged by those who have prayed, read books, read magazines, asked dozens of questions and have come to the conclusion that it is God's call.  It has been my experience that these are the people who will go for the long haul.

I beleive that the homeschool "movement" is a revival!  We are picking up the baton of godly education that those before us dropped.  And when the baton was dropped in this country (in the 1850s when the first Government-funded public schools opened their doors) it slowly started to roll...away.  It  picked up speed in the 1960s when prayer was taken out of public schools, a little faster in the 1970s when authority was taken away from teachers and principals to discipline students.  And faster and faster through to the 1990s and the beginning of the twenty-first century when immorality and violence have become so rampant in our public schools that parents must wonder if they will ever see their children again after they walk out the front door to school.

Safety is a big issue, to be sure.  But the bigger issue for us should be to raise children who will be effective adults for the Lord...Not homeschooling for the sake of homeschooling, not homeschooling so that they will be geniuses, not even for their safety.  But that they will be those "first fruits" in a new generation of godly leadership...the first of several godly generations should the Lord tarry.  Most of all, we homeschool so that our children will live a love relationship with Christ begun in a life-style of faith.

As the school year begins (for most of us) and we leave the lazy, hazy days of Summer, I hope you will review the reason why you homeschool.  I hope that it begins with The Call.

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><