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| I received this in my email today and thought worthy of passing along...Enjoy~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BEAT THE FLU THIS WINTER!Dear friends,
As we approach flu season, it is good to be reminded of ways to prevent it. There are better ways to prevent the flu than being vaccinated. Check out the following points to keep yourself and your family in good health during this winter season. 1. AVOID ALL SUGARThis means to not only refrain from sugar, but all foods containing sugar, which are most foods on the shelves of the supermarket. Read labels very carefully. In fact, when you read the labels first, will find that you will have to put most foods back on the shelf. Sugar makes a perfect environment for viruses. Sugar completely destroys your immune system. It destroys the germ-killing ability of white bloods cells to kill bacteria and viruses up to five hours after intake. It interferes with the transport of vitamin C which is needed to fight the flu and robs the body of nutrients such as zinc that are vital for the immune function. Sugar affects everyone, but has more serious consequences for children. Keep your children away from all sugar and especially when flu viruses are around. That means at Christmas time too! Also, please reduce carbs as they turn to sugar in your body. Especially eliminate all whites--not only white sugar, but white flour, white pasta and white rice. Completely eradicate pop and sweet teas. I refuse to have sugar in my pantry. 2. BUILD UP YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEMThe stronger your immune system, the less likelihood of getting the flu or any disease. Here are some ideas for building up your immune system for you and your children. You can do what suits you best--or do them all! My daughter, Serene, who has eight children, gives herself and the children the following once a day or more as needed. COLD AND FLU FIGHTER½ cup chopped onion A whole bulb of chopped garlic 2 TBS chopped fresh ginger root 1 chopped jalapeño Put all ingredients in a quart jar, cover with raw vinegar and let sit 4 - 6 weeks. Strain out vegetables and use 2 TBS. or more each day. If you do get a cold or the flu, take every hour. Serene gives her children 1 TBS. each day as a preventative. VITAMIN C 1, 000 mg morning and evening GRAPEFRUIT SEED EXTRACTGive children three drops in water once a week. If you notice any signs of flu or colds in the family, give three drops in water once a day. Adults should take 10 - 15 drops in water at the slightest sign of a cold or flu. You can obtain this extract at a health food shop. TODDLER MIXTo make it easier for toddlers to take these vitamins, mix the following: 1 TBS. or more of yogurt (no sugar added) Crushed Vitamin C tablet, smaller dosage for toddler Juice of ½ orange 2 drops Grapefruit Seed Extract Stevia for sweetening Mix together and give to toddler as needed. VITAMIN D31,000 mg each morning to children 1,000 each morning and evening for adults. Most adults need much more than this. The consensus is that anything up to 5,000 mg a day is safe and beneficial for most people. After a hydroxyl test, most people find they need more than this. The optimum levels for the body are 60 - 90 ml. Vitamin D builds the immune system and also fights cancer. COCONUT OILThis is a marvelous food that builds up the body's own natural defenses against viral infections, disease and cancer. Take as much as you can each day. You can't take too much. Use the Extra Virgin Unrefined Coconut Oil for medicinal use. Put 1 TBS. or more in your smoothies. Use it for all your cooking instead of other oils. You can use Expeller Pressed for cooking. If there are any signs of flu in even one of the children, Serene gets her children to take a banana and dip it into coconut oil (about 2 TBS coconut oil). This is an easy way for the children to eat it. You can also get the children to put the coconut oil behind their ears and massage it into their lymph glands and also in their nose. Use coconut way every way you can. Use it for all cooking instead of other oils. To try some delectable recipes with Coconut Butter (it is called butter when it is cold and goes hard, and oil when it is soft in the summer or heated) you can order COCONUT RECIPES by Serene Allison from the Above Rubies website: www.aboverubies.org RED PALM OILThis is another super oil. I only use Coconut oil or Red Palm oil for cooking in our home. Every other oil turns to Trans fat when it is heated. Not only are these safe oils to cook with, but they add many nutrients to your body. Both Coconut oil and Red Palm oil strengthen the immune system. You can put a little Red Palm oil in your smoothies. My husband spreads it on his bread, but I have to admit, I cannot take it that way. But use it as much as you can in your cooking. The following is a smoothie recipe to try: Ginger Sunrise 2 fresh oranges 2 lemons, peeled with knife, removing yellow rind, but keeping the white pith 1 - 2 bananas (great for children, eliminate for adults as fattening) 2 TBS. Red Palm Oil 1 large handful of flax seeds or chia seeds 2 TBS. Coconut oil 2 chunks fresh raw ginger (about 1") Sweetening - Stevia Ice cubes Blend very well in Vita Mix or good blender until smooth. TO ORDER COCONUT OIL AND RED PALM OIL:Also www.TheHomeGrownFamily.comCharity Callis, Toll Free: 1 877 841 2861 Go to http://www.rainforestcoconutoil.com/ and check out their website. Email: rainforestmkt@gmail.com
