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Sitting here next to my daughter who has just recovered from an epic retarded fit due to the fact she has no tv to watch right now. Coming out of her ridiculous rage she now is snuggling and smiling, wondering what it is I may be doing tapping these various squares and symbols.

We got rid of the TV for a bit of time. I am sitting in my newly arranged living room now enjoying the looming absence in the corner that once captivated everyone's attention for hours each day. I say rearranged because the room just looked ridiculous with all the chairs facing the corner... they now face each other as if we intended people to sit in them and have actual conversations with other people.

Aleah just found a DVD and presented it to me... I think we are going into round two of her TV withdrawal episode.

I am curious as to how the extra time each night, and the diverse and more inspiring activities our children may engage in, and the more intimate or at least quiet conversations I may have with the kids or wife will affect our lives. Not that she is actually reading but Leah has a book in here hands as I type so maybe it's a good sign of the books we will read in place of the hours of mind-numbing spoon fed entertainment we had before. By the way I posted another more inspiring and informative post on the family meal here if your interested in these kinds of things.

Am I against TV? Am I one of those freaks...? No! I am a guy with a beautiful wife, three kids and another on the way wondering to himself if he may be missing out on something by giving at least twenty to twenty five hours of his 168 hours a week to a box of moving images and sounds. I am curious if the thirty plus hours a week Elijah (my 8 year old) has devoted to his schedule with video games, tv and movies this summer might be robbing him of something deeper and richer in life that will benefit him more in the days ahead. Will he be more of a man having spent this next weeks 30 plus hours reading, playing outside or interacting with his family. What if he then spends the next thirty and the next thirty and the next thirty... What if...?

Rationalize if you will but if you search deep enough these questions are most likely with you also... What may be missing? What may we be sacrificing in entertainment's stead...? That might be a very different picture I have used if I placed under the knife what prior to our fast from TV was being killed or silenced. Not to be too sick or extreme but connections, conversations, education, richness of relationship and quite possibly my children's more proper and healthy development could indeed be under the knife of our over indulgence in tv and movie entertainment.

I am not suggesting a complete abstinence but as for me and my house we will conduct an experiment to see if in fact we have been missing out on anything truly more important. We are conducting a little test... playing a little game...

I look forward to posting our observations and also sometime soon getting the TV back so I can watch Heroes and The Office. Until then wish us luck and consider how the over consumption of TV type entertainment may be swallowing up some very important things in you and your kid's lives.

something to think about!

Mark
3 days ago
2 comments

If you choke a smurf, what color does it turn?

Signs of God's Manifest Glory Brings Belief

This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.

John 2:11 NASB

Proposal

Mark
Aug 12, 2008
2 comments

this one goes out to my neighbor Patti ;-)

Kurt was going out with a nice girl and finally popped the question. "Will you marry me, darling?" he asked.

Lisa smiled coyly and said, "Yes, if you'll buy me a mink."

Kurt thought for a moment and then replied, "Okay, it's a deal, on one condition."

"What is that?" Lisa asked.

"You'll have to clean the cage," Kurt replied.

God wills to bring, not scatter

God's Word
Aug 13, 2008
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Foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to serve him, to love the name of the Lord, and to worship him,

all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant -

these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations. The Sovereign Lord declares - he who gathers the exiles of Israel:

I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered.

Isaiah 56:6-8

Exceptional Creatures; Severely Mistaken

Nathan Davis
Aug 11, 2008
4 comments

Supermanredson

Just finished reading a very thought provoking graphic novel titled Red Son. The premise is "what if Superman had been raised in the Soviet Union?" You can read more about the details of the story here. The moment I was introduced to the novel and it's basic idea I purchased it and read it in the same day. The primary reason for my eagerness in regard to this particular story has to do with the idea that "the stories we are exposed to shape our identity and view of the world (of what is good and evil even)."

Our culture and our view of ourselves, of what is possible or impossible, of what is beautiful or hideous, of what is morally acceptable or grossly evil is all shaped by the stories (the framed and stitched together ideas) we give ourselves to, and are surrounded by. I have shared the story of my son and how he underwent a transformation into the image of Obi Won Kenobi (a Jedi Knight from the story of Star Wars). He was so inspired by the story and the chief characters he actually thought he could use the force against his father who was attempting to discipline him. You can read more about that here.

