More for Parents...

It's not unusual for me to receive emails, notes and comments on a sermon or a series. This latest series has generated the most I have had in a while. The goal has always been to "scratch an itch" that our congregation and community has and I think we did that over the past several weeks. So thanks for the notes of encouragement and for your comments.

This week I received several comments and emails about one additional topic that I didn't cover in my message on the culture's influence on us and our children and that is the computer/internet. While it is true that I left it out, it is also true that I could have gone on all day with statistics and more issues and influences but this one deserves some comment (if not a whole sermon or series by itself!).

The internet has brought a new communication tool to the home and work. It has allowed information to be available like never before. It has so many wonderful uses and great information. It allows for research, discussion, entertainment and danger! A computer hooked into the internet is simply a portal into the world. A world that does not have the best interests of our families or children at heart.

I can't say that there are more evils available with the internet, just new ones. And not all that is out there is evil. There are healthy things, too. MySpace, AOL Instant Messenger, (and MSN and Yahoo! messengers too), email, facebook (myspace for college kids), Xanga, Limewire (a new version of Napster), iTunes, e-harmony, the list could go on (and does.....). These are some of the things the "kids" are using these days. But they are not evil. They are tools for communication, commerce, and self-finding. And just like we filter what our families see from the world on TV, movies, print, etc., we must monitor what our families are doing on the internet.

That's the key to parenting and any influences that come our way. We have to do the same things over and over. Which means we have to pay attention to what is happening on the computer, on video games, in homes, at school, with friends, etc. That means we may have to log onto the same websites our children are visiting. It means we may have to peer over their shoulders to the screen at times. It means we set up some limits on what they do, where they go, who they talk to. We do the same with other means of communication. The computer is no different. We have to be aware.

That may mean we learn some new skills on the computer, like adding software that creates parents reports on activity (comes with some high speed accounts like comcast!), discovering how to use the history report on websites, setting the security tabs on internet browsers to filter information, images, etc., locking out downloads and simply limiting access.

It means we still have to be parents and be aware of what our children are doing, where they are going, and who they are hanging out with, even if they aren't leaving their rooms to do it.

Want to protect and teach your kids in the right way?

Know them, what they do, where they go, what makes them tick. It shows your love for them.

It's what God does for us!

Peace ><>
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Counter Culture

Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

God did not design the family to be an island or some autonomous, independent little thing. He doesn’t want it to be your family against the world. And as parents, we like to think that society is helping us out. We like to imagine that our children are being taught the same lessons outside the home as they are in the home. That way, the burden on our shoulders is lighter; it takes less work. But it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to take a panoramic look at society and figure out that not much out there supports and defends the values of the family. From music lyrics to governmental policies, many of the values that God wants us to uphold are falling by the wayside.

So, as parents, we’ve got to take the reins. Parenting is tough work. We’ve got to look at what our world is telling our children and teach them right from wrong. I’m not saying we have run around wearing blinders or earmuffs, but we do have to recognize what is out there. Make sure the entertainment choices of your family sync up with God’s plan for your family. Take Philippians 4:8 to heart. Talk about what you watch, listen to and read. And then decide to only focus on those things that are “excellent or praiseworthy.”

Peace ><>
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