Toll Free: 877-558-5518 To find out more about these immune boosting oils, check out THE PALM OIL MIRACLE and THE COCONUT OIL MIRACLE by Bruce Fife. 3. SLEEPThere is nothing like lack of sleep to run down your immune system. Sleep and a healthy diet are your best preventatives against the flu and colds. Make sure you have adequate sleep, especially during flu season. Try to get to bed early. I grew up with the old wives' tale that the hours of sleep before midnight are the most beneficial. Science has now proved this adage, although I must admit I have broken the rule most of my life. I am now trying to go to bed earlier. The plan is to go to bed no later than 10.00 pm--9.00 pm is even better. Staying up much later than 10.00 pm causes your adrenal glands to make cortisol. This is taxing on the adrenal gland and can lead to adrenal fatigue. Does this sound too hard? It is actually better for your health, and you will accomplish just as much by getting up earlier in the morning. And remember, I am preaching to myself! 4. OTHER PREVENTATIVESI have a friend who uses the following for her family. The taste is wonderful. ELDERBERRY COLD AND FLU FIGHTER SYRUP½ cup elderberries (check the Internet for dried elderberries) 4 cloves 1 cinnamon stick 1 TBS grated fresh root ginger 2 cups water Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 - 30 minutes. Add ½ cup honey. Store in refrigerator. Take 2 TBS. each day to prevent colds and flu. If you have the flu, take every hour. This recipe only keeps two weeks in the fridge so you will need to make a fresh batch every two weeks. CHOPPED GARLICAny easy fighter is to chop up 1 or 2 garlic cloves very, very finely. Pop in your mouth and swallow before you have a chance to taste the flavor or imbibe the smell. This is an easy and wonderful way to fight the flu. I find this simple and effective. THIEVES OILMany folk use the following Natural Antibiotic Recipe using Young Living Therapeutic-Grade Essential Oils. Here is the recipe from Quick Reference Guide for Using Essential Oils, compiled by Connie and Alan Higley, 10th edition. 12 drops Thieves Oil 6 drops Oregano Oil 2 drops Frankincense Oil Put drops in a "00" size capsule and ingest one capsule every 4 hours for 3 days, then every 8 hours for 4 days. To purchase oils, go to Amazon.com BURIED TREASURE - ACF (Acute Cold and Flu Formula) This is highly effective for fighting colds. You can purchase it as your local health food store or online. Our daughter, Pearl, always has it on hand for use at the first sign of a sniffle. HORSERADISHHorseradish root is a powerful antibiotic and useful for fighting the flu, as well as urinary tract infections and even cancer. I have just harvested the roots from m y garden and am getting ready to prepare it as a sauce and to use in other recipes. Check the Internet for all kinds of wonderful recipes. Prepare the following to use as needed. Slice or chunk the horseradish root, place in blender and grind, adding small amounts of vinegar for a good consistency, about 1 TBS vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar) to 1 cup horseradish. The vinegar preserves the horseradish and enhances the flavor. Vinegar stops the heat-building enzyme activity that grinding causes. If you want hotter horseradish, wait before adding the vinegar. Adding the vinegar right away will make the horseradish milder. Horseradish will take your breath away, bring tears to your eyes, but at the same time clear all your sinuses, help ward off the flu and make you feel great! You can add 1 TBS. of horseradish to your coleslaw or even to your meat loaf you are preparing. CUT AN ONIONThis is another old wives' tale that I grew up with, but I still do it and believe it works. If someone gets a cold or flu in the house, I cut an onion in half and put it in a strategic place. Supposedly the germs go to the onion. If my husband has a sniffle, I cut an onion and put half by his side of the bed and half by my side of the bed. He complains of the smell but puts up with it! HYDROGEN PEROXIDEA lot of germs come through the ears. As a preventative, pour a little Hydrogen Peroxide in the ear. I love to feel it bubbling in my ear. Do it once a week (perhaps on the weekend), one night in one ear and the next night in the other. I find it easier to do it this way as the peroxide doesn't run out from one ear when pouring it in the other ear. THYM-UVOCALAn herb which strengthens the immune system and fights off infections. Check the Internet for purchase. Adults only. 5. WASH HANDS FREQUENTLYWash your hands frequently throughout the day, especially before eating. Wash under running water for 20 seconds or sing HAPPY BIRTHDAY while washing. It is most important to train your children to do this. 6. DO NOT TOUCH EYES, NOSE OR MOUTHI find myself doing this and am having to get into the habit of not rubbing my eyes, mouth or nose. Teach your children about this also. 7. NETI POTCheck the Internet for a Neti Pot to clear nose and sinuses. 