All Oklahoma Constitutional home educators are invited to exercise vigilance as we stand together in protecting and preserving our freedoms at the State Capitol on March 6, 2018. We cannot over-emphasize the importance that positive, face-to-face communication with legislators has on protecting our liberties. A polite, articulate parent or child can go a long way toward persuading legislators that home educators are worthy of their freedom. You and your family can be an integral part of being the voice of home education to our state legislators.
The objectives of our Legislative Impact Day are:
To protect the right, granted in the Oklahoma constitution, of parents to home educate their children;
To bring home education to the legislature, demonstrating that it is a viable option for providing an excellent education and that regulation is not necessary;
To be a voice for parental rights; and
To build positive relationships with our lawmakers, allowing them to meet and visit with home educating families and students.
We need to focus on building relationships with our elected officials, starting with your local community and working your way up to the State Capitol. It doesn’t have to be in person to start with, you can build a relationship with someone by getting to know them via letters, e-mail, and phone conversations.
Communication is the key to building relationships, even with legislators. So how do you go about communicating? First of all, be positive. Don’t ever begin a letter, e-mail, or conversation with negative comments. Jesus knew this when he taught his disciples how to pray. Even when talking to our Father God, we are instructed to start out with praise. “Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.” Speak praise and encouragement before you begin your list of requests.
Second, don’t only communicate when you have requests or complaints. Sometimes it is good to just say thank you for serving our community. A word of encouragement goes a long way.
Third, don’t limit your communication to those you voted for or agree with. If you didn’t vote for the person, that is all the more reason to build a relationship. The scripture tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. It doesn’t say send them nasty letters or gripe about them or ignore them. You never know how your loving attitude might persuade someone to a different way of thinking. The old saying, “You can catch more flies with honey…” holds true.
"Sometimes it is good to just say thank you for serving our community. A word of encouragement goes a long way."
Finally, pray for your elected officials and let them know you are doing so. It is hard to dislike someone you are praying for. It also strengthens them to know you are praying for them. The responsibilities these men and women have on their shoulders is sometimes staggering. We don’t know the kind of arrows that are thrown at them every day. We have not walked in their shoes. Hold them up before the Lord and ask for wisdom and discernment on their behalf.
You don’t have to wait for our Legislative Impact Day to start building a relationship with your elected officials. Get out a pen and paper, pick up the phone, or zip off an e-mail today.
JOIN US for our second annual Legislative Impact Day on March 6th!
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