MOVIES CAN BE POWERFUL THINGS

 

 

 

 

 

 Phillip Telfer of Media Talk 101 was a real blessing and encouragement those at the CWVFF.
We still can't believe we got to be a part of this!

   

 

 

How powerful are the films we watch?

 

In 1979 my family and I watched a Christian film called A Thief in the Night at my grandparent's little Baptist church in Santa Clara, CA. 

 

I was nine years old and the film had such an impact on me, that I walked the isle, got down on my knees and asked Jesus to come into my heart.  

 

Movies can be powerful things. 

 

 

 

Thanks to godly leadership, the focus remained on the Word.

 

 

 

As I was studying 2 Timothy recently, the following verse made me stop and think about the influence of the movies we watch:

 

"No one engaged in warfare entangles

himself with the affairs of this life,

that he may please him who

enlisted him as a soldier."

~2 Timothy 2:4   

 

 

As I considered what it would mean to be a soldier, I had to ask myself if I was in battle (which I am as a matter of fact) would I make it a habit to watch the propaganda films made by my enemy?

 

I think if we ask ourselves that question, the answer is obvious.  There is no way a soldier would watch the films made by their enemy. 

 

It would be foolish!  Right away they would become less sure of their objectives.  Less effective in battle.  They would probably even begin to question the orders and motives of their Commander. 

 

Does that apply to me as well?

 

 



Rich Christiano (maker of Time Changer and Jonathan Sperry) is one of our heroes.

 

 

I guess we are pretty conservative when it comes to media already, but if we were to make the standard not to watch films that were made by God's enemies, what would be left in the area of entertainment?

"For they speak against You wickedly,

And Your enemies take Your name in vain." 

~Psalm 139:20

 

 

It's something we have been thinking about.

 

 

Talking through ideas with Rich was an absolute high point of our time at the festival. 

 

 

 

 Recently, the kids asked about watching a film that has been well marketed in our area.  And while we as a family don't have any desire to start a boycott or villainize any specific films or film viewers, we have just decided to wait on watching it while we think this through. 

 

I am sure there is some good along with some bad in the film.  There always is.  But as Dr. John R. Rice once said, there is also "good food in garbage cans... but I do not believe in sending our children to the garbage cans of modern moving picture shows to get what they can along with the filth."   

 

Hmmm... movies can be powerful things. 

 

  

 

 

 George Escobar breaking down the nitty-gritty details of production in breakouts covering budgeting, scheduling, storyboarding and more.

 

They become our meditation.  They provide the songs on our lips.  And boy, isn't it tough enough to meditate on God's law day and night (Psalm 1) without a bunch of nonsense dancing through our heads?  Honestly, it is for us. 

 

It's because I desire to help myself and our kiddos to meditate on God's Word (Prov. 4:23), that finding the films from  Christian Movies.com could not have come at a better time for us. 

 

Some of these we have already known and loved, but many are new treasures that have brought the fruit of serious and godly discussions into our home. 

 

It's where we are right now.  I hope you will enjoy them too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These include some older films by Rich and his brother, Dave Christiano:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this film by Pure Flix:

 

 

 

 

 As well as these DVD's by Living Waters that could even qualify as curriculum!  They are so well done.

 

 

 

 

 

I guess there is plenty to watch while we think this through.  May you be richly blessed.

 

Your friend in Christ,

 

 

 

 

______________________

 

 

As always, we never receive any payment for our recommendations.  Please preview movies for your family standards before showing children.

 

And if you really have a heart for Christian filmmakers, consider supporting these in theaters soon:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THANK YOU FOR WALKING WITH US

  

Before I dive in and start to catch up on all that has been going on in our little corner of the world, I want to say, "THANK YOU!"  Thank you to those of you who left sweet comments for me to find when I returned here to blog land and thank you to those of you who sent encouraging emails to check in and make sure we were still here! 

You are exactly the reason I am back.  And I am thankful for you.   