8. AVOID FLU VACCINATIONS, ESPECIALLY THE H1N1 SWINE FLU VACCINATION The H1N1 vaccination has many dangers. Check out more information before allowing yourself and your family to become a victim to these shots. SqualeneThe Swine Flu Vaccine, unlike other flu vaccines, contains squalene, an additive which when introduced into the bloodstream, causes crippling auto-immune diseases like Lou Gehrig's disease, Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, polyarteritis nodosa, and Guillain-Barre syndrome. Squalene in vaccines has been strongly connected to the Gulf War Syndrome. The H1N1 vaccine contains 1 million times more squalene than the vaccine given to Gulf War soldiers (which resulted in 140,000 veterans contracting the auto-immune disease Gulf War Syndrome). The use of squalene is illegal in the USA and UK but is being allowed under the emergency pandemic decree. Dr. Russell Blaylock states, "If you receive the vaccine, there is little you can do to protect yourself--at least by conventional medicine. It will mean a lifetime of crippling illness and early death." The US government has given vaccine manufacturers (Novartis, Baxter, Glaxo-Smithkline, CSL) complete legal immunity from any deaths or injuries resulting from their vaccines. If you are interested you could check out some of the following sites which are listed below. Blessings from NANCY CAMPBELL www.aboverubies.orgAbove Rubies is a magazine to bring strength and encouragement to marriage, motherhood and family life. Internet sites to check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8riAeGh48U http://www.naturalnews.com/027222_swine_flu_flu_vaccine_swine_flu_vaccine.html http://www.medicalvoices.org/en/vaccination/articles/what-they-dont-tell-you-about-vaccination-dangers-can-kill-you-or-ruin-your-life.html http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/09/01/Swine-Flu-Shot-Linked-to-Killer-Nerve-Disease.aspx http://www.nvic.org/vaccines-and-diseases/h1n1-swine-flu.aspx
PO Box 681687, Franklin, TN 37068-1687, U.S.A.
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| Just a Reminder this is happening today!!!
I just came across this event this evening and wanted to share with everyone else. You can either go to the site on the 17th and get recipes or you can submit some of your favorites. Either way, it sounds like a win win situation to me!!!
We are excited to announce…the Nourishing Crockpot Carnival on Tuesday, November 17 hosted here at Passionate Homemaking. Come share your favorite crockpots meals: main dishes, sides, and desserts. All varieties are welcome, although main dishes are particularly desired. We love the simple versions as well! On November 17th, please come by here and share your recipes in the comments or write a post on your blog and include a link to your blog post. We will keep a running list of all the yummy recipes you submit. You can share previously posted recipes, or post new recipes, as desired. If possible, please submit recipes that are made from whole food ingredients, or include homemade varieties of any processed food it might include, that way we can give people the option to adjust. If you don’t know where to begin in adapting your favorite crockpot recipes to be more nourishing, go ahead and submit them and we will offer tips and suggestions for you! We want this to be helpful for one and all, whether you are an old-timer in the nourishing foods camp, or whether you are new and eager to learn. Come and join us for a crockpot party offering nourishing meals for busy wives and moms! We would love to have you! Please use the icon above to advertise and promote this carnival further so we can have a great participation! | | |
| I just received this in an email today and thought it worthy of passing on to others for pondering. Please take the time to read it thoroughly and understand the thought process....
WHAT SHOULD I TEACH MY CHILDREN ABOUT MOVIES?
Updated October 20, 2009 (first published December 24, 2003) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
I received the following question by e-mail a couple of days ago: "What stand do you take on going to the movie theater? My husband and I are born again believers and do not feel that we should go to the movies, but we now have teenage children and they are asking why they cannot go.. I don't want to tell them because we said no, but would like to give them some biblical answer to help them understand. Do you have any information that might help me. Thank you for your time."
REPLY FROM BROTHER CLOUD
Before I answer your question about why God's people should not go to the movies, let me make a couple of general comments to your statements.
First, I commend you for wanting to give your teenagers a reason for their faith. This is very important. As they grow older, they don't need a mere list of dos and don'ts; they need to learn to think biblically for themselves, to apply the Scriptures to their daily lives. They need to learn that the Bible is very practical and that it speaks to absolutely every situation in life. I grew up in church but I didn't know this. I thought the Bible was just a bunch of old stories that had almost nothing to do with today. I had no idea that it was a Living Book! Of course, I was not saved then; I didn't get saved until I was 23 and had scarred my life deeply with sin. I can't blame my foolishness and rebellion on anyone else, but oh, that the church of my childhood had made the Bible more practical!
Second, it is not enough to avoid going to movie theaters. The great moral danger today is not only the movie theater but the videocassette, the DVD, the video game, and the Internet. It is what we watch in our own homes or in the homes of our friends and neighbors.
