When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” -John 21:21-22
Gossip, comparison, and envy distract us from our true callings.
God wants us focused on Him. With our eyes turned toward the Highest, we can become our best selves.
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The US backed slaughter and destruction in Yemen is bigger and crueler than anything the US media covers. And it is something we could change. Covid measures created more harm than good and attention to Ukraine is very conveniently covering the tracks of the US devils who wrecked the lives of so many.
I took Journalism and Education courses in college. Coming out of high school those were primary interests for me. I saw then the fantasy of those disciplines vs. the reality.
The media has been lying us into war and covering up US crimes my whole life. Madeline Albright said tens of thousands of dead children in Iraq were an acceptable cost. Condoleezza Rice just said invading a sovereign country was a war crime.
We can’t do shit about Putin, but these monsters are given prominence? The corporate media has blood on its hands.
Two weeks ago there was a statewide mask mandate and state employees were being forced to choose between an experimental pharmaceutical product and the salaries they used to take care of their families.
Now, by decree, it’s all gone. No data is presented and the order comes on the same day the governor was facing a lawsuit over his illegal extension of his State of Emergency.
How many employees were forced into vaccinations they did not want? If this was so important, how can it be dropped so abruptly?
I hope this opens more eyes to see that public offcials, including those labeled “health,” do not have the interests of the governed in mind, nor heart.
He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed. -John 20:27-28
Jesus was patient. Some of his students needed more assistance in believing than others. Each individual has a particular path to faith and it is beyond any human to know what that path will look like or need.
All we can do is model Jesus and be patient with ourselves and others as we journey.
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“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.” -John 16:13
After an exhausting day, the prayer that goes along with this Scripture speaks to me:
God, continue to fill me with your Holy Spirit. Lead me into truth: the truth of who you are, as well as the truth of who I am.
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“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” -John 15:12-13 KJV
No one realized that Jesus was going to follow through and lay down His life for them. His students became His friends and the loss they felt must have been intensely personal.
Jesus asks us to have the same commitment to our friends. He asks us to love so deeply that sacrifice is as natural as breathing.
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“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” -Matthew 25:21
When I became a (temporary) stay-at-home dad, God made it clear that I was aligning myself with my purpose in that time. I was far from becoming a Christian, but He was clear in steering me into intentional parenting.
I invested time, reflection, and effort into the most meaningful work I had ever done. God rewarded me with the inspiration, drive, and inhuman energy to become a home educator. My wife and I transformed our expectations, rhythms, and assumptions to fit these new responsibilities.
Fine tuning my investment energy is constant work, as new opportunities to care for my self, my sons, my loved ones, and my community arise and draw me near.
There was a lot of self care this week. Four nights of soccer and a return to yoga have my clothes washer full of sweat equity.
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“It should not be that way among you. Whoever wants to become great among you must serve the rest of you like a servant.” -Matthew 20:26
I’ve been asked many times to take more credit for our Allschoolers group than I want to. The power of the group is in its members. We’re a varied group of parents who were looking for connection in an era of social distance. We knew in our guts that we are not supposed to live at distance from one another, but in loving embrace of our fellow humans.
There’s very little for me to do as a leader. I help set dates and locations and bring wood for our winter fires. I get far more out of our weekly meetups than I put in. The moms and dads I’ve met in the group are my best friends. We check in with each other and it’s rare that our Wednesday meetups are the only time we see each other in a week.
I’m empowered by my service to Allschoolers. They are support, inspiration, and encouragement on the difficult journey of home education. Someone told me today that they’d be lost these last two years without the group. I can only return the sentiment and echo the gratitude.
It is not an expressly Christian group, but everyone is free and encouraged to proclaim their passions. We share religious and secular resources and it is the most inclusive social group I’ve been blessed to take part in. Soccer is close as far as diversity of backgrounds goes, but the common goal there is much simpler than the complicated considerations and opinions of home educators. We’re individuals raising individuals. The layers of specificity demand compassionate listening and vulnerable communication.
I can’t say why it works so well. There aren’t a bunch of rules and there is almost no structure (I suppose that makes sense as the founders are unschoolers). It is our beautiful anarchy.
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Two years ago I wrote a warning about the predictable effects of Lockdown. It didn’t seem like anyone was listening, but soon after I began to find my Lockdown tribe. We got our children together and shared woth each other the ways we were staying sane. Many of these women were homeschool moms, and more moms and dads joined the ranks as pressures exposed the failures of the system.
Out tribe is strong and the fight for sanity carries on. More families are deciding to home educate their children each day. The world is getting more sane as people free themselves from the systems government uses to keep us in line.
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