Taking a break from media is the subject of an article by Melissa Spoelstra in the current issue of ParentLife magazine, published by Lifeway. A portion is reproduced below. Click here to read the complete article.
Melissia’s husband, Sean, is lead pastor of Encounter Church, a Grace Brethren congregation in Dublin, Ohio. They have four children.
Taking a Media-Free Day
Peering over my laptop screen, I noticed the house was quiet – not the norm in the Spoelstra home. Usually there is roughhousing, laughter, kids bounding in and out, and some sort of disagreement about whose turn it is to unload the dishwasher.
I scanned the living room. My husband was on his laptop, two daughters were glued to their iPod Touches, and I guessed the other two kids were downstairs watching TV. It made for a peaceful Saturday afternoon but didn’t leave me with that happy, satisfied feeling a mom gets when she sees her kids cuddling with each other, saying a sweet prayer to Jesus, or putting away a game after they played it without being reminded.
Was our family a little too plugged in? While I enjoy technology (especially on long road trips), I don’t want to lose the family connectedness that comes from interacting together. So my husbandand I concocted a plan to spend time as an unplugged family.
