"....Your children shall be like olive plants all around your table." Psalm 128:3

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Speaking Up

Hi friends,

I am a firm believer in Psalm 101:3, which says, "I will set no evil thing before my eyes." That goes for what I read, what I see on TV (thankfully we don't have cable TV or Dish network), and what I see on the Internet.

But it's not just my eyes that I protect; I also do my best protect the eyes of my children.  And sometimes, even a trip to our local Walmart can expose them to trashy magazines covers with what I consider soft porn photos on the front covers. I even joked with one of my friends about putting blinders on my children when we go out in public..like the ones horses wear...
(source: www.colourbox.com)
So, to shield their eyes, I am always at the front of the cart as we approach the check-out. And if I see anything I don't want them to see, I flip those magazines around so that the back cover is showing. I get some odd looks from other shoppers, and even the cashiers.  I  always eagerly await their questions as to why I'm doing what I'm doing. But so far, no one has asked.

Then, a few weeks ago, we went into our local dollar store. I walked into the store in front of the children, knowing that there is a magazine stand just inside the door, and I would stand in front of it if necessary to block the photos on the front covers. Yep - there it was - a Sports Illustrated issue, and the worst kind - the Swimsuit issue!  I stood in front of the magazines as the children came into the store and they never saw a thing. I breathed a prayer of thanks to the Lord, and a sigh of relief as we gathered what we needed,  headed for the check-out, and got in line.

As we approached the cashier, I looked for the magazine, but didn't see it anywhere. There were a few "rag mags", as I call them (you know the ones I'm talking about - stories about women having 50-pound babies, etc) , but nothing trashy. And no Sports Illustrated. Another prayer of thanks. 

Then it was our turn to pay for our things. And what do you think was on a small magazine stand right beside the cashier?? A stack of the Sports Illustrated issue! Just when I thought we were home free! 

Well, I couldn't help but speak up. (After all, I made sure they didn't see it the first time, and there it was - right in front  of our faces and there was no shielding them from it this time.)

So I  pointed to the magazines and said to the cashier, "Do you all have to put out those awful magazines right where children can see them? It's really sad that I can't take my children out in public without exposing them to that trash!" (And I should have mentioned that  no one should have to look at them, but my blood pressure was in stroke range at this point - so I didn't have the mental clarity to mention anyone but children. lol.)

The cashier giggled, and that was it. I paid for my things, and as I turned to leave, she grabbed the magazines and put them under the counter. I was surprised! I  mumbled a "Thank you" and headed out the door, but wondered if the magazines would back on display when we went back. 

They weren't. We have been in the store several times since then, and they're gone. There's not even a slot to put the SI magazines in!

I never thought that my speaking  up would make a difference. And maybe I wasn't the only one that complained about it. But who cares??? The magazines. are. gone. 

And in a small way, the innocence of my children is preserved....for a little longer anyway. 

So I would encourage all you mamas out there who are concerned about what your children see, speak up! You might be surprised at the result. I certainly was.  :)

"Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things,
And revive me in your way." ~ Psalm 119:37

sharing with Deep Roots At Home

18 comments:

  1. When my children were little, I did the same as you...I spoke up and shield them as much as possible, from the magazine racks...now they are older. They have learned to avert their eyes. But I know that the only way they learned, was because they have been taught to shield themselves from the start!

    Good for you Lisa...speaking up is truly the only way we can let the world know that we are not accepting the status quo. m.

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    1. Hi Maria,
      I am hoping that my children will avert their eyes when they get older. We live in a sex-saturated society and we all need to guard our hearts. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment.

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  2. I share the same feelings! We were at the children's dentist office and they have movies playing above every dental chair. The choice of the day was a PG rated movie that I felt was raunchy and unwholesome (though it is considered a family movie to many). So, I kindly asked the receptionist to remove that particular movie because I felt it was inappropriate for my daughter. She gave me a perplexed look and handed me the movie list. I don't know if it changed the movie menu after that but I was a bit outraged that they assume a PG movie is acceptable to everyone… It is getting harder to go out in public. Harder to live in the world and not be of the world… Thank you for your actions, it may save us an uncomfortable moment should we enter the same store...

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    1. From our experience, many "family" movies are very inappropriate. And our Walmart now has TV's at the checkout, so, again, my children are exposed to all kinds of things that would never be allowed in our home. I always warn them to look away, but if I knew how to turn the thing off, I would.
      Thanks for sharing, my friend.

