5 Reasons We Use Covenant Eyes to Protect Our Family Online

Have you heard of Covenant Eyes internet accountability and filtering?

Our family finds the money we spend on this service to be more than worth it!

Here are some reasons why:

1. Separate users  and multiple devices– you can add different members of your family and configure the settings to be most suitable for them.  For example – for young children, you could set it up for them to be allowed on one or two websites to play educational games.  For teenagers, you could select the strongest filtering so that they can browse and do school research without the ability to accidentally land on an inappropriate website.  The administrator can enter their password to allow access to a website that has been blocked but doesn’t necessarily need to be.  If your family has multiple, you can install the software on everyone's computer, tablet, or phone so that everyone is protected wherever they go!

2. Internet Filtering – select as strong or weak of a filter as you feel you need, and make the strength different depending on the user.

3.Internet Accountability – Besides filtering out content that could potentially cause you to stumble in your Christian walk, you can also ask a friend or relative to be your accountability partner.  Covenant Eyes will send regular reports via email of your online activity to the partner(s) of your choice.  You can have as many accountability partners as you wish and choose the frequency of the report (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.).  The report will show your accountability partner how much time you’ve spent online, what webpages you visited or attempted to visit, the search terms you used, and even whether you tried to uninstall Covenant Eyes from your computer.

4. Time filtering – one of the more subtle ways the devil uses the internet against us is by tempting us to use it to waste time.  If you struggle with wasting time on the internet, you can take advantage of the time filters on Covenant Eyes.  You can restrict internet usage to a certain number of hours per week or day or you can choose to block internet usage during certain times of the day.

5. Resources for families and churches – Covenant Eyes offers free e-books on topics relating to Family Protection, Pornography Use and Recovery, and Helps for Churches to address the subject of pornography.  They also have a great blog with many informative and thought-provoking posts.

If you are serious about protecting your family online, I encourage you to look into a Covenant Eyes subscription.

SIGN UP HERE AND GET YOUR FIRST MONTH FREE!

Accounts start at $9.99 per month, and there is a money-back guarantee if you are not satisfied with the service.  (Although I'm confident you will be!)

Why I’m Not Writing About 50 Shades of Grey

It's impossible to pull up anything on the internet right now without something coming up about 50 Shades of Grey.

Everyone is all abuzz about the movie that's coming out this weekend. There are those that are excited to see it, and there are those who are urging Christian people not to watch it.

In no way do I think Christians have any business watching a movie that offers such a twisted view of the beauty and sacredness of Biblical sexuality.

But there are two reasons I'm not devoting an entire post to warning Christian woman (and men) against watching this movie or reading these books.

1. There will always be some new thing offered by the world, and it would be impossible to write about every single movie, book, magazine, or TV show that Christians have no business putting into their minds.
2. I don't need to put filth into my own mind just so I can be “informed” enough to tell you everything that's wrong with it. (I'm not saying I need to be completely ignorant about what people are facing, and that I shouldn't have a general idea of what message is currently bombarding people.  But I've had to click away from some articles about the movie because, even though they were speaking against watching it, there were so many details in the article itself that the same filth was still going into my mind, just through a different means.)

My goal on this blog is to help others get to know the Word of God well enough that they can apply its principles to every situation with which they are faced. I want you to have Scriptures in your mind that will help you know what's right without having to turn to a blogger or speaker to help you decide whether or not you should watch a certain movie, wear a certain clothing style, or listen to a certain song.

So without going into every aspect of the movie's plot (which I purposely did not research to protect my own mind), what is wrong with 50 Shades of Grey and every other movie, book, or song with this type of theme? What are the Biblical principles you should know that will tell you to stay away from it without even having to know all the details?

1. God's Word says to guard our thoughts and purposely put things that are good and noble into our minds.

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

2 Corinthians 10:5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Psalm 101:3  I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.

Proverbs 4:23  Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

2. God's Word gives us all the information we need to make our marriages hot both physically and emotionally.

Hebrews 13:4  Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

1 Corinthians 7:1-5  Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.  Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

Pro 5:15-21  Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.  Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee. Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love. And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?
For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.
And if that's not enough, just go read the book of Song of Solomon!

3. God's Word tells us what true love is.

1 Corinthians 13:5-8 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth:

 Eph 5:22-31  Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.  For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.   Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,   That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.  So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.   For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:   For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

4. God's Word tells us to hate those that hate Him.

Psalm 101:3  I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.

Psalm 139:21-22  Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?  I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.

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If Christians would live according to God's Word, they would hate the lies that the devil is producing through media and cultural norms.  When Hollywood produces a new movie, it should be obvious that it's not something to even consider bringing into our homes.  The world hates God!  Why would I want to bring their philosophy into my home, whether that is through 50 Shades of Grey or through anything else they produce?

