My Family

    How Media Has Changed Over The Years In My Home 

Married Glenn Welker October 19, 2017

The media that I allow in my home is now much different than what I allowed in my younger years. As a mom, I always wanted to set an example to our children and so my standards for what media was allowed in my home was very high. I monitored what was turned on the tv, what music we listen to and what we watched as movies. This was before the advent of hand held devices and computers so there was not the all encompassing exposure to media as there is now. Additionally, my husband and I agreed on what we watched together and was also appropriate for the children. As the years passed, I continued to want only "church standard" media in the home. When my husband died, I moved out of state to be nearer some children and grandchildren in Utah. I now had complete freedom of all media choices and found myself watching more romantic movies due to my being single, I suppose. Then I began attending single activities, dated, and met someone special to marry.

Since I no longer have children in the home and I am remarried, my new husband's media choices also affect me. His t.v. and movie choices are very different than what my late husband and I watched in the home. I was actually shocked that he entertained himself with media that I thought was shallow and worldly. I have had to make sacrifices, compromises, and evaluate what is important for the both of us.  We make decisions together and sometimes I am spending my time watching the t.v. with him when I might prefer to be doing something else. However, I have to decide what is more important and realize that spending time at his side is the better choice sometimes. I have learned that I don't need to always have my way and that compromise is part of a happy relationship.

Additionally, I have become way more "addicted" to my smart phone than I would like. Having had more free time than I would have liked, I started playing games on my phone. Now they have become my "go-to" when I am relaxing or I will spend time on Facebook when it clearly is not the best choice for my time.

The Lewis Family 2016

I am looking forward this Sunday to taking a "media fast"and really take stock of the best use of my time. I hope to be able to wean myself from some of the media choices I make, because I know that we are what we think about.