Third, we must resist the teenager concept, understanding that it doesn’t come from the Bible but from rock & roll in the 1950s. There was a “baby boom” in America following World War II. Whereas at the end of the war, there were about 5.6 million teens in U.S. high schools, by the time Elvis blasted on the scene in 1956 the number had almost tripled to 13 million (David Halberstam, The Fifties, p. 473). There was a corresponding increase in personal wealth and leisure. Between 1950 and 1960, per capita income increased from $1,500 to $2,788. Teens suddenly had free time and money, and a new music came along, preaching, “Do you own thing; have your own life; you aren’t an old foggy; you can be a cool dude, a rolling stone; throw off the shackles; you aren’t under anyone’s thumb.” The newly invented ultra portable 45rpm record and the transistor radio enabled them to have this new and exciting music wherever they went. Radios were well entrenched in automobiles by 1956, so that the new “teen” class could tool around in their automobiles and be cool and listen to rock & roll. Alan Freed, Dewey “Daddy-O” Phillips, and many other rock disc jockeys used the radio to help create a new teenage culture with its own music, language, and moral code. “In this new subculture of rock and roll the important figures of authority were no longer mayors or parents; they were disc jockeys, who reaffirmed the right to youthful independence and guided teenagers to their new rock heroes. THE YOUNG FORMED THEIR OWN COMMUNITY. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN AMERICAN LIFE THEY WERE BECOMING A SEPARATE, DEFINED PART OF THE CULTURE” (The Fifties, p. 474).
Television also helped create the teenager. By 1956 there were 37 million TV sets in America. This powerful new medium had a great influence in the spread of rock and roll. Elvis Presley’s appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1956 attracted 54 million viewers, which was a whopping 83% of the television audience. Dick Clark’s American Bandstand was inaugurated in 1957 and was watched by millions of teens. “Every day nationwide, teenagers rushed home from school to watch their favorite singers, and learn new rock & roll dance steps. ... As viewers watched them day after day, they got to know the dancers’ names; THEY COPIED THEIR CLOTHING AND HAIRSTYLES; THEY MIMICKED THEIR ‘COOL’ BEHAVIOR...” (Richard Aquila, That Old Time Rock & Roll, p. 10). The Beatles appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in December 1963 was seen by more than 73 million people. Not only did Sullivan promote Elvis Presley and the Beatles, but also Buddy Holly, the Rolling Stones, Gerry and the Pacemakers, the Searchers, Dave Clark Five, and many others. (For more about the history and influence and dangers of rock & roll see our 473-page book Rock Music vs. the God of the Bible, available from Way of Life Literature.)
The “cool teenager” was invented in the 1950s as a clever marketing tool. It is a concept that appeals to the innate rebellion and pride of youth and was a grand device of the devil.
Christian families and churches that cater to the world’s concept of “the teenager” are foolish and are not following the Bible. They are bowing to popular culture, and that is idolatry. God will not accept it. His Word is very clear in this matter, that we are not to be “conformed to this world” (Rom. 12:2) and that “whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4).
Fourth, God has obligated parents, not young people, to set the standards for the home. All too often Christian parents allow their standards to be lowered by their teenagers, so that it is the children who are setting the moral standards! That is backwards and it results in confusion and apostasy. The Bible says nothing about teenagers. In the eyes of God, teenagers are still children, still under parental authority. God praised Abraham because he would “command” his children. “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him” (Gen. 18:19). God hasn’t changed since Abraham’s day, even if society has.. God’s Word says, “Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord” (Col. 3:20). God doesn’t make an exception for teenagers. Until that young person “leaves father and mother,” goes off on his own, pays his own bills, makes his own way in life, and is responsible for his own decisions, he is under his parents’ authority.
We have witnessed the confusion and backsliding that results when parents turn the helm of the home over to their teenagers. Some close friends have done this with disastrous consequences. I think of one family that had high scriptural standards for their home until the children reached their teenage years, then it was as if someone flipped a switch and suddenly the teens were in charge. They set the standards for dress and entertainment and dating and music. Instead of the mom showing the girls how to be godly Christian women, the girls taught the mom how to be a teen. Instead of the mom instructing her daughters to dress modestly, the attractive teenage daughters taught the mom to dress like the world. Instead of the mom teaching the girls to appreciate wholesome music, the girls taught the mom to listen to rock. Instead of the dad teaching the sons to be busy serving the Lord, to be Christian men, the sons taught the dad to be a teen, to lavish his fleeting hours upon fun and games, with activities that have no eternal value but that are “cool.” As a result some of the children became moral shipwrecks and the parents eventually lived in two different countries. One of the girls had two children out of wedlock. One of the sons stiffened his neck against God and went completely into the world. The oldest daughter’s wedding to a charismatic was a moral disgrace. The bride was indecently dressed to the extreme and the crowd danced to hard rock & roll.
Many Christian parents are afraid to hold the scriptural line for their children as they get older, because they are afraid of “losing them”; but if they don’t hold the line they have lost them already.
