(As always, please get permission to view if you are not an adult)

In case the video and article disappear, here is an excerpt from the news article, which you will find here: Girl Suspended for Taping Chaos in Classroom

“”People smoking marijuana in the classroom. They smoke cigarettes.” Arielle said. “There was one kid who peed in a bottle and threw it across the room.”"

Other accusations about the teacher/classroom unruliness made by her and other students are:

flipping lights to make a strobe light effect,
paper ball fights,
dancing,
and more, all with the teacher sitting in the back of the classroom watching.

Oh, and the clincher is that the girl who taped it on her cell phone was also suspended for video-taping without permission. She did it because it had already been reported, and she wanted to learn math.

Un-huh… no accountability there…

Reminds me of the time Amanda was home schooling “high school” and told me she never wanted to go to public school after looking through a friend’s Yearbook.

blessings and happy home schooling!

Subscribe to Walking Therein by Email

HT: Israel Wayne and Kris@Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers, via Twitter.

I am again deeply grieved by tragedy of a family I do not even know. I am not writing this to further cause any damage to this family. God help them. I cannot and do not ever want to experience what they are going through. Ever. I don’t want anyone ever to again.

I am pasting the entire report here, because I know how news links work, and this one will disappear if I just link to it. Here is the pertinent part of the report:

AUSTELL, Ga. — A teenager was decapitated by a roller coaster after he hopped a pair of fences and entered a restricted area Saturday at Six Flags Over Georgia, authorities said.

Six Flags officials are uncertain why 17-year-old Asia Leeshawn Ferguson of Springfield, South Carolina scaled two six-foot fences and passed signs that said the restricted area was both off-limits and dangerous to visitors, spokeswoman Hela Sheth said in a news release.

Authorities were investigating reports from witnesses who said the Ferguson jumped the fences to retrieve a hat he lost while riding the Batman roller coaster, said Cobb County police Sgt. Dana Pierce. Police have declined to release the teenager’s name until an autopsy is completed.

Six Flags said it closed the roller coaster after the Saturday afternoon accident out of respect for the Ferguson’s family.

I cried when Amanda told me of this report. This family will forever miss this boy. He is a son, probably a brother. A friend. A grandson. A young man who will never complete his purpose in life. I am greatly grieved.

And the question that comes to mind is this: Why don’t we follow the rules? The laws that are set before us?

I do not know if this child knew the Lord, but he was with a Baptist Church group. I hope he knew the Lord. I wish he had known to follow the rules.

In a written news release, the park’s public relations manager Hela Sheth said, “The areas where the individuals entered were clearly marked with signs that stated ‘Restricted area / Authorized personnel only’ and a sign on a locked gate that read: ‘Danger zone. Do not enter. Authorized personnel only.’”

I have heard before that, if we want to burn all of the books with stuff in it that children should not read, we should start with the Bible. It is true that it is full of sinfulness. Rape, war, murder all pervade its pages, from the beginning to end. And yet, it is the Book of Wisdom and Love and Salvation to all who read it and believe its message.

Just as we can learn God’s laws and truths from the sinful and tragic acts of those in the Bible, there are lessons in tragedies today. We have long-taught our children the verse, “Obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” I know many Sunday School lessons are taught from that verse, as well and parents who teach it to their children. But, let me tell you: that is not the end of the paragraph.

Ephesians 6
1Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;

3That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

4And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

I believe these verses are the base verses by which all other obedience flows throughout a person’s life. I believe that learning to obey your parents as the Lord would have you leads a child to desire obedience, and that is the blessing. Learning to obey your parents regardless of your own feelings or opinions or stature or even knowledge is a base to follow the rules and be safe and live a long life. It also sets our children on the path of obedience to a God who loves them and desires the best for their lives, but will not always tell them why or when.

Why do I think that? Because it says so. It says that this commandment comes with a promise. You Honor and obey your parents, you live long in the earth. We are stealing from our children if we do not teach them to obey in all things. If we allow them to disobey and manipulate and throw tantrums with no consequence, we are not allowing this promise of a long life and that it may be well with them to occur in their lives.

If you obey, you will be blessed. Period. You will live a long life on the earth. I believe it is God’s plan for children to live long on the earth. Unfortunately, this sinful world takes its toll on that plan. We must teach our children to be obedient for their own good.

