I am on vacation but have been contemplating several ideas that have been striking to me. I have been thinking about a sermon series that I am proposing to do about straightening families. The sermon series will focus on the challenges that families face and how can we respond as family members and as members of the church. I will be asking for input as to what the greatest challenges you feel we face today as a family whether your own or what you see in our world. As I research this, I have come across some interesting quotes from some unusual places. There is one I want to share from you from Michael Medved, author of Right Turns and radio talk show host.
"Americans spend an average of 29 hours a week watching television- which means in a typical life span we devote 13 uninterrupted years to our TV sets! The biggest problem with mass media isn't low quality-it's high quantity. Cutting down just an hour a day would provide extra years of life--for music and family, exercise and reading, conversation and coffee."
What was interesting about where I read this quote was on a Starbucks coffee. Low quality versus high quantity. We talk about the lack of time we have to enjoy our family and to spend time with our children. What struck me was what would our children be if the first 13 years of life were 24/7 in front of a television. Can you imagine what they would learn about the world that we live in and would it be really the world we live in. I also think about what would it be like if we would just cut out one hour a week of TV. Would the world end, would the economy falter because of the lack of exposure to advertisements for things that we don't need?
Give me your input and let us reflect on ways that we can strengthen our relationships with each other.
1 comment:
3 things immediately come to my mind:
1. lack of coming together to back each other up - work more as a team.
2. instant communication. I'm one of the few people w/out a cell phone. I refuse to get one because i feel it's so important to plan ahead and make sure everyone knows what the plan is. i think a cell phone is GREAT in theory (for emergencies) but I see in my own classroom that kids and their parents rely on them way too much.
3. TURN OFF THE TV! i see this in my classroom. I have their attention for 7 minutes, then they need a 3 minute commercial break. not all kids are like that. a good portion are, though.
What would our world be like if we went 1 week without tv and cell phones? (and for even more fun, let's throw out the computer and wii.) lather on some sunscreen and go dig in the dirt.
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