If Only I Could Blog About It: June 2015

There is a children’s song that goes through some of the five senses telling kids to “be careful little hands what you do”…” be careful little mouth what you say”… “be careful little ears what you hear”… and “Be Careful Little Eyes What You See.” Well, as I figure, in Gods eyes I am still his little child and in fact the song is speaking to me as well as my children. He cares deeply about the things I see. What I see enters my heart. King Solomon said in Proverbs 4:23, “Above all else guard your heart, for it is the well-spring of life.” We are all convicted about something! I am convinced my conviction is the Lord’s reminder for me to saddle up and get back on the path He has set before me.

A growing conviction for me is TV! The world’s standards to what is acceptable to watch on TV are NOT the same as the Lord’s. “Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to his word.” Psalm 119:37 In general the older I have gotten and as each child has entered our lives, my clocked TV time has diminished to about one show a week. I am okay with not watching much TV but that funny feeling inside still remained with the little I did watch. You know where something feels off or not quite right? It’s easy to dismiss and justify since I’m not watching anything else during the week. It was “my” show, “my” one night to relax, and “my” escape from reality. One night, after watching “MY” show until the credits rolled, I could feel the Holy Spirit suffocating “MY” so called need to watch trashy TV and replace it with a desire to be purposeful with the time He has given me.

The show I continued to faithfully tune into was without fail filled with sex, excessive drinking, drugs and did I mention sex? Having a regular prime time spot during the week and just being renewed for a fourth season; the show has 5.16 MILLION viewers, most in the 18-49 year old range. The TV had a sneaky way in desensitizing my standards. To be frank, I was not the one who wrote the show, nor was I personally going to take part in any of the sinful actions so how could watching it be that bad? “The eye is the lamp of the body, if your eyes are good your whole body will be full of light.” Matthew 6:22 I honestly believe that what I watch goes straight to my heart, then to the brain to decode. Unfortunately the icky pieces get left behind in my heart leaving me feeling anxious and uncertain. Not to mention I can’t erase or undo what I have seen, therefore without fail images will pop into my brain without me even prompting the thought. The realness of the guilty feelings over a FAKE television show is bizarre! This got my wheels turning and I started to wonder WHY in the world do I continue to put myself through this week after week? Is it really worth it?

No, it is not worth it! “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18. Here are my thought processes continued on the topic, (me talking to myself in my head, which I may do a little too often!) “Would I be proud to tell my three girls I watch this stuff? Would I want my girls to EVER watch this kind of TV when they get older? If I were extremely ill would I spend my time doing this? What could I be doing instead during this time? Would I watch this if my in-laws were in the room? Do I want to have conversations about this show with my friends? Am I inspired or even encouraged by this show?”

Something silly and downright sad about the whole thing is that I actually feel like I am giving something up. My inner monologue once again strikes up and reminds me that a sacrifice is those serving in the armed forces fighting for my Freedoms, it’s a mother in Africa starving literally to death and giving her children all the food she can find leaving nothing for herself, it is someone living for Christ in a country that kills for such things or a woman who chooses not to abort her baby-to give birth-then give her baby up for adoption. Really I am not sacrificing ANYTHING, I am adding one hour back into my week. My desire is that one hour each week will allow Christ to move mountains, change lives, and encourage women through me.

I don’t always replace that one extra hour with singing Kumbaya around the campfire or diving deep into the bible. Sometimes I find myself walking around in circles trying to remember what in the world I was doing in the first place. One thing I do accomplish by committing not to watch television shows like the one mentioned above is not filling my mind with worldly thoughts and behaviors. Either way whether it is the content of the show or the amount of minutes/hours watching television, the Lord will nudge when either is off the mark or unbalanced, just listen! The Lord has a way of getting my attention if only I will listen and respond. When I do listen and respond, He changes me for the better. Here are some statistics listed below regarding television:

· Sexual content has tripled in the last decade

· 95% of Americans watch TV a day

· An average American watches 4 hours of TV a day- that equals 2 months a year-9 years of TV by the age of 65

· 66% of American’s watch TV at dinner (Dr. Mercola wrote, “TV may have killed the family dinner.”)

· American Youth clock about 900 hours of school and 1500 hours of television

· An average child watches 8,000 murders and one hundred thousand acts of violence before finishing elementary school/doubles by the age of 18

If those statistics aren’t alarming enough, the below statistics definitely remind me to keep my body in motion:

· Late night sedentary TV watching usually leads to snacking, which leads to weight gain! Less TV=increase in QUALITY of life

· Obesity has doubled from 1990 to 2010

· The average American is 24 lbs. heavier than in 1960 (number of homes with TVs increased from 0.4 percent in 1948 to 55.7 percent in 1954 and to 83.2 percent four years later)

· Nearly 98% of food advertisements and products are unhealthy (In which these ads try to convince us and our children their products are “okay” for our bodies.)

Television has a way of affecting my attitude (and definitely my children’s!), my emotions, thought process, sleep patterns, and my motivation to workout.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, 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. Piece by piece television changes the way we view our reality, our behaviors change, and our perception comes from an unstable worldly viewpoint. Guard your hearts friends by careful choosing what you allow your eyes to see. Don’t be an average statistic!

Lord, please give me the discernment each time I turn the TV on. Help me to honor you in all that my eyes may see. Amen