Comments on: Let the chips fall

By: Amy

Amy — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 20:35:51 +0000

Jul–A full picture is on the About page.

By: Parenting With Purpose

Parenting With Purpose — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 03:50:32 +0000

Falling Chips, A.A. The Presbyterian Controversy

Let the Chips Fall

By: Jul

Jul — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 00:58:30 +0000

Great post. I linked to it today.
… my main struggle with all of this is looking at your pictures. I just feel like something is missing.
My husband has suggested that I either draw, or find on the internet what the other half MIGHT look like, then maybe we could have a vote to see what most people think the other half looks like.
—Well, the half showing is beautiful!
Blessings, Jul

By: Lisa

Lisa — Mon, 26 Sep 2005 18:42:36 +0000

Thank you for your insight on a sticky subject. Another reason that I am so happy to have a link to your blog from my new blog!

By: martha

martha — Sun, 25 Sep 2005 13:22:47 +0000

thank you just me for being concise (not my ability–fortunately my husband’s). i think you got to the root of what i saw the problem to be. i don’t write to blogs often b/c i think i add more confusion than clarity. i need my friends to help me fine tune my ideas and keep me on track and off all the rabbit trails. thanks, martha

By: justme

justme — Sun, 25 Sep 2005 00:45:11 +0000

Okay, I think the confusion comes in this way….

KSMilkmaid states that people become offended by merely the actions of her life … namely homeschooling, etc.

Martha is stating that in her experience people have become offended by the lack of certain actions in her life … namely homeschooling, etc.

I’ve seen both circumstances, as probably most of us have. I have friends that homeschooled, considered homeschooling, parochial schooled, and public schooled. Both Martha and KSMilkmaid are just providing differing perspectives of similar experiences.

I’ve heard homeschooling being bad mouthed for various reasons that I don’t feel were accurate or even important. But … I’ve also seen public schoolers treated as though they are less Christian because of that decision. Both of these reactions are misguided.

I think core of this discussion is this … it’s not the decision but the reasons behind the decision. Everyone’s beliefs differ in some way … and yes, some are wrong. They have to be. Not everyone can be right. The main dispute does not lie in whether one homeschools or not (for example), but why or why not. It’s the why … the belief that is challenged. To challenge or question the belief is what makes some folks defensive and some offensive.

By: heather

heather — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 22:23:34 +0000

Thanks Amy. This is a lovely little “food for thought” post. I enjoyed it. I linked you on my blog today. Hope you weathered the storm well. Sounds like you are fine. We were in that I45 nightmare Thursday. Planning to stay up North this week and avoid a repeat! God bless you and yours…. and I’m glad God has blessed you with such insight into the affairs of humankind so that you can blog it and share it with others!

By: Khyraen

Khyraen — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 07:34:47 +0000

I couldn’t agree more. I am so “left-brained” that often I come across too harsh to my fellow women, but I do try to be “nice.”

I had a friend who became pro-life slowly, over many talks and many questions. She’d come to me and ask a question, I’d answer her honestly but try hard not to make it personal, and she’d argue and get mad and I’d stick to my point. She’d leave and I’d think she was mad, but a few days later she’s calling me like she was never mad. One day she came up and told me, “I hate you; you’re always right.” I said simply, “Nope, I’m not, but God is, so when you ask me about right and wrong, and God has spoken on it, yes, His way is always going to be right.” She said she could remain friends w/ me despite huge differences, she was a wiccan and a feminist, because I could treat her w/ respect and let our differences over–say abortion–stay w/ that topic and not carry over into our kids’ day at the park or planning a BBQ. Sounds like you have the same talent. I think it sharpens us to be around both those like us and those who are different.

By: KS Milkmaid

KS Milkmaid — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 00:19:37 +0000

Martha:

Let me point it out something in the body of your comment.

when heard in conversation however, i would hear that as, it is the only Biblical calling–which it is NOT! our Biblical calling is to glorify God in whatever place He puts us BOTH professionally and geographically.