And now I am going to ramble a little.  You have been warned.  :)

Weekend Back Porch Family Times.  One of the highlights of our Summer and Fall.

In my last post I shared our excitement that Faith had completed her film was planning to mail it to the film festival hosted by Vision Forum.  It seemed no sooner had we posted that, the entire ministry had been dissolved and the festival was cancelled.   

Quite honestly, I was a little in shock as I am sure many of you were as well.  And also, quite honestly, I was a little troubled that I would need to break the news to my children, especially Faith.  What was the best way to frame this?  She and her friends had worked so very hard.  We had begun to save money and talk about traveling to the festival.  I imagined that it would be such an encouragement for her to meet other families with similar interests.  And now I wondered how would she would feel about all of her hard work-- and all the time she had spent pursuing a goal that was no longer there?  No longer there because of grievous reasons.

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind,

be sober, and rest your hope FULLY

upon the grace that is to be brought

at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 1:13

Trial has a way of revealing if we are resting our hope FULLY on eternity, or partially on the temporal, doesn't it?  When the temporal world shakes, so often we shake with it.  I know that I do.  Then, as the smoke clears, I find heartache in proportion to how much I had invested hope in something that is fallen.  A man; a ministry or on some expectation of temporal happiness. 

It's all about the S'mores.  Well, being together is best, but the S'mores are pretty great too.

But God.  Only He can work in the heart.  When I went to break the news to Faith, I found a girl who was concerned more for her friend's feelings, but was resting on Christ.

Her response?  "Well, we certainly saw God at work helping us to make this film.  He must have had a reason for it."  

In her mind, this wasn't her film at all.  It was always God's.  Nothing had been taken from her.  She had seen God do the miraculous.  He provided the tools, the costuming, the locations and all that was needed to produce a film on a budget that could be rounded down to zero.  She saw that God was inclining His ear to this project.  It was His movie and He must have His reasons. 

Amen and amen.  We never wish for trial-- especially in our children's lives.  But only trial gives us a true glimpse of the soul.  It's like a progress report to let us know where we are.  And sometimes we are thankful to see it.   
 

Armed and ready for marshmallow roasting!

And so we move on.  Hopefully with renewed determination to rest our hope FULLY on the future grace that will be revealed with Christ and not on our own dreams and expectations.

I do not want to rest even a small measure of hope on something other than eternity today.

My garden was pitiful this year, but the littles enjoyed planting seeds and seeing things grow.

And when I am in the daily grind, I want to remember the lesson we learned from seeing a family broken.

Marriages and families are tied together with precious and invisible strings.  Strings that can easily be broken by selfishness and must continually be repaired.  Let's not break what God has knit.  Because every day and every person God has sovereignly placed in our home is a gift.

May our hearts be engaged at home.  With our eyes on these precious ones and our aim at nothing short of eternity.

     

Yum!  Recently our girls were asked their favorite family activity.  All of them said Back Porch Nights.

I love this reminder by Erma Bombeck.  It's an old column but makes me tear up like a baby whenever I read it.  It may not be an exact picture of our families, but it serves to remind us not to fret the temporal.

        

"One of these days, you'll shout, "Why don't you kids grow up and act your age!"
And they will.

Or, "You guys get outside and find yourselves something to do ... and don't slam the door!"

And they won't.

You'll straighten up the boys' bedroom neat and tidy -- bumper stickers discarded, bedspread tucked and smooth, toys displayed on the shelves. Hangers in the closet. Animals caged. And you'll say out loud, "Now I want it to stay this way."

And it will.

 

It may be the sugar...

You'll prepare a perfect dinner with a salad that hasn't been picked to death and a cake with no finger traces in the icing, and you'll say, "Now, there's a meal for company."
And you'll eat it alone.

You'll say: "I want complete privacy on the phone. No dancing around. No demolition crews. Silence! Do you hear?" And you'll have it.

No more plastic tablecloths stained with spaghetti.

No more bedspreads to protect the sofa from damp bottoms.