In fact, I would venture to say that perhaps some of the more “innocent” material is more dangerous than this latest craze because more Christians are apt to watch it since it is “not as bad.”

Do you agree?

Would you drink a glass of water with 10 drops of poison in it?  No!

But what if that glass of water only had 1 drop of poison in it?  Would you drink it then?  I didn't think so.  So why would you refuse  a movie with 10 immoral scenes in it but allow one with only 1?  Or refuse one where God's name is used in vain 10 times but allow one with only 1 use of it?

Do you see, friends?  God calls us to be holy!  If we would just obey that, there would be no need for article after article to be written urging Christians to stay away from the latest movie.  We would see the message of anti-holiness that it proclaims and run far away because our spirits would be grieved.

But because we have embraced the “one-droppers”  since they “aren't so bad”,   it becomes easier and easier for what is very obviously sick, perverted, anti-Christian (no pun intended), and anti-God to weasel its way into our homes, lives, thoughts, and eventually actions.

1Peter 1:15  But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation…

It all boils down to holiness.  Just like a banker can immediately recognize counterfeit money because he studied the real thing so much, let us study God's Word.   Let us get to know Him on such an intimate level that when something comes across our radar that contains even one drop of “poison”, our internal radar will immediately engage and we will know to stay away.

Let's get to know God so that we may be holy like Him.

Free Printable: Scripture Memory Cards {52 Weeks of Family Bible Memorization}

Do you memorize scripture as a family?  Is it one of your goals for this year?

These printable Scripture memory cards are designed to help you do just that!

Instead of individual verses, I've chosen longer passages to work on over the course of a month.

Here's the best way I've found to memorize long passages (works for both kids and adults!)

1. Print each month's card and post it in a prominent place in the house.

2. Read the passage aloud 3 times in the morning and 3 times in the evening.  (If you want to print a separate copy for each person, that may be helpful.)

3. After 3 days, begin trying to recite the verses aloud without looking, glancing at the passage as needed.

4. Repeat every day.  Soon you will find you and your children reciting the entire passage from memory effortlessly!

5. Continue for one month, then print out the next month's card and repeat the process.

At the end of the year, you and your children will know 12 long passages of scripture by heart!

What a wonderful way to spend your time this year — hiding God's Word in your heart and in your children's hearts!

All Scripture is from the King James Version of the Bible.

Thank you for subscribing!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR VERSE CARDS!

The Importance of Scripture Memorization (Imperfect Homemaking Challenge

Last Sunday I emphasized the importance of making time to spend with God every single day, and I also linked to some ways you can find time for God even when it feels like you can hardly even breathe.

One of the things on that list was the importance of Scripture memorization so that you can always have it in your mind to meditate on throughout the day and even at night as you fall asleep.

If there's one thing I've learned about Imperfect Homemakers, that is that we tend to procrastinate on things because we don't have the perfect system all figured out yet (or maybe we do and we don't have time to implement it.)

Maybe you're waiting until you've got some fancy Scripture memory plan, or maybe you've got something elaborate in mind, but you just can't find the time to do it.

Stop waiting until you have the time to memorize scripture and just do it!   

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.  Psalm 119:11

If you are a Christian, it is crucial for you to have God's word hidden in your heart, and you don't need to put it off another moment!

Instead of watching that TV show — memorize a verse.

Instead of reading that blog post — memorize a verse.

Instead of browsing your Facebook or Instagram feed – memorize a verse

Instead of playing that game on your phone — memorize a verse

You find time to do all those other things; you can find time to memorize Scripture too!

“I would, but I don't know where to start.”

Uh, oh.  That “I would, but…” is a phrase you're going to have to start watching out for in your homemaking and in your life in general.  It means an excuse is about to come out of your mouth.

Perhaps you really aren't sure where you should start with daily Bible reading and memorization; that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it at all.  It's all good and better, I promise, so just start somewhere!

If you've never read through your Bible before, a good place to start is with the book of John; it will help you so much with your assurance of salvation as well as just helping you learn about Jesus!  Another good thing to do is read one chapter of Proverbs each day of the month.  Start over and do it again every single month.  It is a well-spring of practical instruction for every day life.

If you don't know what to memorize, choose one verse from your daily Bible reading that God used to speak to your heart and memorize it.

Daily Challenge: Choose one verse and memorize it.

 

Instagram challenge: Post a picture of the verse you chose to memorize.  Use the hashtag #imperfecthomemaker to encourage other members of this community!  (Follow me here.)

If you’re just joining the 31 Days of Imperfect Homemaking series, you can see all the posts here.

Use Your Brain! (Imperfect Homemaking Challenge)

Busy, busy, busy!  Doesn't that describe pretty much all of us?

You think all day long – doubling recipes, remembering what needs to go on the shopping list until you're somewhere where you can write it down, helping kids with math problems – but yet your brain never seems to work.  You'd think it would get plenty of exercise and be pretty fit, but instead it seems that it's pretty much just worn out.

