The Truth about Television

T.V. - What is its purpose?  Sometimes I think profoundly, others...not so much.  People talk about watching too much television, we notice it ourselves in our own lives, we've even pointed out how much time we spend in front of it instead of how much time we spend with God.  Yet we don't attempt to make any changes.  Granted, we can fill our lives with all kinds of things that take us away from our Lord so that's really not the point, although it should be.  We should be so consumed with our Savior that we would be seeking any moment at all to spend time with Him but face it, we are human beings...so imperfect, self-centered, distracted, and "busy".

But why T.V.?  I see television as merely entertainment, we have our favorite sitcoms, dramas, reality shows, sporting events, etc.  Are they at all necessary?  What would happen if we didn't have a television to click on everyday?  Don't get me wrong, I watch it, I would tell myself that it's important because I need to see the news.  What a laugh!  I can live without seeing the news, life goes on.

Several months ago we let our satellite service go, boy did it seem strange, no DVR!  We got over it.  Then we bought an antenna, we get a few channels...like the news.  One of the best parts is we are no longer paying for television, it is really freeing.  But I have a confession, we then went to Netflix, so we are still paying for entertainment...less than $10 a month, but nevertheless, still paying.  Do we watch less T.V.?  Sometimes...but I know that I can live without it.

Recently we made a new rule in our house...all electronics are to be turned off at 9 p.m., so we can have time with each other as a family and time with our Lord.  We've had things get in the way like school functions and whatnot, it's not full proof, but it's a step in the right direction.  It used to seem like when we walked in the door it was automatic to sit down and flip on the television...those days are gone.  :)

Television isn't the enemy but can made to be so much more than it ought to be...BEWARE!

*From Wikipedia:
Although television was first introduced to the general public at the 1939 World's Fair, the outbreak of World War II prevented it from being manufactured on a large scale until after the end of the war. True regular commercial network television programming did not begin in the U.S. until 1948. During that year, legendary conductor Arturo Toscanini made his first of ten TV appearances conducting the NBC Symphony Orchestra, and Texaco Star Theater, starring comedian Milton Berle, became television's first gigantic hit show.

Showstoppers 2010

Christian with (girlfriend) Tiffany

Showstoppers! An annual talent showcase at WHS.  It was a great evening, Christian and his girlfriend, Tiffany, sang a duet - "Gimme Your Eyes" by Brandon Heath.  I love this song, makes me want to bawl listening to the words.  The Madrigal, Choir, and Women's Choir all performed several songs throughout the show along with solos and duets, etc. but my favorite was the whole group performing "I Had the Time of My Life", you know the one, Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey - Dirty Dancing.  Well, every group song of the night was choreographed except for this one, Mrs. Million (the music director) let them freestyle this song with hilarious results.

Christian, Austin, Sterling, Dallas, and Paul (all fellow Madrigal members except Sterling)

We're hunting wabbits

Last winter a couple of friends invited James to rabbit hunt with them.  They use beagles to chase the unsuspecting rabbits out of hiding and then to make it more interesting fire at them with pistols instead of a more accurate weapon.  I hear this is great entertainment, they rarely hit anything but have a lot of fun "wild west" shooting.  James really got hooked and decided to get a beagle of his own.  His name is "Hombre", I thought this was the stupidest name ever for a dog but it's the name he was given so it is what it is and I'm getting used to it.  Then last summer someone gave him a 6 week old puppy, he is so cute, we named him Duke - a much more appropriate dog name.  James has to train Duke to hunt rabbits of course, having Hombre helps, he follows him.  Recently, James tied some sandwich ham to a string and drug it around the yard, he then let Duke out to sniff out the ham.  Duke was triumphant and found the vile beast of uh, cold cuts?  James' dad said he would probably be chasing pigs or wild hogs instead of rabbits.  The other day James took both dogs somewhere (I don't really know where) to run, Duke stayed up with Hombre so I guess it was a successful outing.  Rabbit season will be here before you know it and James has to get them ready.  Well today James discovered a rabbit that had been run over on our gravel road, aha! he said to himself, I can train my puppy with this roadkill.  Yes, we stopped and he scooped up this dead, stiff rabbit into a wal-mart bag and brought it into our van, ewwwww!  Blech, blech, blech!  He wanted me to hold it but I refused, so he did...and drove with the other hand.

