"Don't you think you're robbing your kids being so involved in ministry?"
OR
"What about the fact you are homeschooling? How will they prepare for the 'real world?'"
I find it amusing listening as I let people explain themselves. It's usually comes down to,
"All that time you spend doing "ministry things" you could be pouring into your children. You're robbing them in order to minister to others. Isn't your family your first ministry?"
So are you saying, the best way to raise my children is to give them all my attention every waking moment of every day?
And what do you mean by "attention"?
Should I sit with them in the home all day every day?
OR should I be sending them to a school for 8+ hours a day 5/7 days a week? Is that the "best way" to raise them?!?
How do you walk your kids through scenarios to teach them things?
I mean you have to teach them to be hard workers, to look outside of themselves, to be respectful, to be responsible, to be able to deal with things like finances, sin, evil people, pressures of life and such right?!?
WHAT BETTER PLACE TO TEACH ALL THESE THINGS THEN IN A LIFE OF MINISTRY?!?
My husband and I knew before we even birthed our first children we wanted to raise them in a life of ministry. We knew our kids would serve along side us in everything we do. We knew we were called to full time ministry, so therefore, God must have called our children to full time ministry as well. God has given us so much insight and ideas on how to get them involved and how to teach them valuable life skills along the way. Hands on, side-by-side with us, experiences they wouldn't get other wise.
My children aren't easily swayed by "peer pressure" because they KNOW what's right. They've seen their mom and dad stand up for the truth, say what they believe and then live it out. They've seen the Lord come through in countless situations when we've all hit the ground on our knees asking the Lord for His guidance or provision.
Giving our kids a heart for evangelism and having been raised with parents that teach and lead worship at homeless shelters and out in public parks or at churches across the states prepares them to be fearless public speakers and a proper view of what the "real world" is actually like.
Having a heart for missions and going on missions trips and praying for and raising funds for missions around the world exposes our children to more culture then most get in public schools as ecumenical as they want to try to be.
There are so many possibilities within homeschooling and ministry to teach your children and prepare them for the "real world". It starts at home with chores and responsibilities. It then builds to going to church and having them help with set up or tear down or cleaning up after an event. It leads to them getting a job once they reach the age of working and teaching them to pay bills (gas, car insurance, cell phone). Showing them how to provide for not only their own needs, but the needs of others as well.
When Alex and I do have a prayer meeting or something they can't participate in, they get to learn that life's NOT ALL ABOUT THEM!
Imagine that!
They AREN'T ALWAYS the center of attention! They actually have to entertain THEMSELVES sometimes. Or learn that the needs of others comes before themselves. They learn how to sit in a different room while keeping their voices down. They learn some self control. They learn how to think about how their sitting quietly is enabling mom and dad to minister, which means that they are, in turn, joining in the work of the ministry themselves!
It's a beautiful thing though, really, when you think about it. My kids have so many questions and I get to answer them! We have such a deep relationship with them. One that's beyond just the average parent-child relationship. I believe that's because we're all growing closer to the Lord together, side-by-side, in the trenches of the Lord's work.
So I ask you again...
WHAT BETTER PLACE TO TEACH ALL THESE THINGS THEN IN A LIFE OF MINISTRY?!?
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