Refocusing: Good & Evil

A brush with modern morality has prompted me to refocus on the Core: faith, truth, love, and good habits. (TJEd says Core is all that matters in teaching children through age 7, and Charlotte Mason has me hooked on habits!)

We went on a mini-vacation to Williamsburg, and since we had cable tv there, I checked out some home hunter shows and PBS. (We don't have any broadcast tv in our home, by choice.)

I was pleased to stumble across the much-praised Downton Abbey, since I'd heard "good" reports about it and am a bit drawn to stories taking place in times gone by.

I only saw 30 minutes of the episode, apparently the season finale, and I was disappointed to see:

1. A main father figure told his son (or soon to be new son-in-law?) that the son couldn't help his feelings ... in engaging in a relationship with a married woman!
2. And this is what prompted me to PUSH POWER OFF: two girls sought the advice of a Ouija board to answer a question they pondered.

I'm sorry, but there was nothing redeeming in this show to keep my attention -- and it only takes place in times gone by (it's continually being written). The problem was not the display of poor decisions or occult behavior, the problem was that these values were portrayed as good, or okay.

So, I am re-invigorated to continue planting the seeds of truth and faith in my children, in the hope that as they grow, the roots will grow deep, and they will be able to discern between good and evil, between right and wrong. I fear our society has completely lost it.

I am forever grateful to my parents for making the truths of scripture very real to me. They were never perfect (and admitted it), but they did tell me God was perfect, and true, and all powerful -- and His Word given in the Bible is our infallible guide. I shall endeavor, by God's grace, to pass that eternal gem onto my children.

It is by God's grace that I truly trust He is and His Word is our anchor. I KNOW He created everything, as He describes in multiple places in the Bible (not via a macro-evolutionary process). I credit this faith, of course to God's gift, but also to the good work of my imperfect parents who personally demonstrated faith (and didn't just off-load me on the church to learn it).

We've been enjoying the Arch books so much, that I just ordered several more from Amazon. We seem to do better with the Bible story books than "children's Bibles" -- they're not actually Bibles anyway. I always tell my kids that these are short renderings of the real, complete stories in the Bible, that one day they will be able to read all by themselves.

Arch books are only $2.50, and we picked up several new, great stories. We shall continue to read them at breakfast and sometimes lunch. We'll still read from our favorite book list, but it is not my priority -- especially at their young ages.

I just pray my children can discern right from wrong, good from evil, because of the planting of the Word in their lives, and by God's grace, may I continually be openly repentant of any hypocrisy and weaknesses in demonstrating a life of faith in my Creator and Savior.