One Closing Thought…

I was talking to a precious friend late last evening as I drove to pick up Dw and the kids.  It was such a blessing to have a good heart-to-heart with my friend {I was so thankful she picked up the phone.}

One of the things we were talking about was how the whole “homier than thou” thing really goes across the board, doesn’t it?

Obviously, there are some “non-negotiables” that are clearly stated in God’s word.  But I’m not talking about the non-negotiables here.

I’m talking about the personal decisions that we have to make daily for our family and those we love.

Over the last almost 24 years of home schooling I’ve pretty much heard it all about the types of schooling people choose for their family.  What we have to remember is that just like the box of crayons, there is nothing “homier than thou” about how we educate our kids: from online courses at home to public school to private school to writing a elaborate customized curriculum for our own home school.  It’s a personal decision between us and God, and whatever conclusion is reached, it has been decided with a lot of factors that none of us have a right to ‘weigh-in on’ {unless asked}.

And in the last 30 years of raising kids I’ve pretty much heard it all there, too. Trust me,  there is nothing “homier than thou” about the way some one gave birth {with a midwife in the woods or a state of the art hospital and everything in between}.   All are very personal decisions and in the end, the only thing that really matters is our children’s heart.

My prayer is that each of us remember that we are all just wretched sinners saved by God’s amazing grace.  Which, that same grace that He offers so generously {and we so desperately need!} is to be freely distributed to those around us – just like we would desire that each would do for us.

His plan is good, His plan is as individual as each of us and our obedience to Him and His Holy word is really, truly, all that matters.

 

15 thoughts on “One Closing Thought…

  1. Thank you for your wise words, Linny.

    I have encountered the "homier than thou" in student ministry, as well: kids would try to out-do each other in their stories of the horrible things God has saved them from. We finally had to put an end to it by telling them that whether they grew up with a prostitute mother living on the streets, or in a house populated by butterflies and candy, what matters in the end is their heart belonging to Jesus TODAY…
    ~Katie

  2. I love that God KNEW every choice we would make for our children, and in His all-knowing wisdom He chose me to parent and make choices for each of my children, and you to parent yours, and so on, because He knows exactly what each of them needs. I Love that He is such an individually leading God!! But I also see and understand how natural it is to be deceived into thinking our right choices are the only right choices. He is such a cunning enemy to whisper those lies into our hearts. It's not a false battle. I love your honest and wise perspective Linny

  3. Does this mean that I don't get to "brag" about giving birth to my 12 pound son at home anymore??? LOL Actually, people always ask me if I meant to have him at home and I say yes, but I don't recommend it! Had I known he was going to be 12 pounds, I definitely would NOT have had a home birth. However, for many it is a beautiful experience. SO, I am with you! I've had 2 at the hospital, 1 at home, and 2 from China. Mine used to beg me to homeschool, but I didn't do it. Now, I tell my oldest if he doesn't straighten up, I will quit my job and homeschool him, BUT I can't…so he probably knows I'm bluffing.
    Everyone has to choose for their own families and we should never judge others' decisions…it's not our job.
    R

  4. I have loved these last 2 posts. It's so easy to get wrapped up in a game of comparisons- what if I don't do such and such right because I didn't do it the same way that everyone else did? Soo good to be reminded that God doesn't call us all to the same thing. Plus…if we were all alike, how boring would that be?! 🙂 Thanks Linny!

    P.S. When do we get to see pictures of this wonderful new house?

  5. Grace! That's what God has chosen to *teach* to me this year. Just last night, as I again needed to reach out to His grace, I understood why the song is titled "AMAZING Grace". No mistake there. The grace I need truly is amazing. What a wretch I am, delivered only by a grace I cannot fully comprehend but am willing to embrace. My hope is to really understand how this looks passed on to our children without being wishy-washy parenting.
    In His Grace,
    Maureen

  6. Thanks for the post Linny!! I'd like to put these two posts of yours in pamphlet form and hand it out… It's only grace, only grace, only grace that saves us and MAKES us His children. NOT grace plus_____ … (fill in the blank!) It's so unkind, so lacking compassion when God's people take on prideful attitudes..

    Lorisa in greeley

  7. So I have just spent about a week reading through your blog, and as you can see I haven't made quite made it to the present day! But I just had to respond after reading these last two posts. 🙂 They resonated with me so very much. I am expecting our 2nd child, we lost the first through miscarriage, so this will be my first to hold and the first that people are 'chiming in' about. The current question everyone is asking is 'will you find out if they're a boy or a girl?'. Well, I am completely undecided! I was talking this over with a lady at church last week and she said 'welcome to the Mommy Camps!'. She elaborated by saying that from now on, EVERY decision I make will firmly place me into a particular 'camp' and that everyone will have an opinion about it. Whilst I am used to people having opinions (I have plenty myself!) and understand that most of the time it's just that people want to feel involved, it makes me so very sad that by feeling one way about even a tiny part of motherhood, I will apparently make others feel judged and be judged by others.

    So I am holding fast to the picture that my mother has told me many times over – If we see each family is a tree, then the roots and start of the trunk are those certain fundamentals of living in the Word, but after that the tree grows with different branches, different leaves, different bark etc. They look different and each one is unique. We Christian families do NOT look the same. We are NOT homogenous. And that is the way we have been specially created to be! And if the Word does not address it specifically, then it is our own conscience before the Almighty God that matters, not other opinions on the christian way to educate, sleep, eat etc.

    So, thank you for these posts. I feel that I was led to them right when I needed them, to be reminded of my mother's wisdom and to be encouraged by yours.

    Abigail

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