Homosexuality in TV and Movies

Hate the sin, love the sinner. If you are a Christian, you have likely heard this phrase uttered repeatedly from the pulpit, in Sunday School class and in simple conversation with other Christians. I think this is an important statement as I do believe that that is what we are called to do. God obviously loves all people and longs for all to come to Him. He also obviously hates sin in all forms and considers homosexuality a sin.

There are so many movies and tv shows that glorify the homosexual lifestyle. To name a prominent one, Glee is one of those shows that has homosexuality strewn throughout it. It is one of the most popular shows on tv (though, I understand it has "jumped the shark")...viewed by all ranges of people including many Christians. How can we as Christians hate the sin and enjoy a show like this? I don't know. I think the enemy can put the sin in a pretty package making it seem "not so bad" to the Christian eye.

Tonight Matt and I watched a show...it is a BBC production of Sherlock Holmes...Matt says it stuck pretty close to the book series except it is set in today's time. He wasn't sure that he would like it. Sherlock Holmes is one of those things that he has enjoyed throughout the years and he is a bit of a purest when it comes to how it is made. He was surprised to enjoy the show...and I thought it was great (though I do not know anything about the history of the characters).

HOWEVER, there was a scene that has us quite uncomfortable. Dr. Watson, who just met Sherlock, was asking him about any girlfriends. Sherlock replied, matter of factly, that this was of no interest to him (or something like that). Dr. Watson raises his eyebrows and says...a boyfriend, then. Sherlock simply says no...but then clarifies that he is married to his work. The exchange left Matt and I confused...is Sherlock GAY?? Research is forthcoming.

But, what if he is? Is this grounds to stop wathing the show?? I think the answers by many Christians would be split...some would say YES, stop watching immediately...others would say NO, it's just a show. But that's just it. As a Christian society we are becoming too accepting of bad behavior. We watch shows that have strong immoral beliefs and say we can look past it. But, can we?? Or do we become numb to it?? I do not want to become numb to it. I won't watch Dexter because the main character is a serial killer. Oh, well he only kills bad guys "who deserve what is coming to them"...but it is wrong. I won't watch Glee because there is a large level of acceptance of homosexual behavior in, of all things, our youth. The list could go on.

If I, or Matt, find out that the Sherlock Holmes character is meant to be gay would we stop watching it?? YES, we would!! I do not want to become desensitized to this behavior. We hear that term being used with children watching violent movies, but what about Christians being desensitized to homesexual behavior, or any other sexual immorality? I heard a LOT about the show Grey's Anatomy from friends who are Christian and so I decided to try it and was appalled at the sexual immorality that ran rampant on the show. When did this become "ok"?

On a lighter note, we have done the research on good ole Sherlock and discovered that it is kind of poked fun at a lot in the show, but it is not the intent of the producers to make Sherlock gay. Apparently, this is a running gag among many Sherlock enthusiasts. So..... *whew*

This is the opinion of one. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe God would see me watching a show that has outrageous sinful behavior and think it ok. I am not sure I want to take that chance. I am not perfect in what I watch. Some of my favorite movies and tv shows have their moments of uncomfortable lewdness...and I often decide later that this was not a good idea to watch and will cease and dissist. BUT, if the main theme or character shows this behavior, I must put a stop to it!!

Public "Thank You God"

Yesterday in our Wednesday night Prayer Service at our church, Woodsedge Community Church, Pastor Jeff Wells called us to come forward and make public declarations of thankfulness to God for something in our lives. It was a powerful time as person after person stood in front of the mic declaring thankfulness for restored marriages, restored relationships between parent and child, healing, promises of healing, etc. It was incredibly moving and I felt, strongly, that I should go forward and declare my thankfulness for a life that has been blessed...but if you know me, you know I'm a chicken!! I sat still and just let myself fill up on these public declarations. It was truly inspiring.

But, it has bugged me all day long that I did not go forward and declare a "Thank you, God" in front of my whole congregation to hear. This is not the same, but I wanted to do one here and now. If you know me, you know my voice is often heard loudest here, in written form.

So, I want to thank God for the opportunity he has given me to be a wife and mom. I was a wandering soul, without purpose or a clear path of what I was supposed to do. Marriage felt like a right step, but not quite right. Having a baby was incredible and filled a bit more of the puzzle in...but there was a piece missing. Than I turned my heart over to Jesus and all the puzzle pieces just fit. Through Him, I have had a great healing in my heart and have found my purpose. 12 years later (it has almost been 12 years to the day), I am still living out this purpose. I am still married to my wonderful, supportive husband and am now a mother of two. Without God, none of this would be. Oh, I might still be married and have my 2 children, but I would be broken and, likely, not living my life like I was meant to.

There is no doubt in my mind that my place is here, as helpmate to my husband and as mother to my children. God has further expanded my purpose by adding teacher to my resume and I am more blessed because of it. I have never felt more joy than I do now, in my present state. There is nothing so thrilling as homeschooling my kids and watching their joy and accomplishments from my front row seat. My children have never been happier than they are now, as homeschoolers. God has blessed us with so many new friends and contacts that make this journey so much better than life has ever been before.

It would be great to say that 12 years later that it has been as smooth as a nice drive in the country on a newly paved road, but it hasn't. We have had sharp turns and some deep, deep holes that have busted our tires on this drive of ours. At times, I question what I am doing...what we are doing. Why is it so hard? But, I am learning to praise Him through the rocky times and the easy times. We had a deep hole in the road these last couple days that I thought would knock our tires off and our wheels out of alignment, but He came through and the road, while still not smooth, is certainly a lot easier to drive through.

