Slapsgiving

Today some of my family is coming into town to celebrate Thanksgiving. We've already got a 27 lb turkey in the oven, pumpkin pies cooling on the counter and enough potatoes peeled to feed an army.

Despite these decades old traditions, there is one modern tradition that I can help but love...Slapsgiving! I'm a big fan of the tv show "How I Met Your Mother" and this is by far one of my favorite episodes.

Only to be out done by Slapsgiving 2: Revenge of the Slap!

I'm off to get ready for the fam jam this afternoon, but I'm sure I'll be back tomorrow with pictures of the festivities. If only to taunt all my dear American friends who have to wait until next month to enjoy their turkeys!

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Femininity Lost in America

Is femininity lost in America?

You would think so by hearing that women are wearing this.

Is this what glorious femininity has been reduced to?

Is this whom the majority of American girls idolize and imitate along with their mothers?

I hope not.

Mothers and fathers allowing little daughters to learn wrong ways.

Sacrificing their daughters to the world.

But I am hopeful...

so hopeful...

because I know that many are raising up daughters as pillars in their homes.

They are teaching them to be feminine, to be noble, to love God, to be servant-hearted, to love children, to love and advance the church, to love their families and to esteem that which is good and righteous.

Really, I have met them---they DO exist!

With God's help, I am also trying to raise them....:)

But without God, I know that I would be in the same place.

With or without a meat dress, I need Jesus just as much as the next person---if not more.

Let us pray for these woman and daughters to have discernment and not to be lead astray by the worlds ways and to be pleasers of men.They have been deceived by the seduction of the entertainment industry that they have become enslaved to.

Not because we are righteous,

or any better than them.

Because we aren't.

We need Jesus as much as them.

And because we love them and want to see their souls saved from the only one who can save it.

Are you saved?

If you are not sure,

click here.

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Whatever Is Noble--The Realm of Entertainment

Finally, brothers, 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. Phillipians 4:8



"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ." Colossians 2:8



As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." (1 Peter 1:13-16)



The realm of entertainment is indeed a hot topic indeed among Christians today. There are those who feel strongly that they need to stay in touch with culture and watch the newest movies to keep in touch and abreast with their culture and then there are those who openly teach about the dangers and false philosophies of entertainment. Unless you are living in a bubble somewhere, this subject directly affects all of us.



The three verses stated above have enough biblical guidelines to look at the world of entertainment through biblical lenses. There are many more, of course, but for sake of time and space we will use these three.



There is so much this generation of parents have to face that our own parents did not, our culture is saturated with high technology, that its hard for those who are not savvy in the area to keep up and thus more exposure of our children to evil. The world has truly become more desensitized to the wickedness around it and ridicule us when we reject it. There is good to be found in the below categories but I want us to examine the various choices of entertainment:



TV/Movies--the obvious offenders are evident, lust, sexual immorality, sensuality, foul language, witchcraft, but what about the ones that are not? Feminism, children deemed as superior and parents portrayed as imbeciles, rebellion towards authority and God, homosexuality, and the list goes on.



Books/ Magazines-- glossy pages send strong messages, books can have hidden messages, philosophies and agendas that mom and dad don't have time to read through



Video Games--violence, sex saturated, dark and evil, desensitizing our children, satanic-- now they have video games that access the internet and so we move unto..



Internet sites, blogs, Youtube and Facebook--all which put our children and ourselves on the fast track of information--good and bad. Be sure to have your filters on as a smorgasbord of depravities exists for the unsuspecting. Not only that, but also know what your children are reading and who they are visiting. Never let a child be online alone. I use the 'buddy system' for accountability. No one goes online without someone with them. Sometimes, even blogs for girls/boys (that appear godly) can dive into topics like sex, suicide and such so beware!



Music--Since there are many points I want to discuss here, I will be discussing this subject in a different post.



I have 'cleaned house' before and it is amazing how things still find their way in, it is definitely an ongoing process! Our family has adopted a 'walk beside, talk beside' method of dealing with these things and that in the event if they are exposed to ungodly influences-- we counter it with biblical worldview teaching. We must arm our children with the weapons of war that they will need for their time here on earth as we cannot shelter them from everything.



Children will want to imitate what they watch. Parents must be faithful in being responsible--making sure our children are exposed to and have multiple of sources of entertainment that are good, noble and excellent. We must remember that there is a spiritual war in the media culture and Satan, who has been quite successful so far, wants our children for himself.



So let's be diligent, parents, and keep a watchful eye over them so that none, not even one, will be led astray.













***If you are in need of finding good wholesome resources of entertainment for your family, I wholeheartedly recommend Vision Forum--they also have an excellent Beautiful Girlhood and All American Boyhood Adventure Collection.***







(She Looketh Well Series, Part 5)

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Sometimes in a relationship...

Did anyone else watch Cougar Town last week?!?!? I just got caught up, and I could not stop laughing at the scene where Ellie remixes what Grayson said to Jules (if you don't watch the show, I'm sorry to do this, but I had to. If you do watch the show, then hooray! you'll get this!)

The moral of this story is:
a) don't say something in a relationship that will bite you in the bite later on
b) don't let someone record you while you say it
and...
c) remixing people's conversations to put them out of context can lead to an impromptu dance party.