Please do not misunderstand me. I am not talking about a mindless, fruitless, ignorant society of drones. I am talking about intelligent, wise and loving people working out their own salvation as the Lord leads them. You cannot say a parent is stupid to teach their child to listen. Even if you do not agree with their theology, a child must obey without a thought for the earliest years of their lives. Children do not understand dangers and consequences. They don’t know not to stick a toy or their finger in the light socket. They don’t know not to touch a stove. They do not know not to touch a candle wick or to stay out of the street or to not go into the horse stalls or to stay away from that dog. Or that stranger. Life is dangerous. This Obedience Rule is for their own protection. Like, the sign that told this young man to STAY OUT because it was a dangerous area. Sometimes our children pay with their lives because we do not teach them simple obedience.

Believe me, we have our fair share of pushing that disobedience here. Take, for example, Rachel leaving the goats outside, unattended, and one of them is in the road. Her disobedience could very well have caused them to be killed. And the person who may have hit them too. Or Caleb, who has been told not to feed LucyLillie, who still wants to give her food. His disobedience could cause her to choke on something and die. A few years ago, Matt and I were working out in the shop, and all of a sudden, I heard a huge crash. I ran into the house. Hannah was a little baby, just walking, and who knows what happened? I walked in to find the top of my hutch and many valuables broken in a big pile on the floor. Thank God no one was hurt, but, all I could do was melt down to the floor.

Silly girls, acting carelessly and foolishly, were running down the stairs, chasing each other and broke many valuable things from their early childhood, momentos from my mom and pieces of china. No death, but it was a horrible sight and consequence due to their foolishness and disobedience. I feel that we, as parents paid the price for not teaching our children to obey or teaching them in a wrong manner. I am still thankful that the heavy cabinet did not fall on my little girl. Thank you Lord for protecting her.

Which leads me to the next verse that is often overlooked: 4And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Fathers. This instruction is to FATHERS. I do not need to teach Fathers. Actually, if a Father will but read this verse, he will need no further instruction. It is very clear-cut. Mothers: we do need to know what frustrates our children. It is easy to provoke a child. It is easy to frustrate a child. Perhaps that is why the admonishment is there. I know for a fact that sons are a different world than daughters. Much more easily frustrated. So much more that that frustration, if caused by a father, it can easily lead to a rebellious spirit.

Mothers, being harsh with any of our children will lead to frustration, but a young man who is “turning the corner” to manhood will feel that feminist oppression that he should not have to feel, if you are not careful. Let us, instead, protect him from that spirit and not frustrate him or our daughters.

It is our job as parents to protect our children. It is not the government’s or the church’s. It is our job. As Believers, we must teach them to listen, obey and not live according to their flesh. They must learn self-control. I highly doubt that this young man would think that his hat was worth his life had he really thought about it. He did not understand that there are reasons for rules and consequences for disobedience.

Most times, the consequences in this world are not death, but this time it was. And in the end, when we stand before a Holy God (whether we believe we will or not), we will face the same judgment. Will it be that the consequence of our choices in this life will be death? Do we live following the rules? Do we even know God’s laws? Or are we relying on a preacher or priest to tell us what they are? Or worse yet, do we live as the goats do and break the rules at any chance, because, I mean, really, now, we are just exercising our “Christian Liberties”….

I have my usual word for that: hogwash.

I do understand that children grow up and make their own decisions. And, at that point, we may feel it is too late for our influences. If that is the case, then try anyway. Love them and teach them anyway. Draw them back to the Lord. You lost their heart somewhere, and you must draw it back. I am grieved for you if you are going through it. It hurts. It seems futile sometimes, but it is not. Stick it out and ask the Lord to change you.

I am deeply grieved for Mr. Ferguson’s family, his church, his friends. I am deeply grieved for the young man who went with him and witnessed the tragedy. I pray he can sleep at night and forget the picture in his mind of what he saw of his friend’s death.

Romans 6

22But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

As Believers, let us “have our fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life“, for the wages of sin is death.

Food for thought.

blessings!

Subscribe to Walking Therein by Email

Related Articles:

Children, Obey Your Parents, Even Your Heavenly Father

Sometimes Doing Good Is Still Disobedience

Shame and Discipline

*This post originally contained The Letter From A Christian Guy About Modesty. I posted the Letter separately, because it may not be appropriate for all eyes, ears or hearts. Guarding our children’s thought lives is important to me, so I wanted to make it one step harder for them to stumble upon it*

Ask my girls and you will find out that the topic of modesty is not just a fly-by-night issue with my heart, but it is near and dear. I was a very provocative teenager. I intended to be. Many girls -and women, for that matter, do intend to be – provocative.

