Think no more about it! Today is another day!!Major
I did take it personally because when I was sharing it was personal - what I was discussing and sharing.
I'm not mad. Just took it was a oh don't do that, just remember...
Trust me I have had a ton of experiences chasing, running after the next experience in Pentecostal Oneness I never want to go back. Ever. Done. Repented and never to return. Wasted SO much time.
I took it as somehow you thought I was doing that. I knew I wasn't. I'm sorry if I have offended you in any way. I wanted to withdraw so that I didn't make more of a mess nor react in sin.
Yes sharing is difficult for me. I have had people gain up on me, criticize me, judge me and so forth. I just thought somehow I was being judged for something I didn't do.
Please forgive me. I forgive you. I pray that this will only change us more and contiune go operate wisely, gently and in love.
Again i apologize truly.
Warmly in Christ, TiC
Study, Apply and Transform
- Thread starter TransformedinChrist
- Start date
Think no more about it! Today is another day!!
Thank you Major. Thank you for your kindness, forgiveness and grace. Thank you. I am sending you a hug across the way.
I'm not interested in marrying, having a husband or children I think if you are though you have additional responsibilities, but if you can't stay at home because you are in debt and need to pay off the house, you need to get boarders in or something.
If you can survive on one income great but not many can actually do that these days. Women languish at home when men can't afford to maintain them. These days both men and women can own property, I think back in the day women weren't allowed.
Widows seemed totally helpless like they couldn't do anything without their husbands and they were very difficult and wouldn't accept help a lot of the time, plus their children might have grown up and left home at some distance...however it is up to the children a lot of the time to look after their parents in their old age. Its just rather unfair for them if their parents dies when they are really young and they can't find a job to bring income to pay bills to keep the household running.
I recall the poet Sylvia Plaths' dad died when she was 10 I think and then she actually forbade her mum from remarrying. Her mum worked super hard as a teacher to bring up her and her brother but pressured Sylvia to achieve well academically (since her mother was a teacher) but also at the same time marry well. But Sylvia didn't have much in common with the wealthy husband men material that was paraded and hinted she SHOULD marry. She was a poet and worked hard earning her own money. She was afraid if she married, she wouldn't have time to dedicate to her poetry, so she married another poet lol. But he abused her, got more famous than her (she supported his ambitions and did a lot of the legwork) and then had an affair and left her and two toddlers by herself while spoiling his lover with the money SHE was earning.
Sylvia didn't survive because she stopped believing in God after her father died (they were unitarians before that) although she tried going to the Anglican church for her daughter for a bit. Its a tragic story. She ended her life.
I think Sylvia's mind was all or nothing, and she was very ambitious, but also wanted very much to be a mother and have 'the good life' but that didn't last for long. I'm not sure why as a poet she could have just written when the children were asleep which is what a lot of writers who are mothers do but maybe she just had to dedicate herself to it. I think you do need to sacrifice something when you have children at least for the time they are part of your household. Or you end up sacrificing your own children.
In todays world people can barely afford to look after themselves let alone other people, so am not sure how they really do it. eg your job isn't enough to pay rent, so you share with other people to pay rent but that also means you have to get along with other people...OR you stay at home forever and never leave. Which can be good because SOMEONE needs to stay at home and look after the house or you'll get squatters and raccoons..lol But then how do you pay the bills? So its a never ending cycle. Who can actually find a safe secure steady job in todays globalised world? There may be areas where the living is cheap and the life is good but there are very few places like that left, you can't just steal land from other people like people used to!
If you can survive on one income great but not many can actually do that these days. Women languish at home when men can't afford to maintain them. These days both men and women can own property, I think back in the day women weren't allowed.
Widows seemed totally helpless like they couldn't do anything without their husbands and they were very difficult and wouldn't accept help a lot of the time, plus their children might have grown up and left home at some distance...however it is up to the children a lot of the time to look after their parents in their old age. Its just rather unfair for them if their parents dies when they are really young and they can't find a job to bring income to pay bills to keep the household running.