Sometimes I find myself walking into a room and staring around blankly because I can't remember why I went in there.

“This isn't supposed to happen at my age!” I think.  But it does.  And I know I'm not the only one.

I've been trying to exercise different parts of my brain using various apps on the iPad.  I seem to overuse certain parts and hardly use some at all.  I know I could be a more effective manager of my home if my brain would function at optimum capacity.

My husband loves strategy games, but I can't do them very well at all!  Lumosity.com has some games that are quick and fun and focus on developing the various parts of the brain.  Some apps I've used that are challenging for me without being too hard are Folt and Left Brain Right Brain.  I occasionally like to do a Sudoku puzzle as well.

Now, aside from the brain exercises, sometimes we need to just let our brain rest.  My favorite way to do that is to read a book.  Often before bed I'll think “Oh, I just need to check Facebook really quick.”  But I never sleep as well when I do that, and I almost always sleep well when I read a real book before bed.

When I read, I am resting my brain, but also growing myself as a person at the same time.  I like to read books that bring introspection, like devotionals or Christian biographies.  I can't tell you how much it helps my brain unwind and quit thinking about all the things I need to do the next day, while at the same time giving me things to consider as I seek to grow in my Christian walk.  I can fall asleep “thinking on good things”, and my sleep is sweet!

Today's Challenge: Do something to either strengthen your brain or relax it!  I know you're busy.  Don't use that as an excuse.  Just take a couple minutes right before you go to sleep.

 Instagram challenge: Post a photo of a brain game you played or a book you read.  Use the hashtag #imperfecthomemaker to encourage other members of this community.  (Follow me here.)

If you’re just joining the 31 Days of Imperfect Homemaking series, you can see all the posts here.

The Most Important Thing of All (31 Days of Imperfect Homemaking)

If you're just joining the 31 Days of Imperfect Homemaking series, you can see all the posts here.

Friends, we have so many responsibilities.  I can tell you that when I put together my daily schedule, everything on it barely fit, and I wasn't trying to stuff in any extras.  Between homeschooling, trying to keep the house clean, and feeding my family healthy food, my days are full.   I can't waste a single minute of my day or things start falling apart pretty quickly.

I'm sure many of you know exactly how it is to be loaded down with responsibilities.  You've done everything you can to reduce unnecessary things in your schedule, but you still feel like you're barely keeping up with everything that needs to be done.

Because you're so (legitimately) busy, maybe you're neglecting the most important thing of all.

Maybe you're not finding time for God and His Word.

You go, go, go from sunup to loooong past sundown, and you certainly don't feel you have the energy to get up any earlier to read your Bible.

But you can't do this without Him!  Because you are so burdened down with responsibilities, you need Him even more!

You probably know the story of Mary and Martha.  Martha was scurrying around trying to get all the work done, and Mary was sitting at Jesus' feet, soaking up everything He said.  Jesus rebuked Martha and said that Mary had chosen the “good part”.

You have all those things on your schedule that are going to make you a good wife or mom — after all being a good wife or mom means keeping your family in clean clothes and keeping their bellies full, right?  But what your family needs most of all is a wife and mom who shines the light of Jesus into the home.

Okay, okay!  Stop making me feel guilty!  What am I supposed to do!  I'm tired and frazzled, and now you're trying to tell me that I'm unspiritual too just because I'm trying to take care of my family!

Dear friend, you need Jesus desperately.  You're tired and frazzled, and you need Him more than ever.  Stop trying to do this in your own power.  Somehow, some way, make time for God.  When you're folding the laundry, listen to scripture on a CD or on your phone.  When you're cooking dinner, listen to music that is based on the Word of God that will speak to your soul.  There is a list here of many more ways you can find time for God even though you're incredibly busy with life's responsibilities.

You see, the object is not to have a relationship with God in spite of fulfilling your responsibilities well; it is to fulfill your responsibilities well because of your relationship with God.  Put Him first.  Every day.  Then watch your home transform from a place of chaos into a haven of peace.

Sure, you'll still get behind on laundry and your family might eat cereal for supper sometimes.  But you will have the joy of responding with a sweet attitude even on the busiest and most stressful days.  You will have the wisdom to know when it's okay to feed your family cereal for supper because it's late and they need to get to bed or when you should stay up a little later to finish preparing the meal you started before that unexpected ER visit.

So, dear Imperfect Homemaker, if you only complete one challenge in this entire series, let it be this one:  Learn to be like Christ by spending time with Him every day.  There is no better way to change the atmosphere of your home.

Today's Instagram Challenge: Post a picture of one way you are making time for God!  Use the hashtag #imperfecthomemaker to encourage other members of this community!  (Follow me here.)