No more gates to stumble over at the top of the basement steps.

No more clothespins under the sofa.

No more playpens to arrange a room around.

No more anxious nights under a vaporizer tent.

No more sand on the sheets or Popeye movies in the bathrooms.

 

Or the laughs over burned marshmallows...

No more iron-on patches, wet, knotted shoestrings, tight boots, or rubber bands for ponytails.
Imagine. A lipstick with a point on it. No baby sitter for New Year's Eve. Washing only once a week. Seeing a steak that isn't ground. Having your teeth cleaned without a baby on your lap.

No PTA meetings.

No car pools.

No blaring radios.

No one washing her hair at 11 o'clock at night.

Having your own roll of Scotch tape.

Think about it. No more Christmas presents out of toothpicks and library paste.

No more sloppy oatmeal kisses.

No more tooth fairy.

No giggles in the dark.

No knees to heal, no responsibility.

Only a voice crying, "Why don't you grow up?"

and the silence echoing, 'I did.' "

Or it may be the fact that we are theirs- distraction free!

Did you follow all that?  It was probably way too much to cram into a single post, but in my mind these thoughts were somehow related. 

1.  I want to remember not to fret the temporal.  Only the souls will last.

2.  I do not want to rest my hope on the temporal.  My hope is better placed in eternity. 

May we hug our families tight this year; smile deep into their hearts and let them know we love them unconditionally.  Then we'll be better able to lead them Home. 

Thank you for walking with us.


Love,

P.S.  There is already a new festival that has sprouted up to take the place of the old for those of you happen to be interested in film making.  :)

    
_____________________________________

Looking for a fantastic Bible study for all ages?  We all love this one.  It covers one character trait at a time and provides application questions that stimulate great discussion.  It is sold here by Grace and Truth books.  We are using it without the flashcards. 

As always, we only promote materials we love!

WHEN YOU WALK ALONE

Dear Rebecca,

I am writing to you because I need some insight from a seasoned homeschooling momma. While I can’t believe it, my sweet girl turns 5 this summer. While we are still praying about waiting a year to start kindergarten due to her later summer birthday, our hearts and minds are often on homeschooling and the path we sense God asking us to walk.


We are not wavering in our decision to homeschool but we are feeling lonely in the decision. Many of the friends that have been sweet companions up until now are choosing to send their children to public or private schools. Our daughter’s friends will be making new friends and heading in different directions. My friends will be forming new friendships with parents at their children’s schools. While we sure hope to maintain those friendships, we know things inevitably will change.

A major source of uneasiness for us is the little interaction our daughter has with other kids. She is involved in our church’s kids’ program once a week, plays often with above-mentioned friends and with neighborhood kids, and has been involved in one activity per semester. However, we sense an urgency in having her rub elbows with other kids who are homeschooled so she doesn’t sense she is missing out on what her other friends are experiencing. There is not a strong homeschooling presence at our church and the families that do homeschool do not have a community that gets together on a regular basis. There is a homeschooling coop in our area but your oldest child must be in first grade in order to attend.



All this to say, this momma is feeling some loneliness. Many of my close friends are choosing different educational routes which has left a void in my life. I am writing to you to ask for insight. Insight as to how to balance being faithful to the call God has on our life, which we will not abandon, but also seeking ways to build support and community into our new homeschooling adventure.

Again, thank you for taking the time to read this and respond; I am grateful!!!



Teri

Hi Teri!




Great to hear from you! I wish you lived close by and we could just have the day together. I know that beginning this homeschooling journey can be daunting. There are so many considerations and you are wise to count the cost before you begin.

I praise God that you are being Directed toward this path and are seeking Him. When we have prayed and searched the Word, knowing that God is leading- we are able to stay the course when difficulties arise.