I recall the poet Sylvia Plaths' dad died when she was 10 I think and then she actually forbade her mum from remarrying. Her mum worked super hard as a teacher to bring up her and her brother but pressured Sylvia to achieve well academically (since her mother was a teacher) but also at the same time marry well. But Sylvia didn't have much in common with the wealthy husband men material that was paraded and hinted she SHOULD marry. She was a poet and worked hard earning her own money. She was afraid if she married, she wouldn't have time to dedicate to her poetry, so she married another poet lol. But he abused her, got more famous than her (she supported his ambitions and did a lot of the legwork) and then had an affair and left her and two toddlers by herself while spoiling his lover with the money SHE was earning.
Sylvia didn't survive because she stopped believing in God after her father died (they were unitarians before that) although she tried going to the Anglican church for her daughter for a bit. Its a tragic story. She ended her life.
I think Sylvia's mind was all or nothing, and she was very ambitious, but also wanted very much to be a mother and have 'the good life' but that didn't last for long. I'm not sure why as a poet she could have just written when the children were asleep which is what a lot of writers who are mothers do but maybe she just had to dedicate herself to it. I think you do need to sacrifice something when you have children at least for the time they are part of your household. Or you end up sacrificing your own children.
In todays world people can barely afford to look after themselves let alone other people, so am not sure how they really do it. eg your job isn't enough to pay rent, so you share with other people to pay rent but that also means you have to get along with other people...OR you stay at home forever and never leave. Which can be good because SOMEONE needs to stay at home and look after the house or you'll get squatters and raccoons..lol But then how do you pay the bills? So its a never ending cycle. Who can actually find a safe secure steady job in todays globalised world? There may be areas where the living is cheap and the life is good but there are very few places like that left, you can't just steal land from other people like people used to!
I remember a book written by a woman called Mary Pride and it was about mothers staying at home at homeschooling their children.
I think if you choose to do that it can work but for a lot of mothers thats not really an option, or they tried and it didn't work. Their husband may have got laid off or sick, or even died, or conversely...they stayed at home and had 10 or more children...they just didn't stop having children and ended up exhausted by the end. One homseschool family I know had ten girls and just one boy. The husband still needed help though as he was getting old and couldn't handle a lot of the farm without volunteer wwoofers (unpaid workers!) and the wife, who was quite musical, was basically a teacher 5 days a week in their living room. Her youngest was 4 years old while her eldest was 20 something and also had got married and was now having children. Thankfully they had a big farm and ran a lot of stock but it was grazing and the husband had to go off every so often to buy cattle at the stockyard, and move them along (I don't know if he sent them to the abbattoir when they were fat enough or they homekilled them) .
The children did all have chores and did a lot of farm work (not sure if they got paid) but I wondered what if the children did NOT want to be farmers. Maybe they just got married and left home.
Its not too disimilar to the Patriarchs where Jacob had 2 wives, 2 handmaids and 12 girls and 1 boy. There would have been fighting and rivalry amongst the sister wives though. But see they had the entire Holy Land as their inheritance!
Today, you are not likely to have much land as your inheritance just small suburban section if you are lucky. You can't graze cattle on it. And a lot of it is infertile land that you can't grow anything on to make it profitable. What most people do is sell it up when the land value rises.
I think if you choose to do that it can work but for a lot of mothers thats not really an option, or they tried and it didn't work. Their husband may have got laid off or sick, or even died, or conversely...they stayed at home and had 10 or more children...they just didn't stop having children and ended up exhausted by the end. One homseschool family I know had ten girls and just one boy. The husband still needed help though as he was getting old and couldn't handle a lot of the farm without volunteer wwoofers (unpaid workers!) and the wife, who was quite musical, was basically a teacher 5 days a week in their living room. Her youngest was 4 years old while her eldest was 20 something and also had got married and was now having children. Thankfully they had a big farm and ran a lot of stock but it was grazing and the husband had to go off every so often to buy cattle at the stockyard, and move them along (I don't know if he sent them to the abbattoir when they were fat enough or they homekilled them) .
The children did all have chores and did a lot of farm work (not sure if they got paid) but I wondered what if the children did NOT want to be farmers. Maybe they just got married and left home.
Its not too disimilar to the Patriarchs where Jacob had 2 wives, 2 handmaids and 12 girls and 1 boy. There would have been fighting and rivalry amongst the sister wives though. But see they had the entire Holy Land as their inheritance!
