Jesus loves me, this I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong,
They are weak, but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus love me.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
The Bible tells me so.
On Friday while riding in the car, Tyler & Samantha started singing this song together. Is there anything better than hearing these words from the mouths of your children? I think not. Of all the things I would like to teach my children is this simple truth: Jesus loves them.
Which is the answer to this question I'm frequently asked: why we send our children to private school?The schools in our area are good, so why do I pay for my children to go to school? Our children go to a Christian school, where they have chapel once a week, they have a Religion class & pray throughout their school day. Biblical principles are as much a part of their day as learning math, history & science.
The reason we have the kids in private school is first & foremost for their spiritual health. Knowing Christ as their personal Savior God is the most important thing in their life. Period. Statistically, most people come to know Christ as teenagers or sooner. It's much less likely after that time, so we feel it's important to invest in this part of their lives as much as possible while they're young. We take them to church every Sunday, are part of a family small group & live out our faith at home. A Christian school is part of this for our family. We do everything we can to encourage their spiritual growth. Someday they will challenge what they have learned, but we want them to have a firm foundation in Christ before that day comes. Honestly, affording private school is a struggle, but we work it into our budget and give up other things. If there comes a day where we can no longer do private school then I will home school our children. Currently I just don't feel that I am the best person to school my children so private school is our choice (frankly, I think Joel would be a better teacher for our children than I am!).
This quote from Beliefnet.com (Rod Dreher) says it very well when he was asked "What are you afraid of?": My children losing God, especially before they have a firm hold on Him, that's what. At some point they will question the existence of God. I did. It's normal to do so. I want more than anything else I want for my children, even their own happiness in this life, for them to believe in God, Who is their salvation. If you believe in God, and that the loss of God is the worst thing that can happen to a person, then you would sooner give your child a rattlesnake to play with than expose him or her at an early age to the work of [someone] who openly says he wishes to destroy God in the minds of his audience.
I don't feel that public school is bad. But I will say that I can tell a difference in attitude in some of our kids' friends that go to public school. Their friends that go to public school seem to be into things that I feel are too old for their age. Private school seems to keep them into things that are more age-appropriate. I feel that kids nowadays are being exposed to too much too early & are growing up too fast. They have plenty of time to battle with the evils of this world when I feels they are better equipped to deal with it.
So, for those of you who have wondered why we have made the decision we have, there you go.
