O
N TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2011, I sat at my
kindergartner’s Thanksgiving school assembly. Before
I knew it, tears rolled down my face as I watched my daugh-
ter recite Psalm 136. It wasn’t that I was utterly amazed at her
ability, especially since we had never practiced it at home;
instead it was the joy exuding from her as she recited. She
was experiencing the academic pride of mastering a difficult
feat while simultaneously beginning to grasp and love God’s
Word. This was my moment of confirmation that my choice
for her education was right.
Where to educate your child is rightly one of the most
difficult decisions parents make. I know many people who
choose Christian school to avoid the concerning aspects of
public school. In the days of Common Core curriculum and
co-ed bathroom requirements, Christian school is a refuge.
At least in Christian school, no one tells your child they
cannot select Jesus as their hero in their homework assign-
ment. But my husband and I didn’t select Christian school
just to avoid bad exposure. Instead, my husband and I chose
Christian school for the good exposure they would get, to
things not of this world.
From Monday to Friday, I have 27 waking hours with my
school-aged children. Twenty-seven hours to obey Deuter-
onomy 6:6-9, to talk about God’s Word when I sit, lie down,
and walk so my children receive it. While that seems like a
lot, my children’s school gets 33 hours to make an impres-
sion. Thirty-three hours to instill things that are harmful,
neutral or better yet, are consistent with our efforts to teach
God’s Word at home.
While public schools sometimes have godly teachers and
thus my child may be educated without harmful secular
influences, we had to be honest about a teacher’s legal ability
to pass on his or her faith to children in their care. At best,
the experience might have been neutral with respect to the
impression it left on my children. We chose a school embrac-
ing a biblical worldview because we want our children to
receive the essential Gospel elements at every possible
moment. We want their playground disputes with friends
solved using the principles of forgiveness and grace found in
God’s Word. We want teachers to help my children find who
their Creator designed them to be, rather than helping them
achieve secular notions of what is best. We want to partner
with teachers to train our children to work through difficult
situations by examining God’s Word.
I also desired a biblical worldview education because of
what it meant to me. My parents sacrificed tremendously
to put my sister and me in Christian school. At the time, I
didn’t understand that choice involved giving up vacations
and eating out. The reality is that some families can’t afford a
non-public education despite making those sacrifices. But as
an adult, I can’t imagine where I would be if I hadn’t received
that God-centered education. It was in my 6th grade class-
room when I first heard the faintest call on my life to defend
unborn life from abortion. It was in that school that my
passion for government developed. And it was that school’s
athletics that exposed me to godly leadership—something I
now try to model with my employees. I lead a pro-life public
policy organization that makes a real impact on human life
because my school created opportunities for me to hear the
Holy Spirit and respond.
She was experiencing the academic
pride of mastering a difficult feat
while simultaneously beginning to
grasp and love God’s Word.
Jesus didn’t say “Let the little children come unto me” as
a comment in that moment. He said it because God created
little children to have a tremendous capacity to learn and
walk by total faith. My two-year-old, Emma Grace, has such
passion in life. Every aspect of the mundane day brings
her overwhelming joy. If you heard her laugh, you’d be
enamored. However, Emma Grace does have some difficulty
articulating words. Though she speaks and sings non-stop,
you may not understand everything. But, her passion is not
lacking! At dinner, my husband asks who will say the bless-
ing. Emma Grace is the first to raise her hand and says, “Me
pray.” So we all bow our heads and listen intently to capture
her words before the emphatic AMEN! When she says her
bedtime prayers, I think to myself that her prayers must be
the sweetest sound to Jesus’ ear. Her innocence, passion,
and joy are no match for her speech impediment. When she
prays, I am convicted to do everything possible to ensure she
keeps praying that way—that Jesus never stops hearing her
sweet sound. If a biblical worldview education can partner
with me in that mission, no amount of sacrifice is too much.
I follow that prayer with the prayer that I might always be
able to afford this partnership.
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