Today, you are not likely to have much land as your inheritance just small suburban section if you are lucky. You can't graze cattle on it. And a lot of it is infertile land that you can't grow anything on to make it profitable. What most people do is sell it up when the land value rises.
I do think it can work in certain areas (homeschooling) but probably another option is to move from wherever your Sodom and Gomorrah is and find a functioning and thriving Christian community. But not close yourself off from everyone and become a cult like Gloriavale....
there are still christian schools and christian teachers in public schools. We live in tension..in the world but not of it. Remember God so loved the WORLD that he gave his only begotten son...
How can you be a witness to anyone else if you stay at home all the time and your daughters stay at home all the time? You are going to encounter people who don't believe as you do anytime you step out the door. What about church missions, do they spend ALL their time just homeschooling their own children? What about the children of unbelievers or those that don't have even have homes to homeschool their children? Refugees and migrants they are trying to reach? Their parents can't always homeschool them.
So I can understand why some parents choose to homeschool, though the reality is it won't work for everyone. Also seems to be on mums a lot with daughters but what about dads and sons. I think in an ideal world many mothers would love to homeschool but they need to know the material in order to teach it and be good teachers. Not all mothers make good teachers.
there are still christian schools and christian teachers in public schools. We live in tension..in the world but not of it. Remember God so loved the WORLD that he gave his only begotten son...
How can you be a witness to anyone else if you stay at home all the time and your daughters stay at home all the time? You are going to encounter people who don't believe as you do anytime you step out the door. What about church missions, do they spend ALL their time just homeschooling their own children? What about the children of unbelievers or those that don't have even have homes to homeschool their children? Refugees and migrants they are trying to reach? Their parents can't always homeschool them.
So I can understand why some parents choose to homeschool, though the reality is it won't work for everyone. Also seems to be on mums a lot with daughters but what about dads and sons. I think in an ideal world many mothers would love to homeschool but they need to know the material in order to teach it and be good teachers. Not all mothers make good teachers.
How can you be a witness to anyone else if you stay at home all the time and your daughters stay at home all the time?
*Our neighbors
*My PSWs that come in for care
*Patient Transfer when I go to appointments
*People in the hospital, nurses doctors patients
*Food bank when they go, when they get groceries and do errands.
*I serve online helping my church and Pastor to encourage both unbelievers and believers
*when we get items delivered to our home
God can use anyone, any time and anywhere. [His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts].
You are going to encounter people who don't believe as you do anytime you step out the door. What about church missions, do they spend ALL their time just homeschooling their own children? What about the children of unbelievers or those that don't have even have homes to homeschool their children? Refugees and migrants they are trying to reach? Their parents can't always homeschool them.
I'm just saying it's a spiritual battle. Yes sacrifice has to be made. If people want their kids to be indoctrinated by the satanic agenda and influence by demonic ideology it's GOING to happen. God specifically calls us out from it. That's where we need to TRUST God. Not lean on worldly wisdom. Without faith it's impossible to please God. I guess I am different. I am confident where God has us. My daughters are serving, they care for me daily. God calls us to be a Father to the fatherless, to tend to the widows, to look after the poor and needy. We make every opportunity to witness, when we are out and we see homeless people. We testify God's grace and salvation in Christ when we are in stores. We continually pray [God has called us to various ministries]. One may be in the mission field, another maybe your neighborhood. Our apartment [we witness ongoingly]. So I hope that answers your questions.
We are to witness not to fellowship with unbelievers [make time and plant sees but not to be intimate with them]. We aren't cult-like [we are very careful who we allow in, soberminded and always watching] Satan is like a roaring lion seeking who he may devour. When you depreciate how powerful Satan is, spiritual warfare and that he is the prince of this world [earth and air] you cannot afford to be blindsided. Some people give very little credit to the demonic forces that are at work and some give too much. Both are equally damaging to the believer. Just because someone says they are a Christian doesn't make it so. As we are tending to the last days the apostasy is rampant around the world. We need to be diligent and discerning to whom we fellowship with. Fruits of the Spirit, test the spirits and guide the Word daily, pray without ceasing. Apply the Word in your life.