I understand feeling lonely in choosing a different path than your friends. It can be isolating when we seek to follow Christ rather than a pattern laid out by men. You have likely already experienced this in various ways. You may have been the odd ball when you had a conviction about a certain movie that your friends did not. You may have been the strict one who was training your daughter when others around you were not. And now, as you venture into the new territory of homeschooling, you realize that you are choosing that untraveled path- again.

A couple of consolations my dear- you will soon be too busy to be lonely. :) And in truth, our loneliness is often just for a small window of time as we pray for the Lord to bring friends who are like minded. Even in Scripture we are bolstered by the testimony of ladies, like Sarah (1 Peter 3:6), who have ventured into the unknown before us.

I have a couple of thoughts that I would like you to prayerfully consider my friend:

  

1. CREATE A VISION STATEMENT

I would encourage you to ask yourself why you want to homeschool. Think through this area and write down your answers. 

• Is it based on God's Word? If so, what verses? 
• What long term goals do you have for your child? 
• What character traits would you like to see in your 20 year old (who will appear in a blink of an eye)? 
• Do you want your daughter to be grounded in a knowledge of Christ and His hand through history?
• Do you want her to have passages of Scripture tucked away in memory?
• What vision do you want her to have? Do you want to see your daughter mature and poised to serve Christ as a Titus 2 woman? Someone who is willing to stand alone if the cause is godly? (Maybe even your example of being willing to stand alone today may be a help to her someday)
• What type of knowledge do you want her to have? 
• Who do you want her heroes to be? 
• Does she have a godly heritage you want her to know? 
• Do you want her to love the attributes of God that you do? 

I know- this list can go on and on. But my point in this exercise is this: 


When we have a vision for what we are desiring to accomplish we can be excited for the future and not fearful. 

When it is established on the unchanging Word of God we will not be ashamed. 

"Let no one who waits on You be ashamed." -Psalm 25:3
"Where there is no vision, the people perish." -Proverbs 29:18

 2. MAKE NEW FRIENDS BUT KEEP THE OLD

I remember learning a song as a young girl that went like this: 

Make new friends, but keep the old. 

One is silver, but the other's gold. 

Yes. You will make new friends- just watch the Lord do it.  But you do want to keep your other friends as well. You can do this if you are purposeful. Ask your husband and pray about the idea of having a Bible study in your home and invite your girlfriends one evening a week- or once a month- to keep that connection.  Or plan to meet up for dinner somewhere.  Then you can keep up with the ladies even as they take a different path.

3. THINK QUALITY OVER QUANTITY


Sometimes we think our children need a swarm of friends. But often if the Lord leads us to just one or two families that have similar convictions and if we fill our minds with Scripture and good books in which the families are like ours- we have more than enough strength for the journey.

Some of the most amazing families we know have had seasons of not only loneliness, but aloneness.


The truth is, your daughter will need just what you tell her she needs. If you tell her she needs lots of friends, she will believe you. If you tell her that her family is where her very best lifetime friends are found, she will believe that. 



While I am thankful for the solid friendships we have gained over the years, I do not believe it takes a village to raise a child. What it really takes is you- all of you. We need to available heart to heart every day and not distracted with other things.

You are right not to take something away from her without replacing it with something else. You will need to replace it in her mind with a new vision based on Scripture and you will need to pray for like minded friends.

While you may decide to invest your time in some outside activities here and there, do not feel those times are more valuable than simply enjoying your daughter one on one or as a family.

We have some friends who participate in their local Awana, but they know it is for the purpose of ministry. And they know there are certain yearly events they cannot attend because of the immodesty displayed before their young boy's eyes. But they go with the purpose of ministering to others as a family. They do not go with the mindset of fitting in.

Sadly, the truth is that when you gather a bunch of children together, you will not find wisdom flourishing. We are told instead that: 


"Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child..." - Proverbs 22:15

4. BUILD FAMILY IDENTITY


What defines your family? Do you work hard? Like to serve others? What has God given you and your husband a passion for? Take this opportunity to build a family identity into your daughters way of thinking. 


As you make differing choices- show her why in the Word of God. 


