Sheltering them.

When we made the decision to home school, I will admit that it had very little to do with "sheltering them" from the world. But let me just say, that I am NOW, so very glad that I do home school so that I can shelter them from most dangers in the world.

There is so much in public schools that threaten the innocence of children. Technology, while it is a blessing, is also a great danger. Good parental values are diminishing. People are getting more and more lazy as parents, because now it requires A LOT more work! Yeah, things were simple when we were children, but they are not so simple anymore. I want to give my children the simple life that I was offered, and I can do that with home school. With public school I can't. There are too many influences in public school, even teachers can be a horrible influence. Children are not safe there, and I am not talking about crazy maniacs shooting up kindergarten classes.

When I was a teenager there were many things in the media, and in music, and in school, and right in my face as I walked around the mall or even at school, that encouraged me to be unchaste. If you consider me old fashioned and ridiculous for using that word, then you are welcome to stop reading now. But God does not change, the world does. I believe in God, and I believe in his plan of happiness and ALL that he says will make us feel happiness and joy. Anytime I slip away from the way the God wants us to live, or anyone close to me in my life slips away from it, I am a miserable person. Anytime I am engaged in His work and regularly learning about His gospel, I am happy and more kind and more productive. I know that chastity is among the greatest of God's commandments. That being said, amid all the temptations I had as a teen, I stayed clean, and it was not easy, it was hard.

I believe it is far worse now. I believe that just in the last 15 years, that virtue in the portrayals of the world pretty much does not exist. I am so worried for my children, for I believe that this is the biggest tool of the devil to thwart God's plan of happiness. Desensitization to violence is also a problem, but is it bigger? Not in my opinion. Rationalizing dishonesty and secret conspiracies is also a problem, but is it bigger? No. The devil knows the weakness of man, and he is jealous that he does not have a body and we do, so he wants us to misuse our body so that we cannot return to the presence of God and Jesus Christ. These messages and images are EVERYWHERE. Yes, even while I home school, my children will be exposed, I'm not turning Amish any time soon. But if they are in my home while they are young, my husband and I are the biggest influence on them, and we are observant of their actions and can teach them and talk to them MORE OFTEN than if they were going to a different school. Their foundation will be what they know from being in their home. Not from being in their home and also being at school, being shown things and told things all day long that they should not see nor hear as okay for them. My children will also be encouraged to play with their playmates in MY home and not at someone elses, unless I get to know their parents very well. Is this sheltering? NO. It is called being a responsible parent and trying to raise good, genuine, disciplined people. These people are successful in life.

If my children mess up, I will always love them and I will not judge them. They are human and humans make mistakes. But unchastity is like a poison. I feel some fear for them. I know of the joy that a fulfilling chaste life can bring. I want them to know that.

I will do everything in my power to protect my children from this poison and other poisons that the world offers. I will work extra hard, and I am glad that I home school because of it. This world is not anything like it was when I was younger, let alone when my mother and grandmother were young. It is full of mud and muck and misconceptions about life. I am so happy for the gospel and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints, which provides resources that help me to be a better mother. I am thankful for prayer and for the scriptures, which tell the true stories of ancient people who, when going against the commandments of God, suffered consequences which eventually obliterated them. I am grateful for these examples.