Through all the smooth patches and the rough patches, I do Thank God for bringing me to the place I am. I would not trade ANY of it for ANY amount of money or luxury. He has chosen me and I will gladly receive all He chooses to give me.

Pavlov's Dogs

If you have spent anytime in school, you have likely heard of the scientist called Pavlov and his experiment with dogs. He rings a bell...gives his dogs a treat. He repeats this over and over until all he has to do is ring a bell, and the dogs would automatically drool. What is to be learned from this, who knows? I am, though, using these techniques with my kids...though not so much on the drooling. I am training my kids with sounds from my iPhone and it works BEAUTIFULLY!

If you happen to possess an iPhone, or, I presume, any smart phone, than you likely have a feature to set alarms. You can set multiple alarms and assign each alarm with any number of sounds. I have gotten to where I have set several alarms on my phone daily and each one has a specific sound and the kids know what the sound means. It's great!!!

For instance, bed time. Bed time would be a chore (not a hard chore, but a chore none the less). Maybe we would get into a movie or something and next thing you know it's after 9:00 which is a bit too late for my son on a school night. Or, maybe we would get started on bedtime routines too early and be left with time to spare. Now, I have an alarm set for 8:15 on my phone. The sound for this alarm is crickets. When Daniel hears this sound, he knows he has 15 minutes to get ready for bed...and be in bed by 8:30. I have one set for Sierra for 9:15. Daniel will often complain, but he knows there is no argument. The time is the same each night.

I also find myself forgetting to have Daniel wear his patch everyday. I am VERY forgetful about a great many things, but Daniel's eyes are very important to me. I have a "boing" sound that goes off every afternoon at 1:00. Daniel hears the sound and instantly begins to groan (he hates the patch), but at least he knows it's coming.

For Sierra, I have an alarm set for her to wear her headgear during the day...it's a duck quacking. lol I am not sure why I chose that sound, but I know when the duck quacks, it's time to put on the gear (she wears it at night, but often it does not make it through the night and she needs to supplement her night wear with day wear).

Daniel likes to take breaks during the day and so I will often set a timer for him (he loves it....he gets crouched down and we do the "on your mark, get set, GO") for him. When he hears the trill, he knows break time is over.

Sierra has started setting alarms on her iPhone that alert her to things like, putting in her braces bands or break times or start working on a report, etc. She could be in another room, but when she hears a particular sound she registers it as time for this specific thing.

It's great!! I love that my kids can hear a sound and know what it means and their response to it. They might not like it (bedtime alarms), but the do not dispute it. They may not drool when they hear the tone, but they do respond.

Homeschooling

I had it set in my phone when Daniel's progress report from his school would be sent home and it's right about now. That got me thinking...how would I evaluate these last several weeks of school in the Kozlowski home??

Well, Sierra had a rocky start to the school year and beat herself up pretty bad at first. Unlike regular school where the teachers spend a fair amount of time testing and seeing if all the kids are caught up after a summer, her curriculum just jumped right into the lessons...no review. She was faced with learning a program (her curriculum is ALL computer based) AND learning her material. As predicted (by me), within days/a week or so, she had mastered it all and is now pulling in straight A's. It is hard to manage her schedule. She is taking Language Arts, Bible, History, Texas History, Science, Math, and French. She has already had to write 3 essays and has a couple more due in a couple weeks. She also has had several major tests (her lowest grade on a major test was a mid A). Pretty soon, she will have science projects to do like charting star systems, using a microscope to look at her own cheek cells and several others. Learning another language is proving to be more difficult than she imagined, but she is kind of teaching Daniel as she is teaching herself. So far, I would give Sierra an A+++ in her first year in Jr. High.

Daniel, of course, started off his school year in public school. I am glad we got him out when we did. I had a lot of anxiety with his going to school...and not just because I love him so much and want him with me (though that was a factor). I don't know why I had anxiety...his school was a good school. I was not fond of his teacher, though I am sure she was adequate. I was not concerned with him socially...he's a good kid. None-the-less, homeschooling finally happened and I am at peace. We had a rocky start as we ordered his curriculum and it took FOR-EVER for it to come in. Now, he's a smart kid and I knew a week or so without school wouldn't cause damage, but Daniel was more than ready for some challenging work. His work load (now with full curriculum) is challenging, but in a good way. His subjects are: History, Geography, Science, Poetry, Phonics, Math, Reading, and Handwriting. I try to do Science and History only a couple days of the week. His favorite subjects are Math, Poetry, and Geography. His absolute LEAST favorite is handwriting. He HATES it. He LOVES writing...one of his favorite assignments is writing stories and he often writes stories on his own. But teaching him the PROPER way to write the letter n is torture for him. lol I thought of skipping 1st grade phonics and going right into 2nd grade, but the phonics program I bought is REALLY good and I am glad I kept it. He has not been too challenged yet, but will soon. His math program is GREAT (Singapore math)...though just when I think I have a lesson that will challenge him, he busts out with all the answers on his own. I would definitely give him an A+++.

Sierra comes in often while I am teaching Daniel and says that she wishes I had started homeschooling her earlier. Daniel is learning SO MUCH more than she did in 1st and doing so many projects that are fun (lapbooks...an INCREDIBLE resource). With each day I spend with Daniel doing the fun things we do, I feel more and more regret at not having pulled her out sooner!! Even Matt, who had reservations about homeschooling Daniel, has seen the rewards.

So, our progress reports are in tip top shape. My kids are accomplishing more at home than in school. I am at peace.