Life with Elizabeth

With her dimpled smile and perfect comedic timing, Betty White has always been one of my favorite television actresses. It is fantastic to see her having another career revival following her appearance in last year's The Proposal, her hilarious superbowl commercial and now an upcoming hosting appearance on Saturday Night Live.

As a woman who works in the film industry, one of the aspects of her career that I have always admired was her work on the 1950s television show Life with Elizabeth. At the time she was one of the only women in television to have full creative control in front of and behind the camera, by not only starring in the show but also creating and producing it. In 1952 the show earned Betty her first Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series.

The show follows Elizabeth and Alvin (played by Del Moore), a married couple who live an ordinary suburban life. Each episode is divided into three short stories or "incidents" as they are refered to on the show. The following clip is one of my favorite, where Alvin is trying to catch the paper boy tossing their paper into the birdbath.

If you like the show, be sure to catch more clips on YouTube and at archive.org. Here is the first part of the first episodes, with links below for more. Enjoy!

Episode One - Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four
Episode Two - Part One, Part Two, Part Three
Episode Three
Episode Four
Episode Six

Twilight--A Christian Mom's Review

Twilight has taken the nation of teenage and preteen girls by storm--glossy posters fill movies rental stores, bookstores and even family friendly places like libraries. Another seemingly harmless movie for our young ladies it seems---but so far from it.

As mothers who watch over our homes, we need to always be careful about what we put before our children. I personally am very picky about any reading material or movies that I place before our children and Twilight will never be one of them.

I am alarmed to find that even Christian mothers are not careful about such things. They do not realize the repercussions of putting such unfitting literature in front of our daughters as not only time-wasting but it also sows harmful and unnecessary seeds in their lives to desire things which they should not.

A Christian young girl/woman should not be fantasizing about intimacy with a vampire. They should not be lured into the sexual, lustful temptations intertwined with occultism. This is wicked and evil and even worse, parents should not be promoting it. Daughters are easily deceived and can carry much naivety in the romance department--why tempt them in the ways to fornication? They should not be wasting their precious time on such unnecessary and harmful literature and films. These are the precious and important years of their youth. How can we use this time better?

This is a wonderful time to teach our daughters femininity and the Word of God. It is a time to educate them biblically, academically and domestically. There are so many woman today who cannot cook, sew, know their Christian or historical roots. They cannot balance a checkbook, manage a home, or know how to care for children. We should be using these years to teach them life skills and godly character. We need to teach them servanthood and be busy in serving those close and far from us. We need to teach them to be prayerful. These are the things that will benefit them. We should give them literature and movies that promote such and not waste our time on movies that will lead their minds away from purity and godliness. This will take prayer and time examining entertainment materials from the parents but in the long run, well worth the investment. Here is our measuring stick:

Finally, brothers, 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 these things.

Phillipians 4:8

This is why Twilight is banned from our home among other similar writings/films. My prayer is that as mothers and fathers that we would closely examine any material we put before our children and weigh it's benefits and not just follow the world in its patterns and desires for ungodly entertainment.

Purity

Impure images barrage America on a daily basis. Television overflows with scantily clad men and women and billboards attempt enticement likewise. We must be careful even as women to live pure lives. Here are some areas we need to protect ourselves and our families from:

1. Romance novels (even Christian novels)

2. Children novels that discuss unbiblical sex at an early age. Ex: Judy Blume

3. Impure television shows, movies, magazines with unacceptable pictures

4. Sales flyers (models in underwear), posters

5. Radio shows, music, friends or anything that has a low value of purity

6. Exercise videos (I realized this early on with little sons in the room) I make sure all the videos are now modest! (example: Stormie Omartian has great modest workout videos)

7. Internet (pornography is rampant, images are everywhere--from you tube to art stores--make sure you have controls!)

8. Suggestive clothing

Obviously this is not exhaustive--we want to protect ourselves and our sons and daughters from the assault on purity that is so prevalent today. We all know that once an image is branded in our minds, that it is there forever. We need to teach our children how to handle being bombarded with these sexual assaults.

I also think that it is important for those of us who have been defiled by the world (and honestly now, who hasn't?) that we make firm choices to think purely. "Be holy, for I am holy." exhorts the Lord. Yes, wrong thoughts or images can flash through our minds but we are the ones who controls what stays there. It is false to say that a man is more tempted than women are, I believe, unfortunately, we all are tempted in our own ways.

Wives, we need to protect the marriage bed from becoming defiled, this includes thinking wrong thoughts and/or thinking about others. We shouldn't be thinking about other men--period. That also includes men in novels, movies real life or fantasy. Just because you are thinking about it in your mind where no one knows about it, does not mean that it is not sin! It is just as dangerous and sinful.

Most importantly is to teach ourselves and our sons and daughters the tools of self-control against images seek to grasp their souls and rule them. Train them to look away, teach them to not pull up images in their minds, give them the weapons of warfare-- Scripture regarding impurity and holiness, talk to them about grace, mercy and compassion on those who are partaking in such things. Teach them what they should be looking for in a spouse (godliness, meekness, character, humble, etc). Point to living examples around you so they know godly people exist and that they can also live in a pure way. Pray together as a family for things you've seen and/or talk about what you have been exposed to in the day.

And before you train your children, be sure to train yourself first! Talk to your husband and share what you can do to make purity a priority in your family--for you are both their primary examples, what they see you both do, they will also do.

Be sure of it.