You will always be making choices.  And as Robert Frost once pointed out, for every traveled path there is left another path that remains untraveled.  That is not a bad thing.  Use these opportunities to build into your family.


"We aren't doing that because God's Word says _________________"


"We work hard because we're (your family name here)"


We are not seeking to look down at others, but to embrace our own family distinctiveness which should be based on daddy's direction and to build security within our own homes. 

Finally dear sister, I would encourage you to consider that just because you are alone, it does not mean that you aren't doing the right thing. 



Every hero of the faith I can think of was basically alone in their convictions (and sometimes even without peers growing up). John the Baptist; Samuel; Martin Luther; Corrie Ten Boom...

The Men and women who are not afraid of being different and who don't set a high priority on simply fitting in are often the ones we admire the most.

I would also like to encourage you to get the following resources to build into your thinking in this area:

The award-winning documentary, IndoctriNation.  WARNING:  Content is not suitable for all ages.  Parental preview strongly recommended.

Audio messages from S.M. Davis. Specifically, How to Pass on Convictions to Your Children, How to Develop Character in Your Children and How to Keep Your Children from Becoming Bitter.

 

And if you are ready to get excited about schooling, I'd recommend you visit:

Confessions of a Homeschooler

1+1+1=1

Simply Charlotte Mason

Blessings to you!

Question:  On-line friends, what do you do when you are dealing with lonliness? 

______________________________________________

I just loved this and had to frame it for the girl's room this week- source here.

We are never paid for our endorsements.

TEACHING THE FINE ART {of doing good}

"The finest of all the fine arts is the art of doing good

and yet it is the least cultivated."

-T. DeWitt Talmage

Our daughters Sarah (9) and Michaela (12) enjoying the chance to kayak

Do you find that people tend to be more focused on grades and SAT scores than cultivating virtue in the youth of today?  Where do we go for the models of a high moral standard and well doing? 

 
 

 

 

I love what  Karen Andreola's shares in A Charlotte Mason Companion about the idea of training children toward virtue. 

 

 

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VIRTUE AND VICE

 

 

"...Character is two sided and, according to his training, his character qualities are either nurtured into virtues or allowed to degenerate into vices. 

Pity is a virtue if it cares for another. Idle pity just says, "Too bad." Pity can turn into self pity, which is not a virtue. Truth-telling is a virtue, but if it is blunt and tactless- spoken without love- it is not a virtue. The only way to make the virtue grow is to train the child's conscience and instill in him a love for others. 

To breed vices, the most powerful agent is love of self, and this almost always begins in the cradle. The toddler who cries, screams, whines or whimpers for his own way (and continually gets it) can become the youth or adult who terrorizes his family with his fits of rage. " p. 58

Sorry Hailey, your placement in this post was purely accidental *cough.*

 

Our 3 year old daughter, Hailey, really wanted to do the climbing wall like the big kids

PREVENTING FAMILY BICKERING

Karen goes on to explain that virtues must be inspired and cultivated.  A child cannot be punished into virtue.  Children need Biblical correction and they need to be inspired by heroes who embody the virtues of Scripture.  Well, I'll let Karen do the talking:

"... about family bickering.  The two main causes of them are selfishness and harsh judgement of others.  No punishment is of the smallest use to combat these.
In fact, punishment may awaken resentment and arouse greater spite against the person on whose account it occurred.  It will never diminish the selfishness.  Penalties will suffice for the moment, but another kind of correction is needed. 

Virtues, like flowers, grow in the sunshine.  You can cultivate them or draw them out with love and reason, but you can neither force nor whip them into existence.  Try to do so and the virtue you want will come forth in the guise of it's corresponding vice.  Instead of truth-speaking courage, you will get lying cowardice; instead of obedience, obstinacy."

Our 9 year old daughter, Sarah, on the archery range

  

She goes on to share that the best way to prevent bickering is to


train the child to find its happiness in giving others pleasure and to show him always how good and kind others are to him.


