I'm dealing with the aftermath of a situation I didn't want to ever have to deal with. A child who was not only not where he was suppose to be but accessed my computer and went to many inappropriate sites--the kind where today his heart and mind are full of the pictures and videos he saw. And my virus scans are working triple time to clear out a bunch of junk too.
My laptop can be used by anyone and is right in the kitchen/dining room so that the user can be seen. Normally the network card wouldn't have been in it but Jasmine was watching Hannah Montana videos online and since no one was going to be in the area last night, I didn't worry about it. Now both the laptop and the desktop have parental controls set on them as an extra safeguard.
I'm not angry about what happened, but my heart is heavy because I love my child and he's lost some of his innocence and put things in his mind that will be there for a very, very long time. I encouraged him to spend a little time filling his mind with Scripture last night and gave him Prov 4:23 to memorize-- "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."
I know he did this because guys at school are talking about looking at that kind of junk and he wanted to be able to get in on the discussion. We need a change of friends. There are two Christian clubs at the school--Ignite and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Jessica was going to try and find out where Ignite meets. It was suppose to meet at 6:30 this morning. I guess that's the good part of being at school an hour early. But it's a pretty big school and she wasn't sure if they could find it. FCA meets on Friday mornings and she was in that last year so already knows where that one meets. Perhaps there will be some strong Christian guys in those clubs--I'm sure she wouldn't mind if there were some sincere Christian guys in them too : )
The enemy is everywhere and he has a big foothold in the public schools. It's really important to saturate our own lives with Scripture and to encourage our children to do the same. And also, set your parent controls on your computer even if you don't think they are needed because kids can stumble on those sites even by mistake. We love our kids and we need to help them keep pure hearts and minds.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8
5 comments:
Thanks for sharing this. A lot of times people only share the good things and when something bad happens in our families we think are alone. My children are much younger but I'm going to set the controls so they don't stumble on something bad online. Have you considered counseling for this?
I don't know why you would post this. Train up a child... and he won't do things like this. Take a look at your parenting. I don't think most need to know anything about this.
Anon--- things happen that are out of our control. As a parent I know that---- are you a parent?
Why don't you sign into your acct or make a profile instead of hiding behind anon?
Kathy, this is very hard to deal with because I totally get the innocence lost part. It is so important to try and help our children to fight off the tempatation of this world. It is everywhere, not just on the computer. Hope things get better for you guys.
Praying for healing over what has been seen....and can't be taken back. Lord please erase the memory and let your forgiveness wipe away things that should not be in any of our minds! **Another option for control- Be Safe Online...has control as well as virus protection all in one. (No condemnation in that comment at all! Just so others will see and be aware- thank you for being brave enough to share!)
Kathy, I know that your parenting skills and love for your children are foremost.
This is a tough subject, but it does need to be addressed, Otherwise kids won't know your beliefs. In working with teens at church for many years-we routinely covered this subject.
May God continue to give you wisdom and courage to handle the situation.
Blessings**
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