Anybody here like to be ridiculed?  Now, there's being ridiculed for being ridiculous, or just at the hands of cruel people ... and then there's being ridiculed for the right reasons.  I've stood in all three places!

Noah was ridiculed.

That's the kind of thing I'm talking about here.  Of the three ways to be ridiculed, this is the bearable kind.  It's for eternal purposes.

Since about '96, I've been on-line discussing Islam and evolution on a secular board.  It comes and goes.  It seems that the Lord opens the door, and then it will be shut for a while.  I am no scholar!  The first time I challenged a Muslim in his belief (and this was no dummy I was up against -- he was hard core, and international) I was TERRIFIED!  Why?  Because I knew little.  I learned fast.  He'd throw something back at me, and the research was on.

Same with evolution ... I knew what I believed, but didn't know all the evidence.  AND I especially didn't know how terribly shaky the ground was concerning evolution proofs.  I SHOULD have imagined, since it's not true, that the ground would be shaky.  Shame on me.  The men and women I talk with are many times smarter than me, but thanks to some really great resources, and the TRUTH of God's Word, I can research anything and find the answers.  Of course, I use Answers In Genesis a lot.  And Answering Islam.

What is exciting is that the Truth of God's Word always stands firm.  It is proven, over and over, and every lie shatters into a pile of dust when thrown against it.

This, unintentionally, became the best part of our homeschool.  I was so excited about all I learned, I talked about it all the time.  The kids were interested, and learned a ton too.  By the time the twin towers were hit in NYC, they were no strangers to Islam.  As President Bush declared on TV that "Islam is a religion of peace," they replied to the TV screen "Um, no it isn't!"  How about that lie?  Most of the world that is Muslim was taken by the sword, and look at places like Sudan today.  Bloody.

My point -- debate and discussion is one of the BEST things we can do in homeschool.  Researching to help your debate must be about the best way to learn I have ever found.

Back to being ridiculed.  I responded concerning evolution on this certain board, back in the fall.  I did NOT want to even look at the response, because at times I've been ridiculed -- and I just don't like that  !!  Sometimes I can take it, sometimes I can't.  Sometimes I just don't want to take the time to respond.

I finally got up the nerve to look, and found out that I had made a small victory.  But I was really convicted at the same time.  I thought of my embarrassment and anger concerning being challenged.  I thought of Noah, building a boat, and preaching while being ridiculed.  I thought of the TIME it takes to research and respond.  Did Noah ever say "I just don't have time!"  I thought of the many things I could do with some prime "early time" in the morning.

In the end, the time is well spent, because we will discuss this stuff in our home, and the evidences I produced (Thank you Ken Hamm) will be laid out.  This will make the children even further "rock solid."  Probably I will continue to be ridiculed, even though I made a small victory.  It isn't that the evidence isn't there, it is only that the lie is so well loved.  But when I am ridiculed, I want to remember Noah, and the judgement on his generation -- his responsibility to do his part.  I remember Ken Hamm saying once, "Imagine if you went to the Grand Canyon, and the ranger there said 'You know what happened here?   A FLOOD, because of God's judgement on the world -- and there's another judgement coming!" 

Anyhow, this type of thing has been great for our homeschool.  It took the learning out of the textbooks, and into current events, while living it and breathing it with real people who are there, now.  AND my graduate of this year debates on-line with kids her age, and defends her faith, discusses evolution some, etc.  It continues on ... we learn, and are established further in our faith at the same time.