Caaaareful Now....

The CLEAN comic Tim Hawkins does a great comedy bit about Parents giving good parenting advice too late. Too see it, click play or copy the link below and click on Tim On Parenting.  http://www.timhawkins.net/video.php  In the clip, he laughs about good advice given too late - kids playing with bricks over a period of time, throwing, catching, playing with bricks and eventually someone hurts themselves with the brick and the parent says, "Carefuuul!" Ha, ha.Well at that point - it is too late, tears and blood flow, and MAYBE a lesson was learned. But the children were allowed to play with bricks and over time they became less intimidated by the potential force of brick on a noggin.

As we raise our three children - I am reminded that good advice is never too late, but wisdom states that good advice can be put to better use if listen and apply the knowledge before the mistake is made.Good advice is that before parents allow their children to hang out with other children they check seriously on the influences those children have. The same should be said of media. Those influences make connections in young brains that can set in motion thoughts and actions that are not welcome, and far less than holy.

Pornography use is on the rise - and I read an article recently that called pornography, "Liquid" because it seeps through the defenses that parents put up. If children aren't allowed to watch a certain movie at home, they might see it at a friends or relatives or even school. If they cannot listen to a certain music style or artist...just wait-cause it will be on the radio, a friends iPod, Mtv, or other public venue. Liquid influences are dangerous also because the Internet is now even hand held and there are very few filters that work on mobile devices - the dangers are realized by the telling statistic that 1 in 5 teens has sent a "sext", a wireless picture message including at least partial nudity. Without understanding the potential of the Internet - teens are shocked when they discover how far a picture sent out of commitment or "love" can go.
My example is simple - the readers of this blog come from of course the United States, but this is where it gets weird and a little scary. I am new to blogging and already I have some "readers" or "views" from Canada (4), Chile (2), United Kingdom (2), Malaysia (2), Turkey (2), Israel (2), India (1) and the Netherlands (1).

I know many young people that simply do not understand the vastness of the Internet - the good, the bad and the ugly. I started this blog because I needed a creative outlet - I never really thought it would turn into much.
Similarly, a teen takes a picture and sends it, (never thinking it would turn into much), and before they know it their reputation is damaged forever, and they have been deeply hurt. My advice in a liquid culture is to limit the use of mobile broadband till closer to college age or till they fully understand the risks and costs. Also keep computers in a public place with supervision and put time limits on browsing. Too many times, I have counseled a young person drowning in liquid porn before they realize they were in too deep.

Why I Only Watch The Game...

Over the years, you just learn some things. One thing i have learned is that church is not the place for the Super Bowl Commercials or the Halftime Show. Traditionally, I have a remote control and a chaperone or myself armed to change the channel at the breaks during the SuperBowl. For the Same reason, we host a Worship Service during Halftime to focus our attention on the Lord. Why? The information below is from a blog by Bill Johnson and the American Decency Association that updates me on what I don't want or need to see, so that I can protect others from the same. This is a line up of the written content of the 2011 Commercials that we missed at FBC Martin. Frankly, I'm glad we missed them. 

"-       Crude humor which results in a man getting hit in the privates – Check. (Pepsi Max ad)

-       Promotion of alcohol and excessive drinking – Check. (Budweiser ads)

-       Ads demeaning and sexually objectifying women  - Check. (GoDaddy.com, Teleflora, etc.)

-       Profanity-laced ad – Check. (Brisk ice tea)

-       Sick violence (i.e. catapulting a baby against a window, REALLY?!) – Check. (HomeAway.com)

-       Offending entire people groups with stereotypical depictions (GroupOn.com, Pepsi Max)

And so on. You get the idea. However, there was a commercial that FOX deemed so offensive it refused to air the ad. What was the ad that FOX didn’t want to touch with a ten foot pole? An innocuous ad that refers to the scripture John 3:16 and directs viewers to a website LookUp316.com.

The ad shows a group of fans watching a football game who notice that one of the players is wearing John 3:16 written in his eye-black. (A verse, by the way, that is as standard at American sporting events as the giant foam finger.) In the ad, one of fans says, “Hey, I’ve seen that before. What does it mean?” And another guy says, “I don’t know. Hey, I’ll look it up.” Cut to the site address on the screen for LookUp316.com. 

That’s the so-called “controversial” ad FOX refused to air. They’ll gladly take the $3 million per 30 second commercial to air truly offensive ads, but won’t take the money from a group promoting a truly inspirational message. 

However, FOX gladly took the money from Skechers shoes which ran an extremely salacious ad featuring a skimpily clad Kim Kardashian seemingly about to have sex with her workout trainer on the floor of a gym. The camera erotically pans her [...] body as she foregoes her trainer for [in favor of the] shoes.

And FOX had no qualms about airing the lewd ad for British-made Mini-Cooper cars. The catch-phrase of this ad was “Cram it in the Boot.” With a play on words and vulgar imagery, this ad made blatant reference to anal sex to the millions of viewers, both young and old, tuning in.  

These are the themes that FOX approves of for family viewing. But air an ad with a Christian message and you just might offend someone.  

FOX TV has long-proved it is no friend of the family with shows such as “Family Guy” and “American Dad” which offend moral sensibilities on a weekly basis. So it comes as no surprise that FOX continued that tradition of offending not only with the ads they chose – but also with one ad they refused to air.

John 3:16, "For God so loved THE WORLD, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him would not perish and have eternal life."  Being in the world, but not OF the world is watching the Game but not giving in to the sultry moral drift that even FOX TV - the self proclaimed Conservative TV has fallen for.

The Skin Gun - GOOD Stem Cell Research!

This is an amazing video hosted on the National Geographic site showing burn treatment for patients using their own [ADULT] stem cells harvested from their own skin.Severe burns treated and cured in less than a week.

Yet again, this is another victory for Adult Stem Cell Research, a field of research where there exists verified cures and treatments, further defeating the need for embryonic stem cell research and the destruction of human embryos. 

"Adult stem cell research has provided treatments and cures for patients suffering from over 70 diseases and conditions. Contrary to these successes, destructive embryonic stem cell research has yet to provide any successful treatments for patients." [Family.org article by Focus on the Family Analysts]