I know it's morbid...but I wanted you to see the full effect, just look at those ears!

 James set it outside by his shop.  He had a couple meetings in town for jobs etc. and we ran some errands and did some other things.  When we came home that afternoon this is what we found.

Yes, the cat got the rabbit!  There was no way he was letting James have it back either.  Gross....

16 Years...

I think I might cry...Christian is 16 years old today.  Where has the time gone?  I remember myself at 16, oooooooo *shiver, scary.  I was such a brat, got way too full of myself and made many mistakes.  I have more hope for my son, he is a good christian young man, I can still see his cute lil face as a toddler, big blue eyes and plumber pants - acting grown up even at that young age insisting he could do anything - tender hearted, loving, sensitive to the needs of others.  *Time out!  All this reminiscing is making me tear up!  Hold it together....okay...now...16 things about my oldest boy.
1) He is sooo very smart! Proof = scores advanced on State Tests, in the top of his class.
2) He is an awesome singer! Proof = took a solo to State music contest as a freshman.
3) He still gives his mama hugs! Proof = I just got one a few minutes ago.
4) He always tries to do the right thing! Proof = In 7th grade he led a revolt in his Civics class against the substitute teacher because he thought a fellow student wasn't being treated fairly.
5) He is very clever! Proof = In 6th grade he created this awesome Roman newspaper, it was so creative...just take my word for it.
6) He is handsome! Proof = Well duh, look at his parents.
7) He likes to hunt! Proof = He has went hunting with James even after missing a big buck two years in a row.
8) He is organized! Proof = He coordinated a FCA Ultimate Frisbee Tournament on his own last summer.
9) He is great with kids! Proof = He has taught Vacation Bible School (kindergarten) several times and they love him.
10) He pitches in to help! Proof = Maybe not always volunteering but if I ask him to do something he will do it without hesitation.
11) He is a natural leader! Proof = He is an F.C.A. Leader, he leads a devotion every few weeks at his high school and plans events.
12) He is a decent golfer! Proof = Last year he was the only freshman to get to play almost every tournament.
13) He is very competitive! Proof = He made Monopoly trophies for the champion and loser (first one out) and made us play a lot of Monopoly for a while.
14) He loves his church! Proof = He has a servant's heart, he works hard on mission trips and other events for church.
15) He is a great preacher! Proof = At the age of 13 he surrendered to God's call to be a preacher, he got up in front of 400+ youth, pastors, and more and preached for the first time.
16) He loves Jesus Christ! Proof = Christian lives for Him, witnesses to the Lost, and not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.

Sixteen years of loving this son of mine, I miss those carefree days of boyhood but am starting to see the incredible young man God is molding him into.  Two and a half years and he will be off to college, okay, that's enough...don't get me started on that.

Contemporary Cake

 I really don't know why I try to do these things...I don't pay enough attention to the little details and something always happens.  These mushroom like things in the cake pans above are cakes, I was attempting to make a cake for Christian's 16th birthday.  I used two cake mixes when one would have done, duh.  A few months ago I tried a new recipe, it was for sweet and sour chicken.  It started off great, chicken was cooked nicely and then I did something out of order or forgot to do something and then tried to go back and correct it, not good...it was sweet and sweet chicken, my precious family choked it down but recently I stated that I was going to try to make something new and Christian replies, "you know what's going to happen, mom will attempt it, waste some ingredients and then throw it out"...such confidence, lol.  Well, the cake didn't turn out so bad, it's...contemporary...and at least the cakes I usually make taste good.

 Tah Dah!!!

I think I might have to get on one of those baking cook-off shows...James said I would sure get a lot of camera time...now what do you think that's supposed to mean?