You see the trouble here is when I make a statement and then you read behind the statement and jump to conclusions. This can be a frustrating thing in communication. I am a clear communicator and I would say it is the only biblical calling if I truly thought it was. The absense of my use of “the ONLY biblical calling” is for a reason. Quite simply, it is not the ONLY biblical calling for people. Reading between the lines is a needed skill sometimes in this life, but it can also be our demise. Biblically we have an example of what happened to a King when he read between the line on King David’s motives. Its the story of David sending his people to bless a leader. The leader reads between the lines and think they are spying. He shaves their beards and sends them home naked. David’s genuine intentions were brutally distorted. The result was war.

What I am simply witnessing about is that I walk closely with God and feel in my daily time with him that I am in the place he needs me to be to glorify him. It is a biblical calling. Hear the joy in following Christ, not the details by which I am living. Hear the process, I am describing, not the content of what I am describing. I truly believe that Christ can be glorified in a public school setting, and with hospital births too. To believe other wise would condemn the five hospital births I had and make them meaningless. To believe otherwise, would make my son’s time in public school a waste of time.

Strength can be horrible if left to humanity. Our strength must be cloaked in Christ or it becomes what you describe in the context of your comment… rigid means to judge others as less than spiritual. We must appreciate the unique roles God calls us to play. After all the bible is not filled with stories of 15,000 Moses. There is Adam, Rahab, Noah, Lydia, Paul, Timothy, Anna and more. Just a look at the 12 disciples will show you a variety of men from diverse walks of life all coming together for His purpose.

By: martha

martha — Fri, 23 Sep 2005 23:19:50 +0000

i appreciated your post today. (i do lots of days, i just don’t always feel i have much to add to the discussion.) i am a pastor’s wife–almost 60! in MY experience, i have found more problems on the opposite side of the coin from milkmaid. i have been quite accepting of families’ choices re schooling, birth control/family size,etc. that have been different from mine. i realize that a couple can be totally seeking to do God’s will, living Biblically and make a different choice from mine. i have not always been shown the same respect by some of my homeschooling sisters and brothers.
i am also one of those who chooses to recognize “the elephant sitting in the middle of the room” that no one else seems to want to talk about. i disagree that not talking about our choices is the best way to get along. maybe talking about our choices in a respectful way that actually listens to what entered into the thought processes of the couple would be helpful and educational for all.
one of the least helpful ways to discuss these issues is to say things like,”farming is a biblical calling”. when written, a person can read that and say, “yes, that is true.” it is A biblical calling. when heard in conversation however, i would hear that as, it is the only Biblical calling–which it is NOT! our Biblical calling is to glorify God in whatever place He puts us BOTH professionally and geographically. whether we deliver @ home or in a hospital is personal preference NOT Biblical rule. when i was in the stage of life that many of you are, it was a huge issue. now i realize that in the grand scheme of things, where my child is born is not nearly as big a deal as whether he/she and i survive that event. we do one another a disservice to make these personal preferences into rigid rules with the same level of authority as scripture. there are people who need to deliver in a hospital. we don’t need to demonize hospitals just to make our choice look great. if you are happy with your choice and know it is the right one for you and your spouse before God, that is what is important. what others think is worth zero.
i think that what people mean when they talk about these things is that in light of a number of scriptural teachings and in light of the woman and her husband and their preferences and as they have discussed together and prayed re those issues, this is the way it will work out in their family. that is great. if that is how you believe, keep moving and don’t allow yourself to build walls between others who make different choices. they are not necessarily less spiritual than you. an ideal local church should have all kinds of people in it. people who homeschool, send their kids to christian school, classical school, public school, etc. (i have known people in each category who made those choices for Biblical reasons.) we were in such a church…and are now too. the NT is loaded with illustrations of the diversity that is present in the Body of Christ. there is no reason why this area should be any different.
“seasoning our speech with grace” is such a major discipline for many of us. we need it with our spouses, children, parents and especially for each other. it was a great reminder amy. for me, that always starts in my heart. i have to not give in to my (sometimes) paranoid thoughts that people are judging me when many times they really aren’t. dwelling on whatever is true, honest, wholesome, of good report, etc. (don’t have my Bible in front of me) is such a challenge some days. because my mind can get carried away, i have to assume people are being genuine with me unless i have different evidence. when people are being fake, it shows soon enough.
must stop, i’m sorry i can’t do concise:( martha