And truly the defender is you, parent.
Amy:You were the one who fiercely loves them the most.
Amy:Hi friends and welcome back.
Amy:We're going to continue our discussion of the "Top 10
Amy:Reasons Why You Can Homeschool."
Amy:Let's talk today about the safety of our children.
Amy:We absolutely want our children to be physically safe.
Amy:And children deserve to grow up in a fearless environment.
Amy:It is our job to keep them safe.
Amy:So they are cautious of strangers.
Amy:So they look both ways when they cross the street, but they don't need to know about
Amy:every danger that lurks around the corner.
Amy:As adults, it's our burden to bear.
Amy:We know about horrific things like child trafficking or the horrors of school
Amy:violence or severe bullying, but our children don't need to know about these
Amy:things yet because we don't want their little minds to be filled with worry.
Amy:School violence unfortunately is a factor in our world today.
Amy:Every school is now required to have a school crisis plan, and most have
Amy:children performing live crisis drills or active shooter drills many times a year.
Amy:This can produce great fear in our little ones, and I know for
Amy:me that I wanna protect them from those very, very sad realities.
Amy:Severe bullying is also a huge problem in schools today.
Amy:According to the CDC, about one in five high school students will
Amy:experience bullying on school property, and one in six high school students
Amy:will be electronically bullied.
Amy:Bullying victims are at least three times more likely than others to feel,
Amy:and I would say be unsafe, at school.
Amy:These statistics are so, so devastating, and even with schools
Amy:strong anti-bullying measures, bullying is still rampant in our schools.
Amy:Isaiah 1:17 says, "Learn to do right.
Amy:Seek justice, defend the oppressed.
Amy:And these poor children who are experiencing these terrible times
Amy:with bullying, my prayer for them is that they will have a defender and
Amy:truly the defender is you, parent.
Amy:You were the one who fiercely loves them the most.
Amy:So I would implore you that if your child is experiencing anything
Amy:like the offense of bullying, that you would pull them out of school.
Amy:And I know that that's a strong statement, but I don't believe that
Amy:things could get better because it is such a prevalent thing in our society.
Amy:You can't control the actions of another student or another parent,
Amy:but you can control your response.
Amy:Psalm 12:5 says, "'Because the poor are plundered and the needy grown,
Amy:I will now arise', says the Lord.
Amy:"I will protect them from those whom align them."
Amy:So know that, know that God is with you and he is here with you in this moment.
Amy:If this is a moment where you have to take that child out of school and begin
Amy:homeschooling, you can do that, and I talk about that in the first episode of
Amy:this series of Reasons You Can Homeschool.
Amy:We believe that we believe in you, that it's possible.
Amy:You don't have to have a plan yet.
Amy:You can take them out, you can read good books, spend time in nature together
Amy:before you form a formal plan, which we can help you with those things as well
Amy:when it comes to curriculum choices.
Amy:But, just do it.
Amy:2 Timothy 1:7 says, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one
Amy:of love and power and a sound mind."
Amy:This is a verse that's has been so important to me when I have had
Amy:experiences in my own life with family members that I am fearful.
Amy:But God didn't put a spirit of fear in me.
Amy:He gave me one of power and love and of a sound mind, and He wants us to keep our
Amy:eyes on him, cast all our anxiety on Him because He cares for you, 1 Peter 5:7.
Amy:There's another thing that I wanna touch on about the safety of our children.
Amy:Unfortunately, in several states, schools are allowed to keep medical
Amy:or psychological health, mental health information from parents.
Amy:These decisions such as gender health decisions and wellbeing decisions
Amy:are being called into question.
Amy:Schools are now legally allowed to keep information from parents.
Amy:This is happening in states like Michigan, Minnesota,
Amy:California, and I'm sure others.
Amy:And they're even allowed to withhold information such as a child changing
Amy:their gender identity or a child being administered those chemically
Amy:altering or sterilizing hormones.
Amy:They're allowed to do those things without parent knowledge.
Amy:So it's important to know the laws of your state and be open
Amy:and honest with your child.
Amy:And again, my, my plea would be to take them out of the government schools
Amy:that are trying to influence them with these unbiblical principles.
Amy:We are called to keep our children safe.
Amy:Psalm 82, the Psalmist wrote, "Defend the weak in the fatherless.
Amy:Uphold the cause of the poor in the oppressed.
Amy:Rescue the weak in the needy, deliver them from the hand of the wicked."
Amy:And Jesus said in Matthew 19, "Let the little children come to me.
Amy:Do not hinder them for the kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these."
Amy:Our children deserve to be morally safe in our corrupt society, and they're being
Amy:pulled every which way from our societal norms and in the government schools.
Amy:There are many things taught today that I can't align with and there are many things
Amy:that we can be proud of as Christians.
Amy:and say in a loving way that we believe in biblical marriage and we
Amy:believe that God made us as individuals and our individuality matters.
Amy:There are many different cultural phenomenons entering and infiltrating
Amy:the schools today, and we can protect them from those things.
Amy:The schools are making a step forward, and this is not new in the educational
Amy:system, but they're taking these steps forward to define groups of people.
Amy:Whether it's via race lines, gender lines, socioeconomic lines, parent
Amy:versus child, but they're seeking to create equity, equal outcomes
Amy:rather than equal opportunities.
Amy:And for many children, I would argue most or if not all children, this
Amy:is gonna be to their detriment.
Amy:But Revelation 7:9-10 can be our battle cry.
Amy:It can be our reminder that we were not made for this world.
Amy:"After this, I looked and behold a great multitude that no one could
Amy:number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages.
Amy:Standing before the throne and before the lamb clothed in white robes
Amy:with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice.
Amy:Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the lamb."
Amy:So all of us will be glorifying God together if you are in Him.
Amy:Our society says those things aren't possible without huge government
Amy:programs or one group incessantly, never endingly apologizing to another group
Amy:through silence or through monetary means, but these things are simply
Amy:not true and we have to command that.
Amy:We have to say it out loud for our children to be protected from these
Amy:mentalities so children can live proudly in Christ and they can live
Amy:in love and grow and listen and be taught as the children that they are.
Amy:"Let the little children come to me," said our Lord and Savior.
Amy:He wants our children to live freely to be physically safe, but also to
Amy:be morally safe from these traps that unfortunately the government
Amy:school system is teaching them.
Amy:And you can go to episode three to hear more about the history of the public
Amy:schools, but they are not for us.
Amy:They are not culturally or spiritually or religiously or morally what we espouse
Amy:and what we want our children to learn.
Amy:So if your children are there, I do wanna encourage you to be brave and to see
Amy:where do I want my child here at the end when all nation's, tribes and tongues
Amy:are glorifying God before His throne.
Amy:I want my children to be influenced by the word of God and by me as the
Amy:parent, rather than the schools and what their desire and their influence.
Amy:So thanks for having that conversation with me today.
Amy:We will see you next time.