Some young ladies who claim to be committed to the LORD intend to be noticed, and express it by their immodesty. The letter, Modesty: A letter from True Christian Guys is written with all of the reasons women need to understand about their indulgences in immodest clothing from a man’s point of view.
However, as very important as that is… we need to understand that, if this is so spiritually repulsive to men, then God ~ Jesus, well, need I say more? Do you want to have your Holy Saviour say the same words to you as this young man is? I don’t.

And, if I could add a few more thoughts, I would say to DADS – please do not say “I don’t care,” or “It’s none of my business what my daughter wears,” or “Oh, but isn’t she beautiful in that, though?” or “Well, she has to make those decisions herself now; she’s old enough.” OR-God forbid…”Her Mother will take care of that!”

Even if your daughter is old enough, she needs to know what you think – especially in the area of her Virtue. And, even if your wife doesn’t mind or even wants to take care of their modesty training, encourage them both anyway. Moms can talk all day about some things, and a lot of topics are well-received by daughters. I have found that, my daughters especially, as much as they try to receive the clothing issue in love from Mom, Dad has a grip on their hearts in this area that they want to be held by. I believe it is a man’s God-given authority and responsibility to help his daughter in this area, if it is an issue.

I have also found that clothing is an outward expression of the spirit. Is it an undeniable issue in today’s culture? yes. Is it a touchy issue? it can be. Is it a telling sign of rebellion or submission? I believe so. In boys or girls. This is why we must train our children from birth.
We must speak and act in a holy manner. Christians sometimes take liberties, because we do not look at them in a holy manner. We look at them through our own experiences and desires. Everything is a matter of worldliness and holiness. Everything.

Daughters… you should be willing to receive Dad’s and Mom’s instruction in every area of your life, whether it pertains to something personal or not. Just as the LORD’s ways are higher than ours, they have a larger understanding of the world and its insatiable desire to get you in its grips than you do.

Trust them; believe them; love God through them. Even if – or especially if- you think they are wrong. You need to make yourself do as they say, and do it with a love for God. The only way you can deny this rule is if they are causing you to sin. Having you wear clothing you don’t like (if you don’t like it) is not causing you to sin. Your reaction may be sinful, but that is your choice. Like I said: Trust them; believe them; love God through them.

You will be a better young lady for it, and you will thank them when you are married. You will rejoice and praise them when you stand before the throne of God.

Actually, the swimsuit question was rhetorical. I guessed that, after the Committed Christian Guy made several references to the effects of bare flesh on a male mind, it would mean that swimsuits, by nature, are immodest. And, I, personally, cannot understand the bare flesh leading to other thoughts to keep under subjection, because I have never really thought past the bare legs and chest associated with swimtrunks (though they leave little to wonder about!).

I do believe that modesty is not just being concerned with what someone else thinks. I believe God built each soul with a spirit that wants to be holy and flesh that wants to be, well, hellish. So, that is our decision… holy or hellish.

It’s funny that I just saw a program about this on PBS History Detectives last night after I had posted that entry. It spoke of how these little itty, bitty eyeglasses, with pictures on them, called stanhopes,coming out of Europe in the 1800’s with pictures of scantily-clad or nude women were banned in some countries. It brought up the subject of modesty and the question of why some nude pictures were immodest – or pornographic- and some were considered art. So, almost a century later, with the “free-to-be-me hippy era”, we had to make legislation for those who couldn’t discern it for themselves.

I think when morality and what is modest and what is not was actually legislated in the ’60’s or 70’s (which is not included in the program transcript for some reason), that was the point at which our (we, as a culture) idea of modesty changed. Even if it had changed before, we then had someone who had defined modesty for us, so, even if we felt that something was immodest, we had a law that said otherwise. The definition of modesty was, at that point, being legislated by men, instead of by convictions (from God or the Holy Spirit).

That is where the modest moral Christian today loses sight of what morality is – we let someone else define what modesty is or is not – usually culture, or Hollywood or our children’s friends… and we would rather go along for the ride, instead of thinking about it and seeking the Truth for ourselves (forget about taking a stand and establishing morality and holiness).