You don't have to agree. Nothing says anyone has to agree. I just know from having my children. I would homeschool them. If people were wise, homeschool or yes a Christian school based on solid foundation of God's Word.
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hmm ok I'm not trying to argue with you, but there are lots of reasons why parents might homeschool but I just want to be sure that its not JUST for a religious reason (I want my children to never question or test MY faith/I want to indoctrinate my own children) because not just christian parents homeschool -- parents of all kinds of beliefs also do it.
I have encountered some homeschool parents, maybe not christians, who were absolute bullies, and they didn't really teach their children, they just made them work for for them all the time. Its fine if you have a family business and everyones all in, but some children have talents that are not going to be what their parents have experience in, and if their parents abusing them, they often are powerless to do anything about it, it's their parent right? Are parents always right about everything? Some religious parents go far and then claim they are God. And that is when it stops being homeschool and more like a home cult. Then thats when these homeschool parents wonder why their child rebels.
If you are grounded enough in your faith and your children apply it they know they will encounter teachers at school who don't necessarily believe in God and classmates who won't be christians but I suppose you would give them the tools to deal with that, school is where you learn to make friends and learn subjects other than what you could learn at home because it has all the facilities (hopefully) But there are lots of christian based schools here, even preschools.
I always went to a state (public) school, and where I live is actually a multi-cultural city, but the teaching is all in English medium (as it has been for I don't know how many years). There are now bilingual and full immersion Maori schools where the language is spoken and taught. Maori were not allowed to speak their own language for many years. I am glad those who are DO get to speak their mother tongue. I never spoke my mothers tongue, or learned it in school. Its chinese. I don't know how to read or write chinese because...it's not taught in NZ schools. And yes some of the curriculum was very 'British' I mean we always had to read Shakespeare EVERY year! I get that he's an English classic, but for most teenagers, Shakespearean drama was NOT what we really wanted to learn.
There was elements of faith to it I do remember we had Bibles in schools. Nobody was 'indoctrinated' . You could opt in or out. At high school there were christian students and they had prayer groups at lunchtimes. They were free to have fellowship. Also at university they had organised christian groups. They way christians reached out to their classmates was by inviting them to their youth group events.
Indoctrination actually only happens in Catholic schools where they teach their doctrines/catechisms and they teach religion, but they only teach their catholic Bible. Also if you aren't catholic, you can't take part in their mass, or even in some schools, set foot in their chapels.
I would say a lot of high schools are not particularly value based which is a shame, but they do want students to actually pass, gain qualifications, so they can have a job and contribute to 'society' I guess and learn how to read and write and converse and be successful or high achievers in their field while others schools state they want everyone to reach their 'full potential'. But there are definitely rules at school and discipline, for example, no drugs at school.
As far as I know, nobody taught witchcraft in high school, it was not actually a topic lol. We did learn about the witches reading Macbeth or The crucible, but nobody actually teaches you how to do witchcraft or satanism in school that I know of. Actually more of an influence than school on children, even more than their peers is tv.
I would say christianity is more 'caught' than 'taught' for children. Even when I was teaching Bibles in Schools, I was not teaching any church doctrines, we were learning Bible stories, memory verses, and how to pray. At the end everyone had a New Testament Bible to take home to read, but it was never forced on them to study or examined, you didn't have to do a book report on it and answer exam questions. It was meant to to be fun. It WAS fun. For some children it was the highlight of their week and all those who missed out because their parents didn't let them attend were sad.
We all had teachers that we liked and those we disliked at school. I can't say ALL my teachers were wonderful but they did the best they could. I can't recall if any taught me to be BAD and yes there were probably few gay or lesbian teachers and some who had questionable morals. But they weren't teaching me to follow their example. And we always questioned things, that was the way we learned, to take things with a grain of salt. Nobody believed in EVERYTHING a teacher told you. The point of learning was to be able to start learning for yourself on your own so that you no longer needed to rely on a teacher.
All school teachers in nz need to be aware of child abuse and get police vetted etc. Its actually quite strict and if anyone violates a student or child you can be sure they will be dropped from teaching pretty quick. It's not like decades before when child abuse in schools was covered up and NOTHING was done about it. (Sometimes this happened even in christian schools, and often at boarding schools).
