Instilling a Desire to be Godly

Podcast available here

Before I start, I'm not condemning parents for not homeschooling. I understand that there are reasons it cannot be done. So, I ask that you read this objectively. I am detailing what I am doing to raise Godly children. Suggestions and feedback are welcome!

I have two young daughters. Lately, on the radio and on the podcasts to which I subscribe (thanks, AT, now I'm hooked! :P), many people are discussing the problem of purity among today's teens. It's downright scary.

We're homeschooling, and a big reason is so I can instill a desire to be Godly in my kids before I turn them loose in the real world. This is a battle we're fighting - not against other people, but against evil itself.

So, I hear about 7 year olds at "rainbow parties". They are sexual parties with such disgusting party games I won't go into them here. The name, however, is rather benign.
One of my wife's co-workers said that at his daughter's high school, they make fun of her because she's not bi-sexual. They tease her with the name "homophobe" because she won't try it.
My daughter's friends and cousins wear clothes that are shockingly revealing - even in pre-teen years.

Now, I wasn't the purest child on the block. But I don't want my kids to make the same mistakes I did. How can I raise my kids to be pure in an increasingly impure world? It appears that it's much tougher now than it was (dare I say) 20 years ago.

We get back to the homeschooling area. My oldest is seven (she'd want me to add "and a half"). People she knows who attend regular school are already familiar with terms such as "crack", "pot", "take a hit" and many sexual terms. And they're only seven or eight! I mean, I was a depraved person through my teenage years, but I knew very little about sex (except for 'the talk') until I was 12, and even less about drugs until I was about 15. And what my parents taught me about sex wasn't half as exciting as what my friends taught me! Hey - my friends had pictures! Woohoo!

So, in order to lay a foundation of faith upon which my kids can build their lives, my wife and I have chosen to control more of their lives through their formative years. We are told in Proverbs to "Train up a child in the way they should go, and when they are older, they will not depart from it". That is what we desire to do.

We know we can't protect our kids from the world, but we want to introduce them to the perils on God's terms, not the government's. Are they getting "socialization"? That depends on your definition of "socialize". They have many friends from both the homeschool and public school environments. They spend time at their friends' houses, and their friends spend time here. We are not isolating them from the world. But we are keeping them from the heat of battle until they are ready.

I pray that I can teach my kids to avoid the pitfalls I've encountered in my life. I pray that my girls will grow up for a love of Christ I didn't know until after my oldest was born. I believe that the only way to return this country to Christ is to teach the children.

Adios,
Clay

(äd-s) [Spanish adiós, probably translated from French à dieu. (I commend you) to God  : a, to (from Latin ad. See ad-) + Dieu, God (from Latin deus. See dyeu- in Indo-European Roots).]