Thank you for making me think (and laugh). I may speak up the next time I find myself in a similar situation.

Authenticallyme,

“fighting the temptations can make you a stronger person. trying to remove all strongholds out of your path has the propensity to leave people crippled… we can overcome instances to sin. we dont have to remove each one.”

Please consider the following:

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13) (Lord’s prayer)

“I will refuse to look at
anything vile and vulgar.”
Psalm 101:3

“Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness”
(2 Timothy 2:22)

Please also consider how pornography affects the society we live in- One in three little girls are sexually abused by the age of three years old. The figures for boys are nearly equally devastating.

I used to think that if I home school our children, keep them in our own home when friends come to play, don’t allow sleepovers ect that my children would be safe. After taking all of the above protective measures (and more that I won’t go into) you can imagine the shock and devastation our family experienced when we became aware that our children were being horribly sexually abused by thier next door neighbor friend in our own home when we were there. The abuse had gone on for more than a year. The friend who had abused them, I am sure, is also being abused.
Our society is so awful that protecting our children, even in a small town in the midwest, has become impossible.

We have pornography, in part, to thank for this tragedy. And by pornography I don’t mean just the kind that is labeled pornography. I mean the covers of Cosmopolitan, the card board “babes”, sexy commercials on TVs, add on the sides of buses… it’s inescapable. And the effects of this sinful lifestyle effect our children. And our children’s children.

Now that my son has been abused, I have to be even more careful about avoiding provocative explisit things. I have found, even with home schooling and without TV, avoiding pornographic or suggestive material is impossible.

I want to run away. I can finally pray, with a broken heart, that God’s kingdom come and will be done here on earth as it is in heaven.

I appreciate your thoughts. I’m wondering if you read my other comments where I clarified the “bar”…it was not a bar, but rather more like the smoking section where the alcohol was stored (most restaurants serve alcohol) by which I AM NOT OFFENDED, and therefore do not avoid such establishments.

I do realize your truth about pride…thank you for that warning.

I really appreciate your apology…it is understandable the frustration you might feel having come upon these “new” concepts later (which are mostly just old ones resurrected).

I run across people in your age-range from time to time who also seem to carry a feeling of condemnation. I also think how sad that they are not able to say, “Wow, I didn’t know about that when I was raising children, but I’m behind you all the way!”

I’ve mentioned before that one of the reasons I started this blog (which was originally entitled “The Birth Control Debate”) was to encourage Christians, REGARDLESS of their personal practice, to embrace God’s heart toward children being a blessing, and rally behind those who have chosen to accept all the children he would give them. (I don’t even like the term “quiver full” because it automaticlaly confines you within a group, instead of as a family just following the Lord’s leading.)

Because if we’re all on the same side, we should all be excited about our army growing!

Maybe that mentality can be applied to other areas as well?

I consider our “journey” to be one where we have looked around at how Christians are copying so much of the culture’s lifestyle, and considered our own scars, and our observing other tragedies in the church left and right, and so asked ourselves, “Maybe we could avoid some of these pitfalls…maybe we should search deeper for answers in raising our children.”

And so, breaking off from a “norm” our only desire is to try to avoid so much of the heartache we experienced in our own lives.

I guess that’s what surprises me when we receive so much criticism. I am a woman who has reaped glorious benefits by obeying certain principles of Scripture, and have no other desire than to share them with others–much like I would share any “secret” that helped me. I never expected to make so many enemies! LOL

Againk thank you for your apology…

With all due respect, I had to chuckle at your reply. First, because you think my acceptance of alcohol has to do with my being a “younger Christian”.

I’ve been a Christian for a very long time, and I once was adamantly opposed to alcohol, and I still have close (reformed) friends who are also…different subject altogether…and there has been much deep study and a prayerful arrival at my change of conviction on the issue. I don’t appreciate your coming to my blog and insulting my “young, dumb philosophies” because you are older than I.

In case you didn’t know, most mature, devout Christians of history drank alcohol, including those in the Bible. The “no alcohol” stance among Christians came much later.

Secondly, you keep getting your facts about my beliefs wrong. I haven’t mentioned that yet, but you just now said “you can’t let your kids watch tv…can’t use birth control, can’t let your women wear pants…”

What are you talking about? Are you asserting that I belong to a church that forbids those things? Or are you asserting that I hold these “can’ts” for myself? Because neither of the two are true.

I wear pants sometimes; I watch TV sometimes; and when I don’t do those things, it’s a choice we make, not a creed written in our bylaws. We personally don’t practice birth control. We didn’t sign anything that forbids it.

Some people in the reformed, covenant faith practice birth control, and have much more liberal practicies than I may have personally. So it certainly isn’t a church thing, if that’s what you are implying.

I am not “Dutch reformed”, so I don’t know what you’re talking about there either.

Born royal??? Don’t know what your talking about.

One of the main tenents of our church’s belief is that we are born totally depraved sinners, and our only hope for salvation is in the blood of Jesus. I think you are confused.

I also think you are speaking out of turn. It is my opinion that you should start your own blog.

??? “Warrior, too, you need to realize that if you have a blog site, somebody is eventually going to come on who does not agree with you.”

Did you not read my comments? Did I lead you to believe that I’m naive enough to think there won’t be disagreeing?

It was the strife and dissention (which you can’t see because I deleted it) that I was addressing.

And maybe I should clarify the “bar scene”…it may not matter to you, but this wasn’t a restaurant with a full-fledged bar (obvious immoral behavior, etc.), just a side with a counter over which alcohol is served, like most all major restaurants in the country.

Serving alcohol doesn’t offend me, and therefore I don’t avoid places that serve it for my children. (That’s probably the difference in a Presbyterian vs. Baptist

Just thought I needed to say that.

A blog like this is tricky: there will obviously be disagreeing and sometimes words are used that shouldn’t be, feelings are hurt, etc.

I’m trying VERY hard to maintain an objective debate, without personal attacks. I give everyone some room for error (including myself!) but a constant strife-generating barrage is not helpful or growth-producing.

Objective disagreement over a topic–fine. But what you were doing–just going in and attacking every post, that’s not what this blog is about.

Really, I prefer to discuss among believers who hold similar doctrinal views and stick to the specific topics, not spend all my time defending the basic tenets of Christianity.