However am aware things are very different in the US. They also had racial segregation to deal with which was always tied up with politics. It's probably not a great learning environment when school is run by a govt thats incompetent or doesn't value education (or libraries!) . Here it's more like, some schools just don't have enough funding! There are no desks, and everyone is expected to learn in a big barn where it's noisy with 200 other kids - rather than any 'satanic' agenda. (But then, that's like some mega churches, so its all a bit same same') . Some children ABSOLUTELY benefit from learning more one on one, or being tutored rather than in a classroom environment of 20-30 other children. If you want your child to pick up your native tongue, and it's not taught in school then yes do teach them how to read and write in it. I am not knocking that if that is one of the reasons you homeschool.
I'd just say to parents, want your children not to be influenced by world? Throw away the tv! Put a no junk mail sign on your mailbox. Stop buying them junk food. Spend quality time with them. Don't get divorced - work on loving each other. If your child is making friends with classmates talk to their parents before setting up play dates. Read the Bible with them every night and bless them. And if your child IS enrolled in a state/secular school join the PTA or friends of the the school. Help them out. Volunteer to teach the Bible. (Many schools in NZ allow this -- its run by Church Education Commission get on the Board of Trustees if you can) Your Christian witness is needed!
I have encountered some homeschool parents, maybe not christians, who were absolute bullies, and they didn't really teach their children, they just made them work for for them all the time. Its fine if you have a family business and everyones all in, but some children have talents that are not going to be what their parents have experience in, and if their parents abusing them, they often are powerless to do anything about it, it's their parent right? Are parents always right about everything? Some religious parents go far and then claim they are God. And that is when it stops being homeschool and more like a home cult. Then thats when these homeschool parents wonder why their child rebels.
If you are grounded enough in your faith and your children apply it they know they will encounter teachers at school who don't necessarily believe in God and classmates who won't be christians but I suppose you would give them the tools to deal with that, school is where you learn to make friends and learn subjects other than what you could learn at home because it has all the facilities (hopefully) But there are lots of christian based schools here, even preschools.
I always went to a state (public) school, and where I live is actually a multi-cultural city, but the teaching is all in English medium (as it has been for I don't know how many years). There are now bilingual and full immersion Maori schools where the language is spoken and taught. Maori were not allowed to speak their own language for many years. I am glad those who are DO get to speak their mother tongue. I never spoke my mothers tongue, or learned it in school. Its chinese. I don't know how to read or write chinese because...it's not taught in NZ schools. And yes some of the curriculum was very 'British' I mean we always had to read Shakespeare EVERY year! I get that he's an English classic, but for most teenagers, Shakespearean drama was NOT what we really wanted to learn.
There was elements of faith to it I do remember we had Bibles in schools. Nobody was 'indoctrinated' . You could opt in or out. At high school there were christian students and they had prayer groups at lunchtimes. They were free to have fellowship. Also at university they had organised christian groups. They way christians reached out to their classmates was by inviting them to their youth group events.
Indoctrination actually only happens in Catholic schools where they teach their doctrines/catechisms and they teach religion, but they only teach their catholic Bible. Also if you aren't catholic, you can't take part in their mass, or even in some schools, set foot in their chapels.
I would say a lot of high schools are not particularly value based which is a shame, but they do want students to actually pass, gain qualifications, so they can have a job and contribute to 'society' I guess and learn how to read and write and converse and be successful or high achievers in their field while others schools state they want everyone to reach their 'full potential'. But there are definitely rules at school and discipline, for example, no drugs at school.
As far as I know, nobody taught witchcraft in high school, it was not actually a topic lol. We did learn about the witches reading Macbeth or The crucible, but nobody actually teaches you how to do witchcraft or satanism in school that I know of. Actually more of an influence than school on children, even more than their peers is tv.
I would say christianity is more 'caught' than 'taught' for children. Even when I was teaching Bibles in Schools, I was not teaching any church doctrines, we were learning Bible stories, memory verses, and how to pray. At the end everyone had a New Testament Bible to take home to read, but it was never forced on them to study or examined, you didn't have to do a book report on it and answer exam questions. It was meant to to be fun. It WAS fun. For some children it was the highlight of their week and all those who missed out because their parents didn't let them attend were sad.
