Time and Space for Flourishing in a Tech World Andy Crouch Ep 208
Don't Mom Alone Podcast
05/28/18
•56m
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In a world where devices, video games and screen-based entertainment dominate our time and space, we can choose to make our family culture different. It isn’t easy and it isn’t always fun, but there are huge benefits for us and our kids when we take time away from devices.
This week’s guest Andy Crouch is the author of “The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place”. He shares about our calling to be image bearers of God and how his family has seen a lot of growth by putting limitations on time with technology and building in Sabbath rest from devices.
Have moments as a family where you talk about what have been your best moments. What’s been the flourishing moments in our family? It’s very unlikely people will say, ‘Oh that time we made it to level 16 in whatever video game.’ Kids and parents will remember moments that had this kind of real authority and real vulnerability.
As we head into summer, I hope this episode encourages you to embrace the power of your kids being bored so they can tap into their God-given creativity, abilities and interests. Just hang in there through the first third of the time! Listen to see what I mean.
What we chat about:- Image bearing as it relates to authority and vulnerability
- Video games and screened-based entertainment simulate authority and vulnerability
- Andy’s family’s Sabbath for screens and devices- one hour each day, one day each week and one week each year
- How to work toward unity on device- and technology-free time with your spouse
- Start small and do what’s stretching when it comes to taking time without devices
- Talk as a family about the best times you’ve experienced together and plan to have more of those moments
- The first third of the time is really hard, but in the second two-thirds you’ll see creativity and really good things for your family
- Changing your physical space to make the main thing we do together different
- Work and rest vs. Toil and leisure
- Not looking at your phone first thing in the morning till you’ve been outside
- Having a rhythm of disengagement with technology that reconnects us with real rest and with who we really are in God’s image.
- “The Tech Wise Family: Putting Technology in its Proper Place” by Andy Crouch **
- “Strong and Weak” by Andy Crouch**
**Amazon affiliate link
Previous Episode
Parenting in the Digital Age Ashley Januszewski Ep 207
May 21, 2018
•67m
Our children are growing up in a digital age with unparalleled access to technology. With these wonderful advances, comes a heavy responsibility we cannot ignore as parents. The access to pornography and sexual images and videos is everywhere and the age of children viewing them is going down.
But there is hope. My guest Ashley Januszewski is all about empowering parents to protect their children by talking candidly with them about God’s plan for their bodies and sex from an early age. We talk about everything from sexting and pornography to device control and screen time limits. She shares great resources for how to start these conversations with your children at any age.
It’s our job as parents, though this is the reality. Not to throw our hands in the air. It is our responsibility just like it is to buckle our children when we get in the car. So it’s our responsibility to virtually buckle up our children.... It’s everywhere. So it starts and ends with training the heart and equipping our kids. What to do when (not if) they are faced with this avalanche of filth. What do we do? We’ve got to talk about it.
What we chat about:- The story behind Ashley’s pursuit of information on parenting children in the digital age
- Eleven is the average age for exposure to pornography in America.
- Fear and anxiety can be signs that a young child has been exposed to something sexually inappropriate.
- The coming of age experience today in 2018 looks radically different than what we experienced as kids.
- There aren’t the natural barriers that used to exist to pornography. Now it is anonymous, accessible and affordable to anyone.
- Our responsibility as parents to minimize exposure to pornographic material
- 40 percent of teenagers today in America say that sending sexual or naked photos or videos is part of everyday life for them.
- Make a plan for when and how you will introduce digital technology to your children
- A family mantra or mission statement can help you stay centered on the truth of God in a world that is dominated by opinions
- How screen time is affecting kids’ brains and hours spent on screens by tweens and teens
- Teaching young children about the dignity and value bodies which can lead to wider conversations
- Humanizing explicit images and an example of how to talk to your kids when you encounter them
- Avoiding shame or blame when it comes to sexual images to keep the lines of communication open
- Solutions for an Internet safer home- control the location of devices, control at the router and control on the devices
- Sexting and child pornography laws and the importance of reporting
- Mary Flo Ridley “When to have the Talk”
- Grace-Based Discipline :: Karis Kimmel Murray [Ep 150]
- Theology of the Body for Kids:
- Pornography Jimmy and Josh Myers Ep 162
- Good Pictures Bad Pictures: Porn-Proofing Today’s Young Kids **
- Good Pictures Bad Pictures Jr.: A Simple Plan to Protect Young Minds **
- https://www.pcmag.com/roundup/342731/the-best-parental-control-apps-for-your-phone
- https://protectyoungeyes.com/
- Screens and Teens by Kathy Koch**
**Amazon affiliate link
Next Episode
Which Type of Rest Do You Need Saundra Dalton-Smith Ep 209
June 4, 2018
•57m
As moms, we know we need rest. We usually equate rest with sleep or with a vacation, but this week’s guest shares a broader picture of our need for rest in multiple areas of our lives.
Saundra Dalton-Smith is a medical doctor, wife and mother to two boys. She had everything she’d dreamed of and worked hard to achieve, but wasn’t enjoying it.
I kept pushing and pushing myself till I got to the point where I literally burned out. I wasn’t happy with my job. I couldn’t see how my marriage would survive. I didn’t want my kids anymore. I was just at the end of myself. I didn’t want the life I created.
After reaching this breaking point, she went on a journey of restoration and healing where she learned to connect with God and with his plan for rest. Now she shares her research and methods with her patients and with all of us. If you’ve ever felt tired and at the end of yourself, this episode is for you.
We already have permission to rest, but the mommy guilt that sometimes comes tells us we don’t. That is really a lie. I look at it as the John 10:10. ‘The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy.’ And he’s doing it to a lot of us through our inability to rest, our inability to trust God that when we lay things down that he is able to uphold them.
What we chat about:- When Saundra reached her breaking point from stress and lack of true rest
- We have physical limits to what we can do as moms
- How Saundra researched rest and looked at scripture for clarity on how God rested
- The seven types of rest: physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, social, sensory and creative.
- The difference between a vacation and resting
- Paying attention to a place that feels painful in your body in the moment vs ignoring it
- Finding emotional rest through connection with friends, even through video chat if getting together is impossible
- The importance of authentic, open friendships with women who can relate to your life situation
- Ideas on how to stay engaged with your husband and reignite your marriage
- Putting limits on social media time so that your mind has down time
- Tips for getting mental rest and release ideas that make your mind race
- Sensory rest– what it is and ways to get it
- It is not selfish to prioritize resting. It keeps you from having a toxic reaction to those around you.
- Marco Polo App–way to socially connect
- Sacred Rest by Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith**
- Adventures in Odyssey Club–hundreds of episodes
- Rest Quiz Online
**Amazon affiliate link
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