Pastor's Wife - Small Town Life

My family and I have been enjoying watching musical theater over the last 12 years because of the influence of dear friends of ours - Aaron and Beth Alsmeyer. For several years, they directed a local high school homeschool troupe, and we became hooked on watching what they performed. When our kids were old enough to perform as well, they joined in. So we've enjoyed watching the likes of "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Ben Hur", along with a play that Aaron and Beth wrote, "Esther". Last night, our family watched (and/or participated in) the world premier of a new musical, written and directed by Aaron and Beth, and produced by their company, Five Lanterns Productions. It is called "Leviathan the Musical" and is based on the story of George and the Dragon. Leviathan is a coming of age story - both of George growing up into a man, and also a coming of "spiritual" age as George fights the darkness in his own heart. The the story was poign...

  My husband and I have been parents for 23 years. During that time, we have had a consistent fight against electronics and screen time. We've had constant dialogue about what we allow our children to watch or not watch, how often they're allowed to watch, if they are allowed to own video games, how often they can play video games, and - now - if they can have smartphones, and how often they are allowed to be used. When our children were very young, the choices were different, but they were still there. Can he watch PBS while mom does dishes? Do we allow Barney into our home? We did allow them to watch, and it was always more than we wished it were.  As our children got older, the questions just grew. Should we have cable or not? When someone gave us a Nintendo set, we had to decide what to do with it. (After a few months, we got rid of we just didn't like the people that our children became as a result of it.) When our oldest was seven, we got rid of all electronics except...