Fifth, to maintain strong moral standards for your children, you must be have control of their lives. If they are in a secular school or a worldly Christian school, it is very possible that you will lose the battle. The same is true for the church you attend. I would challenge you to make sure that you are in a morally strong church that will back you up with godly standards. The matter is so crucial it is well worth moving to another state if necessary. If you are in the typical church today (including many independent Baptist or fundamentalist ones) your kids are surrounded by young people who are deeply compromised with the world, whose chief goal in life is to have fun, who think a shallow devotional and a quick prayer sanctifies every sort of carnal behaviour and redeems the complete waste of countless precious hours in this fleeting life. They are just as sports crazy as the world, just as fashion conscious, just as ignorant of sacrificial Christian living and service. In fact, if you are in the typical larger church, you might very well have a youth pastor that encourages worldly living (covered with a thin veneer of superficial Christianity, of course, to salve the conscience). The average church's youth department replaces secular things with Christian alternatives that imitate and are only a half step behind the world; secular sports are replaced with Christian sports, secular rock with Christian rock, secular dating with Christian dating, R-rated movies with PG-13 movies, secular tattoos with Christian. If you are in such a church, even if it is not quite as extreme as that which I have described, it will be almost impossible for you to maintain strong standards of separation from the world for your teenagers, because your efforts will be undermined by the church and by their church friends.
Sixth, when you give up something like television and movies, you need to replace it with something godly and wholesome. A vacuum is quickly filled. We are not only to cast off the works of darkness but also to put on the armor of light (Rom. 13:12). Instead of sitting around the television in the evenings, read some good books out loud. Everyone enjoys hearing a book read out loud, even teenagers. Start with something like Pilgrim's Progress or an exciting missionary biography. Or gather the family around to listen to good preaching sermons. Some are available on the internet both for download and for sale. The following site is one example: http://www.sermonstore.org/. (Beginning in about April 2004, Way of Life Literature plans to publish a series called Life Changing Sermons.) You will be amazed at how quickly the family can learn to enjoy life without the television and in a much more spiritually and morally healthy manner.
Seventh, and above all, do everything possible to be close to your children, to let them know that you love them dearly, to win their hearts with your affection, to know what they are thinking and to have an open channel of communication with them. If there is any breach between you or your husband and the children, spare no effort, spare no money, spare no repentance of sin, spare no tears, spare no amount of prayer, spare no amount of time, spare no amount of fasting, to heal that breach. Nothing is more important than winning your children to Christ and seeing them serve Him wholeheartedly and unreservedly. If your church is somewhat worldly and it is the best one in your area and you are not in a position to relocate, and if your Christian school is far from ideal but you are not in a position to home school, you can still succeed spiritually with the children if you have a close and fruitful walk with Christ in your own life and if you are close to the children and hold the key to their hearts.
Our four children are grown and are serving the Lord today and two are missionaries, so I am in a position to speak from experience, not only from what we did right but also what we did wrong! One of our sons struggled with the Lord's will for awhile, and I have no doubt that my failures as a father had negative consequences in his life. I praise the Lord for His great mercy and grace. Without that, no parent would ever be successful.
We did not have a television in our home for the first 14 or 15 years of our marriage. Then we decided to get one just to watch a few "good shows" and some carefully selected movies on video, mostly the old black and white ones. I believe my wife and I controlled the television as carefully as anyone ever has. The children were not allowed to watch shows by themselves. We hand picked every program and every video. If we wanted to watch a television program, we pre-recorded it and fast forwarded through the commercials. For the most part we did not allow any movie with a rating higher than G, and that really limits one's viewing! Even so, we found ourselves gradually lowering our standards, letting a couple of PG movies slip in because those particular ones "weren't much worse than G." Also, the kids would be home alone at times and there were occasions when we found that they had watched things that they should not have. Television is a slippery slope at best, and it gets worse every year. Several years ago we disconnected the television from the antenna, though we continued to watch a few old movies such as "The Shop Around the Corner" and "Sergeant York" or old TV programs such as Andy Griffith. And for the last few years we have not had a television in our home even for watching old movies.
Candidly, the only regret that I have about television in our home when the children were growing up is that we allowed ourselves to have one at all.
Now to the matter of why we should not watch unwholesome television programs and movies:
SCRIPTURE PASSAGES THAT FORBID WATCHING THE VAST MAJORITY OF HOLLYWOOD MOVIES AND TELEVISION PROGRAMS
The following Scripture passages teach me not to attend the modern movie theater or watch most modern Hollywood movies on video or DVD or the vast majority of television programming (including, and perhaps especially, the commercials!). While we cannot make a law that Christians can never watch any television program or any movie, it is also clear that Christian liberty is not the liberty to disobey the Bible. If the child of God can watch some program or movie without disobeying the Scriptures and with a clear conscience before God, that is between him and the Lord. But the following Scriptures have a direct application to this issue and are a loud warning to those who have ears to hear.
1. "I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me" (Psalm 101:3).
This verse single-handedly forbids the child of God to watch the vast majority of the movies and television programs that are made today. Consider just a few of the wicked things that you or your children will see:
* The breaking of all of God's commandments
* Open and flaunted immorality
* Casual drinking and drug usage
* Drunkenness portrayed as something funny and innocent
* Immodest and sexually alluring dress
* Sexually enticing dancing
* Violence and mayhem
* Casual dating (Parents, do you want your children to date after the fashion portrayed in most movies and television programs?)