So, by definition of modesty… in the holy sense of the word, can a swimsuit, which bares all but… can it be modest? I don’t mean a comparatively modest swimsuit (one compared to the -I heard a description recently from a comic- 2 potato chips and a band-aid – swimsuits). After all, why compare an ideal like Holy Modesty with something of such a low standard on the modesty scale?

Matt loves to go to waterparks. I hate it. He loves the fun of the rides. I hate seeing it all. I hate my children seeing it all. My 14 year old daughter. My 11 year old son. My 8 year old daughter. Amanda, at 18, and Jocelyn, at 17, already have their minds set on the matter, and the thought of going to a flesh-fest just makes them cringe. Me too. In addition to the fact that I don’t want the Littles to grow up insensitive to it.

It is a balancing act in this world. We rarely take our children to the grocery store anymore in the summer for this very reason. Eric constantly averts his eyes to mine whenever someone with it all hanging out walks towards us. It is just the way it is, but do we have to partake of it? The balancing: we cannot step away from the world and people who need the Lord either. We cannot be prejudiced against them. We cannot feel superior to them. I am talking about protecting our children from sin. I am also talking about Mrs. So-n-so who wears a mini-skirt and low-cut blouse and sits in the front pew at church or teaches our children’s Sunday school class…

Lots to think about. Lots to consider. Lots to pray about. Tomorrow is June 1st!

blessings!

Subscribe to Walking Therein by Email

This article originally Posted HERE. Read the comments.

At this and on further discussion on addressing the thought, “they own your children, you know,” I disagreed. Not that the gov’t doesn’t think they own your children, but that they really are not “taking” the children, but rather, the parents are systematically giving up control of their children.

Unfortunately, Christians – parents and grandparents, pastors and churches, have already rolled over in their understanding of what is best for children. As I looked through the cbd homeschool catalog last night … trying to avoid being upset by the many absurd ‘Christianized’ worldly ideas, I could not stand it any longer when I found the book whose description said:

“no longer little girls, but not yet adolescents, young women between the ages of 8 and 12 now have their own fun-filled guide to … from family and friends to guys and God.”

Did you catch that? I about came unglued. YOUNG WOMEN?? HUH? This is a Christian author saying our eight and twelve-year-old girls are no longer little girls. They are now young women. Well, maybe in her world. Maybe in *the* world, but not our world. I don’t think we have a clear understanding as homeschool parents just how deep into the public mindset most Christian parents are. I think we think they think like us a lot of times because they are Christians, and they don’t.

It is no longer about keeping the ps out of control or taking control, it is about parents who have for many years chosen to give their children fully to the system. The whole shebang…the way the world dresses, dates, immunizes, teaches about sexuality, homosexuality, and the list goes on and on. I am not saying everyone should believe as I do… nor do I think everyone does. I just think that parents who grew up in the system who want their children in the system, be it for sports, academics, socialization, to be in clubs, to have friends, to be popular… whatever their reason… to be a light to a dark world…. I think they have been in it so long, they are now propagating it, and it is kind of like blaming the devil for everything to blame the pss in many cases.

A lot of times the christian parents have given up rights without considering consequences, and then the lawyers and those of us who have been telling them all along have to pick up the banner and fight for their children when they have not. There is something wrong with perspective here. The GOV knows what their goals are. The christian parents have not a clue… they are just going with the flow, calling us (homeschoolers) high-n-mighty.

Sorry for the rant. I think I am still upset about some moronic author assuming any 8yo child is ready to be a young woman and discuss guys. Hannie is going to be 8 next month, and she doesn’t even want to help Eric clean off the porch. Gimme a break.

This book, which I do not at all recommend is Between: A Girl’s Guide To Life by Vicki Courtney – and also… for “Teens” TeenVirtue2: A Teen’s Guide To Relationships. I just don’t think Christian parents today get it. They want the smart, sexy, popular kids who handle relationships and jobs and cars and cell phones who will still go to church on Sunday morning. They want the football star that everyone is cheering for. I don’t know if that is ok. I do know that it is a worldly desire and the same one that says that an eight year-old little girl is no longer a little girl, but a young woman ready to talk about guys. God help us, The Church.

