Customer Reviews

Safely Home

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3 star:		(1)
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Except for the Bible, of course, no other book has had the impact on my life, as Safely Home did. I wish I'd read it before I began homeschooling, as I would have been much more confident that it was the right thing to do. God used this little book to remove the spiritual blinders from my eyes, as to what has gone wrong in our country and society. Many homeschooling families leave the church out of frustration, but this was the first of two books, which I discovered that discusses the need for the church to embrace the homeschooling movement with open arms!

I wasn't entirely certain what this book was about based upon the blurb on the back cover, which is actually a quote from the foreword by Doug Phillips, nor was I certain after reading the synopsis and reviews here on Amazon. However, I did procure a title of it after reading an excerpt from the book on the internet regarding the differences between a Greek and a Hebrew, biblical education model based upon discipleship.

And, am I ever glad I did! Our family has planned on homeschooling since before our first daughter was born, but we are new Christians, only saved last year, which has led to our completely re-evaluating our goals for homeschooling, priorities for our family etc. As a result, we have been researching, reading, and learning about different approaches to Christian homeschooling. There are so many different approaches, philosophies, curriculums etc. available that it is easy to feel adrift amongst all of the options. This book sets our feet back on solid ground, examining the model for education that God has set out for families in his Word, while covering so much more. Not choosing an approach, or a philosophy of education, but focusing on teaching through relationships (rather than curriculums), the way that God shows us.

The author's heart is set firstly and foremostly training our children in the way they should go, to know God, love Him and serve Him are our ultimate goals in homeschooling, and we cannot lose sight of that goal. ALL things are for His glory, and we must seek first the kingdom of God, then all other things will be added unto us.

This title also examines issues that are certain to be controversial amongst many Christian families, but that critically need to be examined if our families are to be led to honour Christ in ALL that we do; covering topics as diverse as: the suitability of competitive sports for Christian families, the servant leader role of husbands in the home, self-employment as it relates to the discipling of chilren, the role of grandparents in homeschooling families, the role of the local church in supporting and discipling homeschooling families, and so much more!

Ladies - I know that we often do much more reading and homeschooling research than our husbands do, as they are often busy outside of the home. However, this would be a key title to pull out of the stack for him to read, as it is very encouraging and strong in it's message of calling father's to turn their hearts to their children, placing the responsibility firmly on their shoulders.

I just can't say enough about this book. If you are alone in your homeschooling convictions within your local church body, this would be an excellent title to share with others. A passionate call home, to re-establish the biblical model for families, just beautiful!

I found this book to be right on target. I needed a book for my pastor to read, so he could understand my view on the church and homeschooling. Too many families these days are fractured, in that they send off their children to daycare or school all day, and then on Sundays they send them off to classes and "children's church". This book addresses all these issues and more. It describes a Biblical model of what a covenential family should be.

I really wanted to like this book.

Its primary thesis is that God has designed humanity so that strong family relationships are the foundation of both strong individuals and a strong society, and that the current state of the typical family in American society is woeful.

So far, so good. I agree heartily. What I wanted from there was a cogent exposition of why this is true and the solutions to it.

Instead, Safely Home has some good ideas, but the material is poorly organized and has multiple grammar and punctuation errors. Arguments put forth often have logical flaws and successive ideas are often disconnected. There is no way that I could hand this book to someone to influence their convictions about homeschooling or other conservative stances; its mediocre style and content would likely hinder rather than help.

I applaud Mr. Eldredge and Vision Forum for publishing on this important topic, but God would have been more glorified if they had employed a good copy editor.