* Mockery of the things of God
* Pagan religions depicted as truth
* Occultism, paganism, and New Age error (even in cartoons and in a large number of Disney movies)
2. "I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?" (Job 31:1)
This verse is similar to the one in Psalm 101:3, but it warns more specifically about looking upon women to lust after them. The Lord Jesus Christ warned, "But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Matt. 5:28). These verses are solemn warnings to men and boys NOT to watch Hollywood movies, whether in the theater or at home. In public, most men will not stare at a woman very long because he doesn't want to be seen doing that, but when he is watching a movie, he can stare as long as he desires at an indecently clad female, even if his wife is sitting by his side. Twenty years ago I asked a pastor friend, "Why do you think so many pastors are falling to sexual sins?" I have never forgotten his simple reply: "Television."
3. "But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them." (Ephesians 5:3-7).
This is a perfect description of 99% of the Hollywood movies today, if not 100%. It also describes the sensual rock music that goes hand in hand with practically all of today's Hollywood movies. The child of God is not to participate in such things, even by proxy.
4. "But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth" (Colossians 3:8).
Not only is it dangerous to watch evil things but it is equally dangerous to hear evil things. There are occasions in this wicked world in which we do not have complete control over what we see and hear, but when we are in our homes, we do have control. And we do have control over where we go and what we do with our own time. Television programs and movies are literally filled with ungodly speech, with the things specifically and solemnly forbidden in Colossians. The ear is a gate to the heart and determines how we live. The Proverbs warns, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Prov. 4:23). The very first thing that is mentioned in that connection is "Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee" (Prov. 4:24)!
Movies and television programs are filled with the things forbidden in Colossians 3:8: "Foul language, including curses, offensive epithets, scatological language, sexually suggestive or indecent language, and censored language increased by 94.8 percent during the Family Hour between 1998 and 2002” (Calvary Contender, Dec. 2003).
5. "And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5). "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened" (Romans 1:21). "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5).
The Bible warns the believer to cast down every evil imagination, because the imagination is the battle ground for the soul. Proverbs 23:7 says, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..." The imagination goes from bad to worse. The flesh is never satisfied. Sin, which began in such a “small” way in the days of Adam, had so permeated and controlled man's thoughts by the days of Adam's great grandson Noah that his thoughts were only evil continually. That describes multitudes in our day, which is not surprising in that the Lord warned, "But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be" (Matt. 24:37). Romans tells us that the imagination plays a great role in the downward spiral that results in homosexuality and other moral perversions. It is impossible to have spiritual victory if one allows the imagination to dwell upon evil things. It is not difficult in this connection to see the danger of television programs and movies. They fill the imagination with vivid images that linger and that return even if not purposefully entertained. They feed the fleshly nature, but it is never satisfied and it only desires more sensuality, more excitement, more, more, and is thus led ever deeper into moral perversion.
In looking back on my childhood, I recognize that one reason why the Word of God had little or no effect upon me, even though I was in a Baptist church at least three times a week, was that my mind was always filled with worldly entertainment. We got a television when I was about eight years old, and though the programs were nothing like they are today, they were foolish at best and certainly did not encourage me spiritually. We got our television about a year after Elvis appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. I remember that by the time I reached junior high school, I did everything I could to stay home on Sunday nights so that I could watch the most exciting programs of the week, such as the Disney Hour and Ed Sullivan and the Dina Shore program ("See the USA in your Chevrolet"). I don't remember if I was home that night in 1964 when the Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan, but I could have been. I was in high school and about that time my parents were having a lot of problems and had pretty much given up on trying to keep me in church. I had already started drinking and carousing around with my buddies every weekend in our automobiles. There is no doubt that television and movies fed my carnal imagination in a way that nothing else could have done and, together with rock & roll, inflamed me with a passion for the things of the world.
6. "And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God" (Philippians 1:9-11).
This passage teaches the child of God to choose the most excellent things in life, not those things that are borderline and questionable. It teaches him to be without offence before God. The believer should ask himself, "Would I be embarrassed for the Lord Jesus to come and find me doing this thing?" We are to be filled with the fruits of righteousness, and that means we have to be emptied of the fruits of the flesh and the world. The child of God has two natures, the old and the new, and the one he feeds and pampers is the one that will dominate his life.
7. "And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14:23).
This verse warns the child of God not to participate in anything that is questionable. If you cannot say for sure that something is God's perfect will, if it creates nagging doubts, you should avoid it.
8. "Abstain from all appearance of evil" (1 Thess. 5:22).
Not only are we to abstain from evil itself but even from the appearance of evil. Attending the movie theater today has, at best, an appearance of evil, because the vast majority of the movies shown there are morally vile. The same is true for watching most Hollywood movies at home. If our friends see that we watch movies, they will be encouraged to watch them as well, and they probably will not be as "discriminating."
