An Unexcused Absense--or, True Freedom.

Good grief...I've been gone so long I almost lost touch with the world of blogging. Things are coming back into focus, however, and I will be better about posting several times a week...But the absense isn't completely unexcused. I just like to say "unexcused absense" because I can get away with it now that I'm a completely free individual.

I mentioned before that we began a new home-based business, and for the last six months that has taken a front seat to just about everything. It is the pot boiling over on the front stove burner, the "squeaky wheel that gets the grease." You get my point.

But this is the beauty of most of the things I do--homeschooling, blogging, working from home--they are all demanding in their own right, but only to the extent that I ALLOW THEM TO BE. I'm starting to realize in my life what true freedom is, and I think that it has become one of the major "whys" for homeschooling my children.

Freedom has to be a state in which we have total control over our time and finances, and in which we are not being governed by external factors or forces. My family has seriously undertaken to make this our permanent state of existence. Certainly, we will still have the ugly beast known as taxes to govern us to some extent, but at least we can afford to pay a really great accountant, get the most money back, and just sign the paper zap it to the IRS. Aside from that, we are working to eliminate the limitation of a job that dictates where my husband will be and for how long. We will "fire our boss" in 18 months! Aside from a home mortgage, we have eliminated all financial obligations. We are heading toward a life in which we can be, do and have without limitation. This, in turn, gives us the freedom to give without limitation.

Ultimately, I want to model this for my children. I want them to be free in their hearts and minds to be who they are without limitation. This doesn't mean that they will be raised without ever having to work or understand the value of money, etc. Quite the contrary--I hope that through this freedom they will understand exactly what the purpose of work and money actually is.

Any American who understands even a little about human rights would likely agree that

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

We all agree that should be free, but are we really? I sincerely believe that
slavery has never ceased to exist since the dawn of humanity--it just takes
differeing forms at different times of history--tyranny, bondage, famine,
superstition, low regard for the value of human life, war, debt, obesity...
We are obligated as human beings to be free. We were created with an acute understanding of what it feels like to NOT be free, and an inherent desire to BE free. I could never believe that God's intention for us was for us to suffer under bondage to anything. He has certainly provided avenues for us to alleviate suffering, if only we would turn to them and travel those paths. At this point in our history we must throw off the fetters of inferior education, poor moral examples, poor diet, poor health, chronic debt.

We can, and will be free if we only make the decision to be so, and take decisive steps in that direction. We owe it to our children.