I’m not saying don’t be proud of your children, but, c’mon. This is a testimony to the direction of the world that the church is steeped in. As Christians, we must be aware. We must wake up.

blessings!

Subscribe to Walking Therein by Email

PLEASE ask your parents if you are not sure you should be reading this!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A letter from True Christian Guys……

Girls,

Could we talk to you right out of our hearts for a few minutes?
It is awkward for us to talk about something of this nature, in person, so we thought we would write our feelings. We are young men who have been saved and filled with the Holy Spirit. We desperately want to live for Christ and not follow the ways of the world. Since we are indwelt with the “Holy” Spirit, we feel in our hearts that we should live “holy” lives. After all, our bodies are the temple, the sanctuary, the
place where the “Holy” Spirit lives and makes His home.

We know that guys and girls are affected differently, so since we desperately want to follow hard after God, could we kindly and respectfully ask you to help us with a few things?

We realize that girls are primarily stimulated or turned on by “touch.” But did you know that guys are turned on by “sight?” So when you are “aroused” (sexually awakened) by a guy’s “touch,” we are in the same way aroused by mere “sight.” Let us explain. When we see girls who are dressed in a suggestive, revealing, provocative, teasing, tantalizing manner, our sexual desires are aroused. Our bodies are then affected.

To be absolutely candid, let us give you some examples of what we are referring to:

If you are wearing a blouse that barely meets the waist of your slacks and some of your skin shows while you are moving around, or simply while you are walking, sitting, or kneeling, our minds are geared to wonder what more of your body would look like further up….This causes our bodies to respond biologically, and suddenly we are fighting a war in our minds and bodies. And that war of lust is continuing often long, even hours, after you are gone.

We (as christian men, who are trying to live a holy life) hate this, because our “righteous man” wants to think pure thoughts….

When you wear low-cut tops which are in any degree revealing, or when you bend over, and they are revealing, this again causes us big problems in the flesh. Or if the back is out of your top, we automatically think that you do not have the undergarment on, and the Spirit and the flesh begin to fight again. Or when we see any glimpse of your undergarments, such as straps and the like, we have trouble.What we are trying to say is this: If it is not for sale, don’t advertise it. We really feel that the still small voice of the Holy Spirit speaks to you and nudges you when it is too tight, too short, too low, or too revealing. Will you listen to that voice? For the Scripture says, “Quench not the Spirit.” (1 Thess. 5:19).

Girls, do you know what we would really like? We would like to come among our Christian sisters and not have to fight and struggle in the flesh. We do not need to have to wrestle in the flesh at church or at church activities. We men, whether young, old, single or married, are faced with this every day among girls of the “world.” But we would like to have rest in our Spirit man when we come among Christian girls. After all, doesn’t the Scripture tell us to “come out from among the world and be you separate, saith the Lord.” (2 Cor. 6:17) It also tells us that “all that is in the world, the lust of the eye, and the lust of the flesh, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” (1 John 2:15) We are the church, not the world.

We know that people often use the verse, “Man looketh on the outward appearance, but God looketh on the heart,” (1 Sam. 16:7) to condone anything they wish to wear. This is one of the most misused/used out-of-context verses in the Bible. Conversely, the fact is, if your heart is pure, your outward appearance will be modest….

Girls can be fashionable and modest at the same time. To be honest, we respect you more when your appearance is modest, as the Scripture commands in 1 Timothy 2:9. We really do not want the kind of girl who dresses provocatively, for we know that if we marry her, she will still be that way in the presence of other men once we are married.

We know that we have Christian responsibilities toward girls, too. We must be careful to portray ourselves properly. We must treat you like ladies. If we are really committed Christian guys, we will strive to treat you like Jesus would. After all, you are daughters of God.

Thank you, dear Christian sisters, for hearing our hearts on this subject. Once we have conveyed the truth of the matter to you, you become responsible before God for what you do with the truth. We really are “our brother’s keeper.” (Genesis 4:9.) We know that there is a “cult of conformity” in our generation, but we as Christians “march to the beat of a different drummer.”

Please, girls, do not say, “I don’t care,” but help us in these last days to live as close to Jesus as we can.

Thank you so much.
Sincerely,
“Committed Christian Guys”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

blessings!

Subscribe to Walking Therein by Email

 This post was originally posted HERE. Read the comments.

You can read my comments, as well as further discussion on Christian modesty: Summertime: Modesty and Swimsuits