GLIMPSE IN THE LIFE OF A MODERN FAMILY )` 7HZ[VY .HY` )\[SLY
Look around. We live in a society exploding with escalating levels of technology, entertainment, and activity. Families run nonstop. We frequently discuss our weariness and over-commitment, but rarely do anything to adjust our calendars. We have music lessons at the conservatory, AWANA on Wednesday, basketball on Friday, youth activities on Saturday, wrestling tournaments on Sunday, and back to school and work on Monday. Meanwhile, the oldest has joined the teen jazz band, and his younger sister has enrolled for ballet lessons at the YMCA. Add to this the strain of Mom and Dad holding multiple jobs and church responsibilities, plus all the work needed to keep the house in shape, and we have a prescription for disaster in the American home. We are tired of being tired. Many families rarely manage one single family meal per day with every member present around the dinner table. Few families foster intimate soul-to-soul conversation between parents and children. Can we survive going this fast? CWT 2^]cT\_^aPah 5P\X[hzb 4bRP[PcX]V ?PRT FTPZT]b cWT 5P\X[hzb 2^]]TRcX^] fXcW 6^S ;OL WYVWOL[ 0ZHPHO ^YV[L ¸0U X\PL[ULZZ HUK PU JVUĂ&#x201E;KLUJL ZOHSS IL `V\Y Z[YLUN[Oš 0ZHPHO ! 21= 8\PL[ [PTLZ PU the home provide a peaceful, tranquil setting to enhance childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s appreciation for God and his Word. As a child, I remember quiet visits to my Aunt Joyceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s house. Aunt Joyceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s husband had died, and her house was still and tranquil. In the quietness of those visits, we spoke much of the Lord and little of ourselves. Scenes like that have largely vanished from [OL (TLYPJHU MHTPS` SHUKZJHWL >L ZPTWS` TV]L [VV MHZ[ [V LUQV` .VK HUK OPZ X\PL[ ^VYR PU V\Y SP]LZ >OLU SPML PZ Ă&#x201E;SSLK with the endless swirl of activity, it hinders the quietness necessary for spiritual growth in the soul. CWT 2^]cT\_^aPah 5P\X[hzb 4bRP[PcX]V ?PRT 0RRT[TaPcTb cWT 8]U [dT]RT ^U cWT F^a[S As our children run to and fro, they become overexposed to the world and underexposed to the peaceful tranquility VM [OL :WPYP[ JVU[YVSSLK SPML 0U [OL 6SK ;LZ[HTLU[ ^OLU :HTZVU JHTL OVTL MYVT ;PTUH[O OL MV\UK H KH\NO[LY VM [OL Philistines and demanded his parents to acquire her to be his wife (Judges 14:2). Samson shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have looked for a wife among the Philistines, and much trouble came from that wedding, though God ultimately used it for his own purposes. As children become increasingly busy in all the extracurricular activities of life, they are subjected to things God never intended them to experience. As supervisor of an addiction ministry, I am concerned about the emergence of countless activities from our culture that have tremendous addictive potential. Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s youth are offered everything from internet porn to online gambling to JVUZ[HU[ P7OVUL JVUULJ[P]P[` [V ?IV_ NHTPUN 0U [OL HIZLUJL VM JHST WLHJLM\S MHTPS` ZL[[PUNZ [OL ZLK\J[P]L PUĂ&#x2026;\LUJL VM todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s technology is luring young people into new and frenetic activity. <PaaXPVT 5P\X[h } $