We all had teachers that we liked and those we disliked at school. I can't say ALL my teachers were wonderful but they did the best they could. I can't recall if any taught me to be BAD and yes there were probably few gay or lesbian teachers and some who had questionable morals. But they weren't teaching me to follow their example. And we always questioned things, that was the way we learned, to take things with a grain of salt. Nobody believed in EVERYTHING a teacher told you. The point of learning was to be able to start learning for yourself on your own so that you no longer needed to rely on a teacher.
All school teachers in nz need to be aware of child abuse and get police vetted etc. Its actually quite strict and if anyone violates a student or child you can be sure they will be dropped from teaching pretty quick. It's not like decades before when child abuse in schools was covered up and NOTHING was done about it. (Sometimes this happened even in christian schools, and often at boarding schools).
However am aware things are very different in the US. They also had racial segregation to deal with which was always tied up with politics. It's probably not a great learning environment when school is run by a govt thats incompetent or doesn't value education (or libraries!) . Here it's more like, some schools just don't have enough funding! There are no desks, and everyone is expected to learn in a big barn where it's noisy with 200 other kids - rather than any 'satanic' agenda. (But then, that's like some mega churches, so its all a bit same same') . Some children ABSOLUTELY benefit from learning more one on one, or being tutored rather than in a classroom environment of 20-30 other children. If you want your child to pick up your native tongue, and it's not taught in school then yes do teach them how to read and write in it. I am not knocking that if that is one of the reasons you homeschool.
I'd just say to parents, want your children not to be influenced by world? Throw away the tv! Put a no junk mail sign on your mailbox. Stop buying them junk food. Spend quality time with them. Don't get divorced - work on loving each other. If your child is making friends with classmates talk to their parents before setting up play dates. Read the Bible with them every night and bless them. And if your child IS enrolled in a state/secular school join the PTA or friends of the the school. Help them out. Volunteer to teach the Bible. (Many schools in NZ allow this -- its run by Church Education Commission get on the Board of Trustees if you can) Your Christian witness is needed!
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One question..do homeschool parents ALSO do home church. Just wondering. Is the reason to shun all contact and fellowship with outside churches completely as well.
Because there is a home church movement (not just Bible studies and prayer groups in each others homes) though I'm not sure that many people just go to a home church just with their own family and nobody else that is not related by blood or marriage is allowed to come in. Or is this bordering on cult territory?
I mean Christians in China do it because they are allowed to gather ONLY in official state supported churches (and the CCP restricts or controls the doctrine being taught?) so it's kind of like the US where christians aren't allowed to go to state schools anymore?
So the Chinese christians just meet in each others homes and have to pretend they aren't worshipping just having a family get together. They call it the 'underground church'. But its not literally underground, though it sounds a bit similar to the 'underground railroad' in the US.
I don't know if its changed now but I remember one church member went to China on a missions trip and had to have code words for Jesus and God, because if he mentioned he was a Christian or talked about it, he would have been banned from entry or something. Bibles used to have to be smuggled into China, but now I notice English Bibles are actually printed in China, (its says on the publishers copyright page) so...??!?
Because there is a home church movement (not just Bible studies and prayer groups in each others homes) though I'm not sure that many people just go to a home church just with their own family and nobody else that is not related by blood or marriage is allowed to come in. Or is this bordering on cult territory?
I mean Christians in China do it because they are allowed to gather ONLY in official state supported churches (and the CCP restricts or controls the doctrine being taught?) so it's kind of like the US where christians aren't allowed to go to state schools anymore?
So the Chinese christians just meet in each others homes and have to pretend they aren't worshipping just having a family get together. They call it the 'underground church'. But its not literally underground, though it sounds a bit similar to the 'underground railroad' in the US.
I don't know if its changed now but I remember one church member went to China on a missions trip and had to have code words for Jesus and God, because if he mentioned he was a Christian or talked about it, he would have been banned from entry or something. Bibles used to have to be smuggled into China, but now I notice English Bibles are actually printed in China, (its says on the publishers copyright page) so...??!?