9. "Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. ... It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak" (Romans 14:19, 21).
Even if I could go to a movie theater and see a movie that was 100% wholesome by biblical standards and not see any movie trailers for wicked movies, I would still be giving a bad example to others. If I go to watch a G-rated movie, I might encourage others to go and watch an R-rated one and thus commit sin against God.
10. "Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron" (1 Timothy 4:2).
The conscience is a tender thing. It can easily be hardened by unrepentant exposure to evil. This is why television programs and movies have gotten ever more wicked with each passing decade. If one of today's PG-13 movies had been shown on television 40 years ago, it would have been condemned broadly even by many unbelievers. The same is true for rock music. Eminem or Marilyn Manson would not have been allowed on the Ed Sullivan Show in the 1950s, but there has been a steady searing of the conscience by exposure to the ever increasing moral vileness of the entertainment industry. When Christians allow themselves to watch programs and movies that they know are wrong, their conscience becomes seared so that eventually they can watch things without so much as a twinge of conscience that once would have shocked them deeply.
11. "For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him" (Genesis 18:19).
God commended Abraham because he would command his children to keep the way of the Lord. Every parent needs to take this to heart. Contrary to the tenets of modern psychology and pop child training philosophy, parents are responsible to command their children and to show them the right way in life. Love is the key to making this work, of course. The father is accountable before God to be the godly head of the home and to oversee all things under Christ. The mother is responsible to work alongside the father and as his "helpmeet" in the home, and should never be guilty of undermining any godly thing that the father wants to accomplish. Each believing father and mother will stand before Jesus Christ and give account for how he or she lived in the home and how they raised the children. How wonderful it will be to hear the Lord say, "Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord" (Matt. 25:23). Nothing this world has to offer is worth losing the Lord’s commendation.
There is an axiom that what parents allow in moderation, the children follow to excess. If parents are even a little careless about watching Hollywood movies, the children will most likely move much farther into areas of moral temptation.
A WARNING ABOUT THE MOVIE RATINGS
A few years ago USA Today contained an article titled "PG-13 can lull folks with false security." It is a warning about the filthiness of PG-13 movies by a secular newspaper! The article contains the following important statement:
"PG-13 was designed, I believe, to apply the friendly PG symbol to movies that have no business even being considered for viewing by most young teenagers and preteens. The age of assignment for the rating is deceptive, and it lulls parents into a false sense of security" (Joe Zanger, editor of PG-14, USA Today, Nov. 22, 1999, p. 2D).
This is an important warning, though it should be much stronger. The article also notes that there is often no difference between PG-13 and R-rated movies, and even when there is a difference, it is only minor. Both types of movies routinely contain nudity, immorality, gratuitous and graphic violence, and foul language. From the standpoint of a Christian who wants to obey the Lord's call to holiness, there is no real difference. Immodesty is immodesty. Cursing is cursing. Blasphemy is blasphemy. Extramarital sex is extramarital sex. If one movie contains a little less of these things than another movie, that does not make either movie acceptable before God.
"I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me" (Psalm 101:3).
The ratings have become more lenient with the passing of time. Movies that would have been rated R a few years ago are routinely rated PG-13 today. Further, the category of NC-17 (meaning no one under 17 may be admitted) has been added to replace the old filthy X rating. There is an agenda to put increasingly more godless content into increasingly more widely distributed movies.
Also noted in the USA Today article is the fact that many directors and producers actually want their movies to be rated PG-13 today, as opposed to an R rating or a PG rating. This is because young people are admitted to the PG-13 movies as opposed to the R or restricted movies and they consider them more desirable and grownup than PG-rated (meaning parental guidance suggested) movies. PG-13 movies are raking in huge receipts at the box office. Of the top 21 films that have grossed more than $200 million, the vast majority (13) are PG-13, while only three are PG, two are G, and three are R.
If secular people can see the danger of PG-13 movies, why can't God's people! We must understand that the Hollywood-New York entertainment business is not now and never has been the friend of God and righteousness. From their inception, motion pictures and television have pushed the boundaries of morality in society farther from the standard of God's Word. Yet more members of Bible-believing churches watch unwholesome television and movies today than ever, and there is less plain preaching on this matter today than ever.
We must remember that the movie and television ratings systems were not devised by godly people who are committed to obeying the Bible, but by secular people who are controlled by the philosophy of this world. In reality, ungodly movies are not wholesome fare for children, young people, OR for adults. PG-13 things such as nudity and foul language are not acceptable before God for adults any more than for young people.
Like the frog in the gradually heated pot, God's people who are careless about separating from Hollywood's filthy fare become desensitized by it.
