Another Year......

Happy Memorial Day! Memorial Day is a very nostalgic day for me each year. Not for reasons you might think, though I do thank God for the soldiers who have died defending the freedoms we enjoy in our country. Even more importantly than that, however, I thank God for His Son that died to me free - and you free! The apostle John is chapter 8, verse36 "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." Those of us who have reconciled with God through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ are free indeed! We have freedom that the world can not give. Our freedoms in the United States are threatened every single day, both internally and externally - but, if we know Christ, we have true freedom. We have absolutely nothing to fear. The battle rages on for now, but the war is won!

No, my nostalgia comes because we spend Memorial Day weekend each year in Orlando and the annual Florida Parent Educator's Association Homeschool Convention. We gather together with approximately 10,000 other people who have chosen the education path we have chosen for our family. By no means does this group represent all of us, our movement is now almost 2 million strong and growing every year. We are the fastest growing Christian education movement in the world. This is my favorite weekend of the year. When I enter the Exhibit Hall each year on Thursday evening, I take a deep breath and I feel peace. Not the peace that the world gives, quite the contrary, I feel the peace that Jesus promised in the book of John.

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

It feels like home when I enter the presence of so many people who believe for their children, what we believe for ours. That we are part of something so much bigger than ourselves, so much bigger than "school." Our children are going to change the world, and God in all of His mercy and grace has allowed us, sinful, imperfect parents that we are, to be a part of it all. Alex and Brett Harris have now coined the term that our children use to refer to themselves and their peers. They are rebelutionaries. They are rebelling against the low expectations of our culture and they are making a difference. Alex and Brett are the twin sons of Gregg and Sono Harris. Gregg Harris is one of our "founding fathers" of modern homeschooling. Many call him THE "founding father" of the movement. He denies this, as any humble man would, and he credits the founding of the movement to men like Raymond Moore. Of course, Mr. Moore is also most certainly one of the early pioneers of the movement, but there is no denying that Gregg Harris is up there as well. He gave us the classic book, The Christian Homeschool, written in 1984, which explains the reasons behind the movement as well as the practicality of how it works in the day to day. Now, he has raised four children to adulthood and has three more left in the wings. Joshua Harris, now a homeschooing father and pastor, gave us the book I Kissed Dating Goodbye, which swept through the Christian community and changed the face of modern "dating." Joel Harris is a father and worship leader. Now Alex and Brett have founded The Rebelution, which is an organization that challenges teens to rebel against low expectations. To partner with their parents and their families and each other and grab hold of this world in which we find ourselves, in the name of Jesus Christ! It is exciting, it is life changing -- it is amazing how God is using two young men to jolt the youth of our country out of complacency. Their book Do Hard Things is already a best seller and their conferences are rallying thousands of teens and their parents around the battle cry of their generation. Do Hard Things! Make a difference in your community, in your city, and in the world! As Paul told Timothy, "do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in faith, hope, and purity." We have allowed complacency among America's youth for too long. They are capable and they are hungry to make a difference. Now they are in the process of gearing up and I believe that God is preparing them for amazing things!

This year at the convention, Gregg Harris was the keynote speaker. Every year before convention God always presents something in my life that I am wrestling with Him over. It never fails. And then, in all of His grace, He allows my heart to be encouraged by what I hear at convention. I knew this year before I ever left Naples that I would hear of persecution, both from within the Christian community and without. I knew that the crux of the messages I would receive at the various seminars would deal with how to handle it when others do not understand what we do. I was not disappointed. Every seminar I attended dealt with persecution in some way or another. Every one told me that I WOULD be attacked for daring to take a stand in our crooked and perverse generation. That when we decided to homeschool our children, we in fact, told the government, "they don't belong to you!" You can not have what belongs to God! Make no mistake, the enemy seethes when Christians make a difference. It is no problem for him when believers look like the world, they are making his job so much easier. They are showing the world that we are indeed the hypocrites they accuse us of being. But, when someone takes a stand. When believers step out of the cultural norm and raise their children to be what the Bible says they are "arrows in the hand of a warrior" then the enemy cringes. He is pushed back a step and he doesn't take that lying down! He knows he is defeated, but that does not stop him from fighting. He will fight until the very end, for the very reason that he knows his time is short.

I was encouraged this weekend. I was built up and I had a great "mountaintop experience." However, now, I have to keep fighting the good fight back in the trenches. Back at home where I am misunderstood by believers and unbelievers alike. At home where family and friends think that we are "too sheltering" or just plain crazy to want to be with our kids all the time. At home where our kids don't always behave like rebelutionaries - sometimes they act like just plain rebels! And so do I. I want to close with one statement that I don't think I will ever forget and that I think will keep me going in the hard times. Gregg Harris said this, "I will never be content to raise children who are smart enough to read about the great Reformers. My desire is to raise children who will BE great Reformers!"