{"id":6142,"date":"2018-02-27T11:01:42","date_gmt":"2018-02-27T17:01:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/?p=6142"},"modified":"2018-02-27T11:01:42","modified_gmt":"2018-02-27T17:01:42","slug":"heads-up-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2018\/02\/27\/heads-up-families\/","title":{"rendered":"Heads Up, Families!"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Lori Boyd<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>
\nIsn\u2019t it true that sometimes situations look differently when you are observing them as opposed to being caught up in the middle of them?\u00a0When that happens, it can result in\u00a0a sudden realization, or\u00a0an \u201cA-ha!\u201d moment, if you will.\u00a0Mine came a few weeks ago at the Outback Steakhouse.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>
\nOur family had gone out to eat together and after giving our name to the hostess, we sat down in the\u00a0crowded\u00a0lobby\u00a0to wait for our little black box to come alive.\u00a0I noticed another family of five sitting side by side on the bench across from us.\u00a0I cannot recall anything\u00a0specific about their facial features, but I can describe in detail the tops of their heads as each one\u00a0stared down at a glowing\u00a0electronic device\u00a0held in their hands.\u00a0In the time we spent waiting for our table, I never once saw them speak to each other.\u00a0<\/span>
\nThis bothered me.\u00a0It still bothers me.\u00a0No\u00a0laughing about the\u00a0funny thing that\u00a0Brother did earlier, no recounting of what happened to\u00a0Sister at school, no brainstorming plans for the next family trip, not even a firm \u201ckeep your hands to yourself\u201d reprimand,\u00a0or\u00a0a\u00a0quiet \u201ckeep your voice down\u201d reminder.\u00a0Not a thing.\u00a0Just each person, head down, in\u00a0his or her\u00a0own virtual world.\u00a0<\/span>
\nAs I replayed that image in my mind over the next few days,\u00a0I kept coming up with the same troubling\u00a0conclusion–the devil must have been pleased.\u00a0Don\u2019t get me wrong;\u00a0I think technology is wonderful: It can be fun, it can inspire learning,\u00a0and\u00a0it\u00a0can afford\u00a0us unique opportunities and\u00a0help\u00a0us\u00a0to\u00a0accomplish great works!\u00a0However, like so\u00a0many other \u201cgood\u201d things, the devil\u00a0will\u00a0pervert\u00a0it\u00a0and use it in such a way that can\u00a0bring about harm or even destruction, if we are not careful.\u00a0He\u00a0is all around us, using technology\u00a0in many\u00a0various forms, to\u00a0gradually erode the lines of communication within a family and to continually interfere with precious opportunities for strengthening the family bond.\u00a0<\/span>
\nTexting\u00a0is a\u00a0wonderfully convenient way to send\u00a0a message, Facebook can reunite old friends\u00a0or keep you in touch with family\u00a0members, and a\u00a0DSiXL\u00a0can be\u00a0very handy when your children have to wait on you at the hair salon;\u00a0but we have to know when to \u201cturn off\u201d and \u201clook\u00a0up.\u201d\u00a0I don\u2019t\u00a0want my children to see\u00a0the top of my\u00a0head more than they see\u00a0my face! I also don\u2019t want them to be so saturated\u00a0with nonverbal, electronic activity that they forget, or\u00a0maybe\u00a0never even learn, how to cultivate and nurture a personal relationship.\u00a0Charles Dickens, the famous English writer, once said,\u00a0\u201cElectric communication will never be a substitute for the face of someone who with their soul encourages another person to be brave and true.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>
\nI was talking to my older sister\u00a0about this\u00a0the other day and she told me about a new policy that\u00a0her family has instituted at their house: something they refer to as\u00a0\u201cno media\u201d days.\u00a0Every Tuesday and Thursday all forms of media, including\u00a0television, movies,\u00a0computers, iPhones,\u00a0iPads, iPods, and video games, are off limits at their house.\u00a0She said her boys initially thought that the world would come to an end, but it didn\u2019t take\u00a0long\u00a0for them to find other\u00a0activities to do on those days\u00a0and\u00a0it gave them all a renewed focus on \u201cfamily time.\u201d\u00a0I loved\u00a0the idea and talked to my husband about starting this same\u00a0practice at our house.\u00a0(Although my\u00a0sister made me promise\u00a0not to tell my children that we\u00a0got the idea from their\u00a0Aunt Jenny).\u00a0<\/span>
\nGod designed families for a divine purpose,\u00a0and throughout His Word He provides instruction on how family members should function in their respective roles.\u00a0In order to provide training and discipline for\u00a0their\u00a0children (Ephesians 6:4), parents need to keep their \u201cheads up.\u201d\u00a0For children to honor and obey their parents (Ephesians 6:1-2), they need to keep their \u201cheads up.\u201d\u00a0As Christian families, we need to know when to\u00a0set our gadgets down and\u00a0take the time to look at each other, talk to each other, and listen to each other.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>
\nI remember\u00a0a time when Kate was\u00a0five\u00a0years old and she brought me a picture she had drawn during Bible Class.\u00a0It had a big red heart on it and at the top of the page she had written the words:\u00a0\u201cWii LOVE GOD.\u201d\u00a0Looking back\u00a0now, that probably should\u00a0have been one of those\u00a0\u201cA-ha!\u201d\u00a0moments I mentioned earlier.\u00a0Heads up…it\u2019s\u00a0never\u00a0<\/b>too late!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Lori Boyd\u00a0 Isn\u2019t it true that sometimes situations look differently when you are observing them as opposed to being caught up in the middle of them?\u00a0When that happens, it can result in\u00a0a sudden realization, or\u00a0an \u201cA-ha!\u201d moment, if you will.\u00a0Mine came a few weeks ago at the Outback Steakhouse.\u00a0\u00a0 Our family had gone out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[52,66],"tags":[120,1375,1226,712,1387],"class_list":["post-6142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family","category-think-excerpts","tag-family","tag-june-2013","tag-lori-boyd","tag-media","tag-solid-grounds","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nHeads Up, Families! 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