Fun Activity This Week: Create a treasure hunt. In week 31, I suggested the same thing as an art project, so if you did this already, you can always reverse roles (the clue giver now becomes the seeker of treasure and vice versa), you could create a newly themed treasure hunt, or you can just find something else fun to do! You can read what I wrote for week 31 here: https://abcsofajoyfulmarriage.blogspot.com/2024/07/week-31-passion-pornography.html
Week 39: Talk & Television
Talk: Time with your spouse should consist of more than just sitting side by side while you wordlessly watch television or spend time on the computer. Take the time to have meaningful conversations and learn to be comfortable talking about any subject.
You will read more about this in the below section, but Mel and I quit watching television in 2015. Since we quit watching, this leaves us much more time for each other. I know some of you groan or roll your eyes at this, but it has been great for us. We play board games more often, go for walks and drives more often, and read aloud together (or listen to an audio book) most nights. Of course, we do not spend every second together as we each maintain Facebook pages, write blogs, etc., and always developing more projects to build our ministry. We also have other hobbies we both enjoy. Yet even when we are working on separate projects, we are still in constant communication. Truthfully, unless we are asleep or I am at work, we do not go more than 30 minutes without talking. On the rare occasions we are not together, we continually communicate by phone.
My point is that when we spend more time in conversation and less time staring at mindless "entertainment" it enhances our marriage as we learn more and more about one another. Mel and I talk about things most people find embarrassing, but no subject is off limits. We were even very open and honest with one another before we got married, which was why we fell in love so very quickly (we were married ninety-six days after we met). So, talk, laugh, share, have fun, and make your marriage more enjoyable and less avoidable.
Television (and Movies): Mel and I got rid of our television and gave up movies in 2015 due to the over-sexualized nature, the constant use of God's name in vain as well as other swear words, the justification of violence, occultism, and the LGBTQ agenda. However, we do watch the news, some documentaries, Christian concerts, and sermons from holiness preachers on YouTube. We tried to limit ourselves to "Christian" movies but even many of them are full of scantily clad women and swearing and have very watered-down messages. Moreover, the “Biblical” movies are excessively violent and not accurate; they just confuse those not familiar with what the Bible truly says. Truthfully, since 2015, we have considered several times since returning to TV/movies as long as we stuck with "innocent" or "spiritual" programs, but God ALWAYS speaks to one or both of us whenever we have chosen to go backwards and makes it very clear to get rid of Hollywood yet again. We know without any doubt that God is calling us to separate ourselves from this form of entertainment. It really is not difficult when you think of it this way: would you still be watching your favorite programs if Jesus was sitting next to you?
Before I get into this subject a little deeper, I want to give you an assignment that will go beyond this week. Keep a television and movie viewing journal and record how you feel each time a sexy woman is on the screen. Wives, do you feel ugly and inadequate? Men, are you titillated (remember Matthew 5:28)? Do sex scenes and nudity make you feel dirty or stir up unhealthy temptations to cheat? How about when a violent scene is depicted. Are you experiencing unexplained bouts of anger or depression? What about programs that reverse gender roles? Do you experience dissention in your home? What about the shows glorifying witches, wizards, vampires, and other demons/false gods? Is anyone in your home having nightmares? Are you or your children in rebellion? Feel like your prayers are blocked? Record it all. By the end of two weeks (or even go a full thirty days), read this week again, and you will see where I am coming from.
I am speaking out of experience. I too was once obsessed with television and movies (and books), filled with the occult, violence, and carnality. I was plagued with bad dreams, bad moods, and bad decisions. We also let go of a large number of books along with television and movies.
The below portion was written by my husband, Mel in 2014:
"The Lord has been dealing me on the issue of television. I felt that if I were careful to what programs I watched, everything would be okay. I became aware that television was an idol to me, as well as a compromise to my Christian faith. Television is filled with extreme violence, fornication, adultery, occultism, profanity, swearing, etc. I was filling my eye gates and ear gates with the trash that Hollywood produces. For the eyes and the ears are gates to the soul. Should Christians be filling their souls up with darkness?
"Even commercials have become X-rated. How much of this are we going to tolerate as Christians? Also, consider the heavy metal music played in the background of movies, shows, and commercials. Many claim that they would never allow this type of music to be played within their homes, but they are allowing it in their homes through television. After watching a show, how many times have you gone to bed and had undesirable music playing in your head? It has happened to me many times.
"Also, consider how the family structure is perverted by Hollywood. The children are always fussing or cussing at their parents. Women are always in charge of their husbands and belittling them. Men are always cheating on their wives. The homosexual agenda has really taken over as well as many shows feature gay parents raising children. In an effort to desensitize the American public, homosexuals are featured in most programs today (even gay children are depicted). And this type of brainwashing is working.
"Also, consider the occultism within television and movies today. Witchcraft, Satanism, Buddhism, New Ageism, Hinduism, yoga, channeling, ghosts, reincarnation, Ouija boards, etc. are all being promoted. Even children's cartoons are filled with occultism.
"The Lord gave me some dreams, as well as words concerning television that reflects how serious this issue is to the Lord. The Lord said that I was cut off from Him due to compromise by watching television. The Lord showed me that watching television would prevent him from healing and blessing his children, as well as hinder a person's relationship with him. This is a very serious issue to the Lord. The Lord showed me that even supposedly innocent shows were still wicked to him because they are produced by Hollywood. Everything from Hollywood is accursed to God.
"In a day and age when most people have television, these words may seem hard to believe, as they were for me at first. However, when God destroyed the earth with a flood, only Noah was found righteous in his eyes. So just because everybody else does it, does not make it right in God's eyes. God's standards do not change with our culture. God is still the Ancient of Days.”
Marriage-Enhancing Ideas for the Week:
Talk: I know this will sound redundant compared to other weeks, but practice makes perfect! Make this a week of connecting through your words. Stay up until sunrise talking, and then have a romantic breakfast in bed together. Or stay up until sunset then take a hot bath together and go to sleep snuggled up all warm and toasty from the inside out!
Television (and Movies): I know there will be resistance here but take the week off from television and movies. You can catch the news on the radio or Internet as I mentioned we do. But do not use the Internet as a substitute for television to get your worldly fix.
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