Welcome to the Home Schooling section of the Peacemaker Ministries web site. This area of our web site is designed to encourage and assist you in applying the principles of peacemaking to your home school process and to your entire life.
While sharing with a friend about my position as home school specialist for Peacemaker Ministries, I emphasized how well peacemaking and home schooling go together. My friend smiled, looked at me, and replied, "Peacemaking and home schooling... sounds like an oxymoron to me." We both laughed, but in reality, many families live this contradiction every day. What should be times of nurturing and joy become times of struggle and pain.
Perhaps that is why you are visiting this web site. When you began home schooling, you had a vision for special family times of learning together, but that vision is dying a slow death as you watch your family explode into arguments and dissension. Or perhaps your home schooling is being hampered by conflicts you are having outside of your home. Conflicts with family, friends, and even brothers and sisters in the church can have a crippling effect on the spiritual lives of those involved.
If you are tangled in conflict, let me offer you hope. 1 Peter 1:3 reminds us, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." Jesus is our hope, even in the middle of a conflict.
Whatever your current situation, there are several specific steps you can take to move toward reconciliation and begin dealing biblically and effectively with the conflicts you face:
- Begin with Prayer. We are instructed in 1 Peter 5:7 to "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." The best place to begin is by calling out to God and entrusting the problem to him. Surrender obediently to his work in your life through the conflict: "Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this" (Ps. 37:5; see v. 6 as well).
- Learn God's Peacemaking Principles. Visit the Biblical Peacemaking section of this web site, especially the articles on the Basic Principles and The Heart of Conflict. God has given us powerful conflict resolution principles in Scripture. Through these principles, you will continue to find hope, encouragement, and direction as you learn to serve God and give him glory in the midst of conflict. You may also find several Articles helpful that I have written, describing my own experience in implementing the basic principals of biblical peacemaking into the home school setting and addressing issues such as Socialization.
- Teach Your Children to be Peacemakers. One of the best ways to reinforce your own learning is by instructing others. I challenge you to consider using The Young Peacemaker as part of your home school curricula. Home school parents frequently share with me how teaching The Young Peacemaker to their children was the best thing they did in their home school process. Teaching these principles to your children will have a powerful impact on them and on their work in God's Kingdom. For more information, visit the Peacemaking in the Family section and select Parenting.
- Help Others Be Peacemakers. You may already be familiar with peacemaking and find yourself coaching others in conflict. Further training will assist you in this process. Our section on Events and Training, and specifically the Overview document, lists specific opportunities for you to learn more about peacemaking and better equip yourself as a peacemaker. If you would be interested in having Peacemaker Ministries speak at an upcoming home school event, click on Home School Speaking Topics for more information.
If you are in a serious conflict that you are unable to resolve on your own, please read the section Get Help to learn how our ministry can assist you.
Finally, remember God's promise to keep us in perfect peace as our minds stay steadfast on him (Is. 26:3). As you practice the peacemaking principles found in his Word, keep your minds focused on his glory. And you will find that the peacemakers are truly blessed!
Human problems are opportunities God can use to draw the people around us into fuller and deeper fellowship with him. This higher agenda is present in every relationship and every situation. God is working redemptively in all of them. We want our words to contribute to what he is doing. However, we will not be instruments of reconciliation if we are living in broken, unreconciled relationships with other people. -- Paul Tripp, War of Words
 It is my prayer that this web site, along with the other resources that Peacemaker Ministries has to offer, will help to facilitate biblical peacemaking in your family. Serving our Lord through peacemaking will revolutionize your lives!
In Christ,
Annette Friesen
Home School Specialist for Peacemaker Ministries
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