In the Novel Red Son we see a Superman still very motivated to do good but a very redefined (communistic) form of good. This was the story he was raised in and hence his entire worldview and personality was reshaped. We need to consider our own lifestyles, positions (convictions), desires, opinions and morality in this light. What stories shape us most? We may as Christians read the Bible but at the same time be inspired by other stories, conflicting stories that hold more intimate and deep places of influence in our hearts and lives than divine truth. We possibly are being shaped and influenced by stories that have quite literally captured our ego and holds it hostage. Does the story of God as revealed in Scripture and through the gospel hold any form of shaping power in your life?

What level of influence does it have? What stories are there in our own culture (that may conflict with the divine narrative) that hold places of shaping influence over us? We must open ourselves a new and fresh to the shaping power of God's words and revelation. We must be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This requires and honest opening to divine truth with the realization / confession that we are in desperate need of being re-programmed. We need to see and think through the lens of God's character and not the lies of an amazing architect of deceit (aka the Father of Lies).

The enemy of God is named this because he is a great storyteller and has been engineering very inspirational ideology that opposes God since the first conversation in the garden. We need the Spirit of Truth to lead us into all truth and truly make us a product of heaven as opposed to what we all once were and quite possibly still may be - exceptional creatures that are severely mistaken!

Wedding Bells on Vox! (Plus, a few new themes.)

Team Vox
Aug 11, 2008
10 comments

CONGRATULATIONS PAPI CHULO & SECRET AGENT SCOTCH!

The Happy Couple

10 comments

"When was the last time you were at a wedding that had a death defying hike, rogue waves, a luau, ultimate fighting, a presidential candidate and a budding bromance?" asks Papi Chulo. For most of us, the answer is never, but luckily, Papi Chulo and Secret Agent Scotch took the time to Vox all the amazing moments during their unforgettable Hawaiian wedding on 08.08.08 so we could all take part in the festivities.

The story began last February, when Papi Chulo popped the question and Secret Agent Scotch said yes! Since then, they've kept us in the loop about all the details, from the bride's veil to the wedding song to the final To-Do List. And throughout it all, they inspired us with their love for each other. (I'm pretty sure it doesn't get any better than knowing your future husband thinks you are The Perfect Girl.)

It's an amazing love story and we are thrilled they shared it with us. Watch the video of the ceremony and please join us in wishing Papi Chulo and Secret Agent Scotch the fairytale ending they deserve.

And What's a Team Vox Post without New Themes?

Spice up your Vox blog with one of our latest themes (found in the design area under "New") or any of our hundreds of themes. From shopping to sushi, comics to cycling, there's something for everyone.

Vox Themes August 08

Left to Right: "Starlight," by Jamison Wieser; "Civic," by Lilia Ahner; "Lone Tree," by Jamison Wieser; "Rainbow Day," by Susan Smuk Jorgensen.

Can't get enough of the wedding? A few lucky Voxers - Krissy, djchall, and Beau Smith - made the trip to Hawaii to take part in the celebration. Check out their Vox blogs for more pictures and stories.

Congratulations again to Secret Agent Scotch and Papi Chulo! Enjoy the Honeymoon!

~daisy

Heart Burn

Mark
Aug 7, 2008
3 comments

Dearest friends, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. It is with rare occasion that I find myself departing from the current text of study, in this case the book of Galatians. Today friends I want to share a quick exhortation…. I was driving home from work the other evening and the Lord reminded me of a passage from Luke chapter 24, where two of Jesus’ followers were walking along the road to Emmaus and Jesus came along side of them unrecognized and proceeded to expound the scriptures as they walked along. Once they arrived at the village the two urge Jesus to come and stay with them as it was late and the day was almost gone. Jesus agreed and went in with them and as they sat at the table, Jesus blessed, broke and gave the bread to them; it was then that their eyes were opened and they knew it was Jesus and they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” and they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem.

Now, what spoke to me as I was pondering this passage the other day was the fact that their hearts burned within them as Jesus was near; as they walked along they had no idea they were talking to the Lord but they knew within them that something was very different about this conversation. The word burn used here means to consume or set on fire; this is the fire that fuels reformation and revival, this is the fire that could not be silenced by the Pharisees when Peter stood before them and said “We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.” Friends, this is the fire that ought to blaze furiously within us to passionately serve God as we pass from this life to the next. The question I ask myself and pose to you as we travel along the path God has set before us, is our heart being utterly consumed at the mere mention of the name of Jesus? Does our heart burn within us because Jesus is near? Friends, let us not reserve our hearts to smoldering embers and a poof of smoke as the fleeting thought of Jesus barely tickles our frontal lobe.

In Christ Jesus my Lord and Savior,
Mark