---Difference Making ~~

---Seeing the LORD's Goodness ~~

---"I love the LORD, For He heard my voice."
---[Psalm 116:1 / NIV]

--SOMETIMES it seems like a plague, this constant presence of technology and nonstop children's programs on TV. Even our youngest child David, seems lost in games and stories that are ever ready on his iPAD.

My dad recently recently commented that on an hour-long walk through one of our downtown parks, every person he met was looking at their smartphone rather rather than taking in the beauties of the day.

Sadly, I have to admit that there's no easy solution to this phenomena. From college-age Harrison on down, all my children are pretty much addicted to their devices. Even a family campaign to monitor our screen time left me doubting.

"Father, show me how to bring back some of the good, some of the remembrances from my childhood."

His answer came as I was perusing a jumbled table of knick-knacks at a neighbor's garage sale. There it was, a complete DVD set of of the old TV series Little House on the Prairie. My mind raced back to the times
the Ingalls family, living with little but happy nonetheless. my mom, dad, and Keri and I gathered to watch weekly adventures of the Ingalls. We knew all their names, suffered their defeats, and delighted in their successes. Our children were seeing how to be happy without stuff, and Corinne and I were reminded of the importance of family time.

We were all made better by our visits to "the prairie," something that really came home to me the day I looked out the window and saw the girls in the backyard, screens forgotten, creating a pretend playhouse under under a big shade tree. ~~


--"Father, thank You for showing us your goodness. Thank You, Lord for supplying many of our wants and all of our needs,. In the Lord's Name. "

--Guideposts/BK~