A missionary friend was eating a meal with a pastor and his wife a few years ago when the topic of the movie Titanic (rated PG-13) came up. When the missionary expressed his opinion that the movie is ungodly, the pastor's wife said that they had seen it and had enjoyed it. The missionary asked what they thought of the nudity in the movie, and the pastor's wife said it was "tastefully done." This illustrates how worldly many fundamental Baptist churches have become. If pastors and their wives are enjoying movies featuring extramarital affairs, what are the other members of the church watching! The Bible says the pastor is to be the example to the flock (1 Peter 5:3). WOE UNTO THOSE MULTITUDES OF WORLDLY PASTORS WHO FILL THE PULPITS ACROSS THE LAND TODAY, WHO ARE COMFORTABLE WITH HOLLYWOOD'S CESSPOOL AND WHO DO NOT TEACH THEIR PEOPLE THE FEAR OF GOD AND SEPARATION FROM THE WORLD.
The following are typical quotations from reviews of PG-13 movies by professional secular critics:
A CHEF IN LOVE -- PG-13 "violence, rape, sex, nudity, profanity -- it's pretty raunchy"
MEN IN BLACK -- PG-13 "violence, profanity, gore, vulgarity"
SPAWN -- PG-13 "violence and mayhem, vulgar gags and references, profanities and brief partial nudity, as well as some revealing outfits"
SPEED 2: CRUISE CONTROL -- PG-13 "considerable violence and mayhem, profanity, vulgarity"
ACE VENTURA -- PG-13 "raunchy humor, an abundance of profanity"
ANACONDA -- PG-13 "violence, gore, profanity, vulgarity, sex, nudity"
AIRHEADS -- PG-13 "considerable raunchiness; there is violence, graphic sex, profanity and vulgarity"
ASPEN EXTREME -- PG-13 "considerable violence, nudity and profanity, as well as cocaine abuse"
BIRD ON A WIRE -- PG-13 "considerable mayhem, as well as sex, profanity and some nudity"
BLANKMAN -- PG-13 "violence, profanity, vulgarity and some nude photos"
BLAME IT ON THE BELLBOY -- PG-13 "sadistic, graphic violence, as well as sex, profanity, vulgarity and some partial nudity"
CLUELESS -- PG-13 "violence, vulgarity, profanity and drugs ... the film's cavalier suggestions that casual sex is perfectly acceptable for 15-year-olds and that smoking marijuana is fine as long as it's at a party are extremely irresponsible."
COOL WORLD -- PG-13 "With its excessive violence, sex, vulgarity and profanity, this isn't a film I'd recommend to any children - even those over 13."
CAPTAIN RON -- PG-13 "violence, sex, nudity, profanity and vulgarity"
THE CHASE -- PG-13 "considerable violence and profanity, sex scene"
CIRCLE OF FRIENDS -- PG-13 "sex, profanity, vulgarity and some nude photos"
CITY SLICKERS -- PG-13 "violence, sexual material, profanity and a few vulgar remarks"
CLASS ACT -- PG-13 "many vulgar sexual gags, violence, sex, profanity"
SAFE PASSAGE -- PG-13 "profanity, vulgarity, sex, violence and drugs (marijuana smoking)"
SO I MARRIED AN AX MURDERER -- PG-13 "violence, sex, nudity, profanity and vulgar sexual remarks"
SOME GIRLS -- PG-13 "sex, nudity, profanity, vulgarity, violence and drugs"
SPLITTING HAIRS -- PG-13 "loaded with vulgar gags, nudity and sex, profanity"
SON-IN-LAW -- PG-13 "profanity, vulgarity, nudity, violence, general rauchiness, lesbian kiss between two girls, mud-wrestling ... [the parents] are shocked by the change in their daughter (dyed hair, mini-skirts, see-through tops and an ankle tattoo ... running theme of teen sex being perfectly acceptable"
MADE IN AMERICA -- PG-13 "a sex scene with nudity, as well as some profanity and vulgarity"
MOLL FLANDERS -- PG-13 "Much sexual material; there is also violence, nudity, drug abuse, a couple of profanities and some vulgarity"
PARENTHOOD -- PG-13 sex, "profanity, vulgarity, raunchy ... Some of the material is so adult that an R rating doesn't seem unreasonable"
ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS -- PG-13 "violence, vulgarity, profanity, partial nudity"
RESCUE ME -- "is rated PG-13 but has an awful lot of R-rated material, including violence, profanity, sex and nudity"
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| I hope you know a young, homemaker who might benefit from not only my bread recipe, but my complete bread baking book, A Beginner's Guide to Baking Bread! It's free to download for one day only, so please pass this link on today!
This came in the email yesterday afternoon and I see it is still available through today so if you are looking for a guide to making bread you might check this out.
Here is another link to click on to get to the site in case the one above is not working:
http://www.urbanhomemaker.com/productcart/pc/viewContent.asp?idpage=10
Blessings,
Melissa
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| I just came across this book review on A Wise Woman Builds her home. I haven't even heard of this book or the series but thought it worth pointing you in the direction of this book review.
Twilight --Christian Mom's Review
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