Yes, We Are The Meanest Parents On The Planet

the cable is gone from our television...

No, we haven't cut the cable primarily because of the cost, although that will help us each month...

no, we cut our cable because of, quite frankly, the filth.

We try to be good stewards of our entertainment viewing. We don't watch R rating movies or videos (and really, we don't watch too many PG-13 ones, either). We have the appropriate filters on the internet. We have one television for the whole house (none in any bedrooms). We really try to be diligent to what is coming into our home via the web and of what's being played out on our tv screen in the living room.

Doesn't mean we're perfect at it...just means we try.

But with all that, it is still tremendously hard to watch television and not get your senses blindsighted by something vulgar. If I have the tv on in the afternoon, sure enough there's gonna be a half naked woman, or someone cussing, or a guy needing some kind of pharmaceutical help on the screen.

At 4:00 in the afternoon.

My 14 year old son doesn't need that in front of him.
And neither do I.

My friend Sue always says, "if you wouldn't let them do that on your living room couch, why would you watch them do it on your tv screen?" Once again, sage advice...

What sparked this sudden "cable-disconnectomy"? Well, it really wasn't sudden. My struggle with Mr. Pottymouth goes back decades. (that's my pet name for our tv). I posted about that struggle last year. So this wasn't something we decided to do off the cuff. During the summer we tried to be creative about our tv viewing. We got out an old dry erase board and made a tv chart. Every member of the family had the option to write in what shows they wanted to watch for the week, with the idea that when there were no shows on the chart, the tv would be off. We thought the less the tv was on, the fewer chances of being assaulted by filth. So we did that for a while...and then we started to slack off...the tv was being left on longer and longer, and then the chart got put up during the holidays because it wasn't pretty to look at with all the Christmas decorations...excuse, after excuse...so finally after the holidays, Mark and I both came to the conclusion that we just needed to cut off the cable.

So Mark called the cable company and they said they'd be out the 14th...

and that's today.

And I have to admit, last night I was having second thoughts. I thought about the news channel, the food channel, the home channel, etc. But I want to be obedient more than I want to watch a cooking show I've already seen 16 times...

and when I read in Scripture,

'I will set before my eyes no vile thing.' Psalm 101:3

I know exactly what He wants for me. He makes it very clear. He's not sugar-coating it. And He also knows my struggle with putting things before my eyes that are not pleasing to Him. So the phone call was made to the cable company...

...2 hours later

Well, the cable guy just left...and the plaintive wail of my son, saying "nooooooooooo" could be heard outside.

It's gonna be a long night...