To let the names of mother, father, sister and brother stand for love and loving kindness to him."
If you have not always trained your children this way (and I am sure we would all admit we have not done this perfectly) she encourages the following:


"Never be cross, and never add harsh words of reproof when a child is sore under what it feels to be an injustice.

This is often difficult (YEP!  My own comment added)  to do because it is our natural response to control his temper with a stronger one of our own.  Yet I recommend you work against any tendency to overpower the child in this instance. 
 

Gently draw the belligerent mind to the fact that he is feeling very unhappy, {and} that this is merely the natural result of saying unkind things..." 

 It was nice to meet you in person Amanda!  Thanks for saying hi.  :)

GOOD BOOKS HAVE IMMENSE VALUE IN BUILDING VIRTUE


She goes on to encourage a bedtime story hour to cultivate the child's virtues and discourage bickering. 

"When the boys and girls sit round the fire with mother or father, a series of stories might be told, evening after evening, bearing on instances of love and self-denial.  Then you will have the opportunity to ask, "Wouldn't you like the chance to do such a caring thing for another person?"  p. 59

This isn't the idea of avoiding certain media for "legalistic" reasons (and I will be honest- I very much dislike the use of the word legalism at all because in our day it often amounts to little more than one man's Biblical conviction pricking another man's conscience) but we are encouraged instead to look for opportunities to build good resources into our children's hearts and minds for the purpose of cultivating virtue and teaching children to do good to others.  And yes, to skip those that don't.  

  

Our oldest daughter, Faith (14), was part of the drama team that portrayed real Bible couriers bringing Bibles into restricted countries.  These pics are from their practice.

  

She does not recommend stores such as Pinocchio because although the character has good intentions, he has a weak will.  Instead she recommends good and virtuous models such as Heidi, Hans Brinker, The Swiss Family Robinson and the like.  Stories that entertain but also model kindness, courage, generosity, loyalty, honor and working together as a family.

Faith caught with Bibles in Cuba.

  

Rather than forcing a child to give up their rights, Karen encourages that the parent use the opportunity to

"draw the child's attention to any suffering or discomfort that may have been occasioned by his selfishness:  'Imagine the pleasure you could have brought to your little brother had you built that sand castle with him this afternoon, and had not sulked in your room bored because Sarah could not play after all.' 

This is making a mental picture for the child of what could have been.  Then be sure to allow the child the full benefit of the happiness an unselfish action brings. 

Of course, our best help is from the Word of God.  Asking our younger children to tell us the areas they struggle in and helping them to find verses to memorize; assigning our older children to write out lies the enemy may use and verses to combat them (our oldest just wrote out over 2 pages of common lies our Enemy uses and solid verses to respond with from her own study) and reading from God's Word- emphasizing the heroes He does. 

  

I sure love getting kisses from my girlies!  This is proof I was there- thanks for insisting Sarah.

 

 

"I have had long talks with my children about their power to render others either good and happy, or naughty and miserable, and the great responsibility this power brings us."- Karen Andreola

Don't you wish all parents had this talk with their children?  Me too.

 

 

Cousin time!

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed these thoughts on teaching virtue by Karen and Charlotte.  May we all be at work cultivating the greatest art- the art of doing good.

Blessings friends,

________________________________

Photos:  We've just returned from Homeschool Family Camp at Jenness Park. It is always a wonderful time to meet other like minded friends, enjoy fantastic food and be inspired in well doing.  On a funny note, you know what is usually not discussed at Homeschool Family Camp? Homeschooling. It rarely is.  Maybe it is because many of the moms have been at it a while and feel pretty set in what they are doing; maybe it's that we live and breathe education all the time and were ready for a field trip away or maybe it is because homeschoolers know that education is so much more than classroom lectures, flash cards and bored children. It is about family, the bringing up of souls while learning the skills of well doing along with the mental discipline mathematics and the like. And maybe we were in fact "homeschooling" together without needing to discuss it at all. :)