Family Internet Safety begins with living unselfishly. You might wonder how I put that together. Let me explain.
Several years ago, my husband and I took a trip with my oldest daughter. At the time, she was young enough that either my husband or I carried her a lot. During that journey, the weather was much cooler than I anticipated, and I didn’t pack warm outerwear. While out visiting the sites, and a lady walked up and said, “She needs to be wearing a sweater.”
I immediately rubbed my arms to generate some warmth and said, “Yes, it’s chilly today.”
But when I turned to look at the woman who spoke, she wasn’t staring at me. She had focused on my daughter who sat in my husband’s arms. How embarrassing! First, I’d made the mistake of leaving warm clothing behind. Secondly, a lady was worried about my daughter, and I assumed she was talking about me.
At that moment, I got an idea of how self-centered I was. I should have been thinking about how the cold might impact my daughter.
Scripture teaches us to be ‘other-centered.’ That is, God doesn’t want us to live to meet our own needs. Instead, he wants us to consider the other person, and as parents, we should be considering our children in every decision we make. I believe that’s one of the biggest benefits parents receive. If we go about our job the right way, we become more mature because our focus goes to our children. Other-centered thinking is healthy.
Of course, Jesus is the ultimate example of unselfishness. Even though he was God, he came to lay down his life for us. The humility there still jars my thinking every time I ponder it. God chose to put aside all his prerogatives to allow himself to suffer and die. How much more should I be doing the same thing?
As parents, the internet and any device connected to the web offers our children a portal into pornography. Boys and girls can see images they are not old enough to view. Many become addicted, and that includes women. This practice is so damaging to marriages, families, and children.
Mike Genung has a ministry to families in this area, and he’s going to give us a few tips on Family Internet Safety.
Women today are very busy. We all carry cell phones and have access to Facebook, Twitter, texting, Instagram and Pinterest and other social media. in addition to all our family responsibilities, we pack our calendar with activities to benefit out children and use our microwaves to prepare quick meals. Most of us don’t set aside much time to rest, even though we like the thought. I find it interesting that God talked about rest in the early chapters of Genesis, and it’s a huge theme in Scripture.
I believe God knew how crazy our lives would become. He talked about rest in the early chapters of Genesis. It’s a huge theme in Scripture. Consider Genesis 2:2. “And on the seventh day God finished his work, and he rested on the seventh day.” Take a moment and think about that. God doesn’t need anything, yet he rested once he completed the creation. I don’t think he rested because he was weary. God doesn’t get tired. Instead, he wanted to show us a pattern, a balance of work and rest. I really need that.
This was a typical day for me when my children were young: a crying child woke me in the morning, and I hurried out of bed to get breakfast while his sibling hung onto my housecoat whining. Another maddening day. I stopped a squabble while trying to pay bills and then hurried off to an appointment while watching kids poke each other in the back seat. Ballet, Bible study, runny noses, a hasty lunch, a child who won’t stop crying from a minor injury. Fifteen text messages and three phone calls. The postman needed my signature. All day I ran nonstop and then fell into bed and stared at the ceiling, wishing for sleep. I’d think about resting and laugh.
Does that sound like you?
Yet Hebrews 4: 9-10 says, “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.” What does God mean by Sabbath rest?
Today I have Gwyn McCaslin as my guest. She’s going to give us her thoughts on rest.
Gwyn is a counselor in Sugar Creek, Ohio. Learn more about her here.
How much is an individual worth? What about a woman? A child? The present administration has set up criteria to measure the worth of the individual to society. Obviously, the older you get, the more money your health care will take, which they dislike. They planned on having a board to decide who got health care and who didn’t. Elderly won’t receive care past a certain age. Based on the evolutionary standard, survival of the fittest, a person isn’t worth much. Evolutionists would view each of us as an accident of nature.
You determine worth by how much someone is willing to pay. Jesus gave his life to redeem us from sin. That makes each of us priceless.
Today we have the nightmare of human trafficking in which men entrap girls and women and enslave them for sexual pleasure. What a horror. As mothers and wives, we want our families protected and we long to see the captors freed.
Susan Coggins Norris speaks out for those in slavery, and she gives safety advice to keep us all free.
Learn more about her ministry here. Her personal page is here.
While turning off lights for the night, my husband frowned as he stepped in the kitchen. “What’s that odd smell?”
I glanced toward the microwave and gasped. My kindle was going round and round on the turntable. With two seconds left on the timer, I had no hope of rescue.
Crazy! What was I thinking? Last winter I started a new bed-time ritual. I climbed in bed with my heating pad and kindle. The heating pad made me comfy and reading ensured I’d get drowsy. That night, however, I’d fallen asleep in the basement. Quite groggy, I’d staggered toward the kitchen and cooked the wrong item.
Using a pot holder, I lifted my sizzling kindle out of the microwave and gazed at the smoky mess. The screen was smoldering and black. The ‘on’ button didn’t respond, but then it was searing. While the leather case looked okay, the keyboard tossed a letter across the room, as if to protest.
I felt like protesting too. When Amazon first announced the kindle, I thought it was an odd idea. I loved everything about books, the cover, the pages, and the smell. Why use digital device? I wanted to hold the entire book in my hand. After my husband gave me one, however, I found lots of ways to use it. It’s much lighter than a laptop and great for taking notes. Plus, I plugged it into my car stereo and had it read to me when I drove. I downloaded a writing app and used it for a personal prayer journal too. But a cooked kindle no longer does any of that.
At this point, I was pretty disgusted with myself, but a bad mood would keep me awake. My body doesn’t function well without sleep, so I had to do something. I recalled how positive my mother was, and I chose good thoughts. In the midst of my foolish mistake, I allowed my mess up to remind me of God’s perfections. He never falls asleep and never fumbles anything. Once I started listing his goodness to me, the negative emotions lifted. Besides, a kindle won’t last forever, and he does.
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40
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