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  3. We have a similiar routine. I undersstand the blood pressure thing! It seems I lesave Walmart in a sweat 99% of the time because I get smad with the sin they try to glamorize! Ugh!

    Praise the Lord for your courage in speaking up and for what He did!

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    1. I sweat it out, too, Robin....not from the price of our groceries (lol), but from trying to protect my children.
      So glad you stopped by. :)

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    1. Thanks for dropping by, Kendra. Keeping you in my prayers. :)

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  5. Wow, that is great Lisa. I will keep that in mind for my little ones.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Stephanie. Miss you guys.

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  6. I've done the same thing, Lisa. The older I become, the stronger I am in my resolve to not keep quite about things like this! I once saw an entirely inappropriate magazine cover while in the grocery store checkout line with my kiddos. I grabbed a copy and asked to speak with the store manager. When he (yes, he) arrived, I simply held up the magazine for him to see. The look on his face said it all. My words were, "Embarrassing, isn't it?" He did apologize but told me that there was nothing he could do but put those plastic covers over sensitive magazines. I suggested that maybe if they needed to be covered, that perhaps they ought not to be for sale in a family-friendly store which they proclaim to be. All in all, I was satisfied that my children got to see their mom take a stand, Lord willing, teaching by example. Kuddos to you, my friend for doing the same. :) ~Lisa

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  7. Good point, Lisa - even though my children saw the cover of that magazine, they also saw me speak up. After I spoke to the cashier about it, I turned to look at my children and they were all standing there looking at me with their mouths wide open. LOL. I guess I shocked them with what I said to the cashier. But they had better get used to it, because I am speaking up from now on!
    Hope you're having a blessed day, my friend. :)

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  8. Good for you Lisa. I did that once at our local Walmart a few years ago. There was some not-so-soft porn (in my opinion) on a magazine rack by the checkout, about toddler level. I complained to the checkout person who said they would tell the manager, but saw that no changes had been made the next time I came in. So then I asked to talk to a manager and was able to speak with a bit higher-up. That took care of it -- he seemed understanding, but added a flimsy excuse. Thanks for the reminder though, I probably don't watch those things quite as often as I use too now that the girls are older. However, I recently found that submitting a complaint through the Walmart corporate online site does wonders (on another matter) and perhaps if I did that with this issue, maybe Walmart would make a new policy for all their stores. Thankfully, we don't have many stores in our small community that carry magazines of that sorts, so I think Walmart would be my Goliath.

    Oh, and then a couple of months ago I was in the waiting room at the local dr. clinic when on the tv there was something about "poll dancing" for children. The story seemed to go on and on and on and although my girls weren't with me, there were several small children there and I was beside myself that none of the parents seemed the least bit concerned, so I went up to the check-in desk and asked if they would change the channel and told them why. Thankfully they did.

    Oh, btw, I love your analogy with the horse blinders too!!! There is just so many times we (I'm including you with me because we are kindred spirits) could draw lessons from our farm animals and lately have been thinking of new posts I could be writing of life lessons from the paddock. Your horse-blinder picture was very timely for me.

    Love you. Have a GREAT week my friend!

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    1. Dear Jane,
      I enjoy your visits. You always have such wonderful insight to share. And good for you for speaking up at the dr's office - and protecting the hearts and minds of those little ones whose parents are so apathetic. Pole dancing for children?? What is our country coming to?
      Keep on keeping on, my friend. And keep looking up (Titus 2:13). It won't be long now. :)
      Love you, too...and have a super week!

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  9. Wonderful, Lisa--thanks for your example!

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    1. And thanks to you for stopping by, Charlene! :)

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  10. I was just at the doctor's office the other day with my 15 year old daughter, and they had Dr. Oz on. The subject was s** and was very detailed. The girls behind the receptionist desk were busy and not really paying attention so I went up and politely asked them to change it and told them why. They were very apologetic and quickly changed it. Thankfully!

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    1. Good for you, Jill! Dr's offices can be the worst. Our dr. usually has TV Land (complete with raunchy commercials) on or the Weather Channel on, which is fine. But as far as I'm concerned, the best case scenario would be to NOT have a TV in the waiting room.
      Thanks for stopping by and sharing your courage!

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Thanks so much for stopping by. I love to hear from my readers, and your thoughts are welcome. And I try my best to respond to each and every comment. :)