Friday, September 14, 2007

I've been convicted!

No, I haven't been convicted of a crime...although there was that one time in high school-oh my what am I saying!!!

Anyway- here is what I'm talking about. I love to read. Usually I'll pick up just about any book and read it. If there are parts that aren't- well exactly "acceptable" I usually just try to ignore them. But lately something has been going on in my little brain- or more likely my heart- and I just can't ignore those "unacceptable" parts any longer.

I bought several books at Book-A-Million the other day. I just glanced at the back to see what they were about. One I didn't even look at the back- the title and the cover looked intriguing so I bought it. The other day I picked one of them up to start reading it and on the first page- you know the first page of the first chapter where you usually only get about 1/2 a page of text- there were 16 "bad" words. 16 on 1/2 a page! Why?? And one of them was what I consider to be the worst. I just couldn't continue reading. So I put that one away and picked up one of the others that I'd purchased. This one was the one that I didn't read the excerpt on the back. Well, it was almost as bad. The language wasn't as bad but the subject matter was worse. UGH! So that one went away too.

And then there is music. I LOVE to listen to music. And again, usually anything goes. But lately there has been that tug on my heart when certain songs come on the radio or come up on my Ipod. So I change the channel or skip over them (yes, I know I need to delete them from my Ipod).

I'm not really sure what's going on and why the Lord has decided to place this on my heart but I'm glad he has. As I read or listen I find myself asking myself "Would I want my boys listening to this or reading this"! It's really a wake up call!

So I challenge you-think about what you are reading, saying, listening to, watching on TV. I'm not saying to stop all of it (I do have a Grey's Anatomy addiction) but just think about it- maybe you'll be compelled like I was to at least start doing something about it!!

5 comments:

Unknown said...

I accept your challenge! It's funny, because I'm always careful about what I recommend, but not always as careful about what I read. I have changed what I watch and read (listening to those convictions), but I know I could probably scale back even more.

Katrina @ Callapidder Days said...

This is an area where God's really convicted me too, in recent years. Chad and I have both become sensitive to what's on TV, and I've modified my radio and book habits as well. I think that the, "Would I want my kids to read/hear/see this?" is a great way to approach it. I've really had to ask myself -- if my kids shouldn't see this, why is it okay for me to see it? Sometimes, it's just a matter of maturity or understanding, but other times, I have no right to see/hear/read it either. Good post.

PDub said...

I've really been convicted about music lately because Perry received a mix CD from one of his friends at a birthday party and there were a couple songs on there that were full of vulgar words. I was really shocked, so now I really look at the songs, etc. before we download them.

Good post - I need to really start limiting my tv viewing to shows that would be more lifting.

PDub said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Karen said...

Hmm....interesting post. This is such a good point. Also, be careful what you hand your kids. We got my dd the "Wicked" novel b/c she had gone with her acting class to see the show. Not until my MOM picked up the book and started reading did we find out how totally inappropriate (and not much like the show) it really was!
Then we had to explain to dd why we were taking it away. (sigh)