Today I’m Proud of Joshua Harris

“Forging our own paths after the level of parental control homeschooling afforded our parents isn’t easy, but it’s worth it.”

When Homeschoolers Turn Violent: Claude Alexander Allen III

“When Homeschoolers Turn Violent” is a joint research project by Homeschoolers Anonymous and Homeschooling’s Invisible Children.

This Road I’ve Traveled

“I could never do this. I could never put the fake smile on and pretend that I hadn’t watched my dad throw the breakfast dishes in the sink that morning because someone dared to speak back to him. I couldn’t stand by and watch my siblings suffer while no one knew what happened behind the doors of my family’s home.”

Wrestling with God: By Caleigh Royer

“It’s been almost two full weeks since I last wrote. It’s been almost two weeks since hitting a really bad low. A low where cutting (I didn’t cut) was very appealing, a low where I actually couldn’t see up. I hit a low where I did the only thing I could think to do; called my therapist and said I need help now.”

Relationships, A Series: Part Eleven — Conclusion, Don’t Brush Off the Next Generation

“I have a unique perspective. I just went through the child’s side of a relationship, I have been on the other side of parenting. And I expect to be taken seriously because I know that my perspective is not any less important than the parents. Frankly, I think getting a child’s perspective and not just the parents is important in getting the full picture.”

Relationships, A Series: Part Ten — I Am A Phoenix

“I say ‘bring it on!’ to anything that’s coming in our future. If we were able to get through what we did, then there is no reason why we won’t make it through anything else that might be coming. Going through those three years of trial after trial only taught me more about being resilient. The past four and a half years have proved to me that I can make it. The past six months have taught me that I am strong.”

Relationships, A Series: Part Nine — We Made It

“We made it to the end. We were getting married. Despite the people who didn’t believe us, despite the heartache, the tears, the hurt, we had made it. Three words that are such a relief to write: We made it. “

Relationships, A Series: Part Eight — The Means To An End

“All the way up to our wedding, my dad still would not acknowledge that we were engaged. The days after that fatal Saturday were quite fraught with chaotic pressure from pastors, parents, and even some friends to break off our engagement. But somehow, we made it, and continued to say that we wouldn’t break off the engagement because that was something that was strictly between us.”

Relationships, A Series: Part Seven — The Five-Year Relationship Plan

“I want to explain a little bit about why this is so difficult for me to write, but also why I need to write our story. From that first devastating break in Phil’s and my friendship, I began losing a lot of friends, I faced opposition at home and from other parents, people I barely knew, and those who I thought were friends…I was being accused of lust, idolatry, bitterness by my parents, I was called rebellious, disobedient, dishonoring of my parents by others around me.”

Relationships, A Series: Part Six — The Storm Starts Brewing

“It is really sad to read just how brainwashed I still was during this. A lot of my honest reactions weren’t until later, much, much later after the original incident. I still believed that my dad was going to do right in this relationship, I still believed that fathers were supposed to rule over their children’s relationships, and that it was my job to trust my dad and sit back and be a good girl.”