Keeping It Young

In part 3 of the Overcoming Technology mini-series, Dave and Bethlie quickly recap the first three steps (determine if you need to change, educate yourself, recognize the damage) before landing on the three that close out the series: find alternative activities, create tech-free zones, and discuss the changes needed — together, as a family. Technology itself isn't evil — it's a gift from God (1 Timothy 6:17) — but Christians are called to walk circumspectly (Ephesians 5) and redeem the time, which is hard to do when technology is running the show instead of being run by us.
Quick recap of steps 1–4 (from Parts 1 & 2):
Determine if you need to overcome technology
Educate yourself (books, podcasts, research)
Recognize the damage it can cause (sleep disruption, social isolation, eye strain, shorter attention spans, addiction, loss of privacy, cyberbullying)
Determine the changes needed (individual — time limits, habit changes, removing non-essential apps, silencing notifications)
The final three steps:
Find alternative activities — Step away on purpose through physical activity, hobbies, and face-to-face interaction. Suggestions: walks after dinner, biking, mountain biking, golf, tennis, painting, crafting, cooking. The point: if parents don't proactively offer alternatives, kids won't find them on their own.
Create tech-free zones — Specific zones discussed: Mealtime — TV off, phones away, actual conversation
The bedroom — phones stay out, use an analog/digital alarm clock instead; protects sleep and removes late-night temptation
Ballgames and kids' activities — be present, not on your phone
Family movie night — phone-free even during streaming ad breaks (use the break for a bathroom run, popcorn, or "a kissing break")
Alternative approach: designate the family room (or one area) as the only place tech is allowed, making the rest of the house tech-free by default

Discuss the changes needed — with your kids, not just for them — Ask questions rather than issue mandates: "Do you think you're on the internet too much?" "What would you do with your time if you weren't on TikTok?" Getting kids to buy in (rather than just enforcing rules) leads to better results. Consider one tech-free day a month as a family, agreed on together.

In part two of the Overcoming Technology series, Dave and Bethlie continue unpacking how smartphones and social media quietly reshape our habits, relationships, and spiritual life — and what to do about it. Building on Tony Reinke's 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You, they walk through the specific ways technology damages attention, relationships, and reflection, then move into practical, doable changes.
Recap the 12 ways phones change us (from Tony Reinke's book), continued from Part 1:
-       Phones constantly pull our attention away from the present moment (and the "seven-minute foundation" needed for meaningful conversation)
-       Digital interaction often replaces physical presence with people around us
-       Online metrics drive an unhealthy desire for affirmation (likes, followers, influencer culture)
-       Skimming digital feeds reduces deep reading comprehension
-       Endless entertainment is available at any second (the disappearance of boredom)
-       Online personas mask true self-understanding
-       Digital connectivity frequently leads to isolated lifestyles rather than true community
-       Screens provide private access to harmful or distracting imagery
-       An overload of trivia crowds out deep reflection
-       Constant checking stems from anxiety over being disconnected
-       Impersonal digital spaces lower our patience and kindness in communication
-       Constant notifications eliminate the silent spaces needed for prayer and calm thought
 
The four-step framework for overcoming technology:
 
Determine if you need to overcome technology (are you controlled by it? better because of it? how is it affecting your kids?)
Educate yourself (read books, research — they recommend The Tech-Wise Family and 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You)
Recognize the damage it can cause (the list above)
Determine the changes needed — practical steps discussed:
-       Set time limits (using phone settings or a timer/Alexa)
-       Change habits (phones out of the bedroom, off the table at meals, a charging basket)
-       Replace with something better (a regular watch instead of a smart watch)
-       Silence notifications and check at scheduled times
-       Remove non-essential apps (or access certain platforms only on a computer)
-       Turn off notifications and keep the phone on silent

Overcoming Technology Part 1
Is your phone running your house or are you running it? What about other forms of technology? Dave and Bethlie are back from their August break and kicking off a new stretch of the Overcoming series: Overcoming Technology.
How do you overcome technology?
We've listed a few suggestions:
Determine if you need to do so Are you controlled by it?
Are you better becausse of it?
Where are you being negatively impacted by it?
Are your children being negatively impacted by it?
68% of us admit that electronic devices keep us from having real conversations
50% of us see phones as a significant disruption to our family meals.

Educate yourself Read and research
12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You
My Tech Wise Family
The Tech Wise Family

Recognize the damage it can cause Sleep disruption
Reduced physical activity
Social isolation
Mental health issues
Digital eye strain
Shorter attention span
Cyberbullying
Loss of privacy
Technology addiction
Environmental damage

Episode 330: 7 Steps to Building a Christian Family — Part 5

Text: Deuteronomy 6:6–12 (review of 6–9, new focus on 10–12)
Recap of Steps So Far
Underlying foundation: knowing God — building a real, living relationship with Him (not just a salvation moment).
Fear God — reverent awe + healthy fear of consequences.
Keep God First — requires ongoing self-examination ("Lord, am I keeping you first?"). This is similiar to the purpose of a revival: intentional, recurring evaluation of the heart.
Love God with heart, soul, might/mind/strength — loving God with total, unguarded enthusiasm.
Teach God's Word Diligently — not just memorization but application, so Scripture "pops up" in the heart in the moment of decision or conviction (Proverbs 6).
Step 5 (this episode): Enjoy God's Blessings Wisely (Don't Forget God in Abundance)
Deut. 6:10–12 — warns Israel that once they live in houses they didn't build, drink from wells they didn't dig, and eat from vineyards they didn't plant, and are "full," the danger is forgetting the Lord.
This step "nails us as Americans" — most people live in homes they didn't build, eat food they didn't grow, and eat out of fullness/abundance rather than hunger. 
God is not against blessing/prosperity — the text itself promises houses, food, and abundance as gifts from God. Nice homes, cars, and possessions aren't inherently wrong or "spoiled."
Caution: don't confuse God's blessing with the American Dream. Someone can have the bigger house, nicer car, or yacht and be completely unblessed if their family and relationship with God are falling apart. True blessing shows up as peace, joy, love, and gentleness in the home — not material markers.
Scripture ties blessing to obedience/pursuit of righteousness (referenced the Deuteronomy blessings/curses passage and the pattern seen across Joshua vs. Judges) — but this isn't a strict formula; God remains gracious even amid failure.
Practical Application: Enjoying Blessings "With Care" / Frugality
Money has two purposes: to live, and to give — live more frugally (smaller home, older-but-nice car, lower payments) to free up margin for giving and to avoid overwork that outsources parenting to daycare/babysitters.
Have a grateful heart as a discipline — actively resisting complaint over aging cars, food choices, etc., which the hosts frame as a subtle form of forgetting God.
Practical family habit: praying before meals with genuine, unhurried gratitude rather than rote routine; teaching kids a thankfulness verse; verbally noting "isn't it amazing we get to eat like this?" as a repeated family phrase.
How blessed are you? In your blessings, are you forgetting God?(e.g., packed schedules of travel/activities, expensive Christian schooling, but no family devotions, gratitude, or altar at home).

Please pray for Dave and Bethlie as they continue this season of pause on the podcast. If you're a brand new listener or a orignal listener from 6 years ago, we're sure this series will be a blessing.
 
Recap of Steps So Far
Fear God — must first know God to stand in awe of Him. Host shared a personal illustration: praying as a family for a new RV, and God's provision through friends/supporters — using it to show their kids God's goodness firsthand.
Keep God First
Love God (heart, soul, might/mind/strength)
Step 4 (this episode): Teach God's Word Diligently
Deut. 6:4–9 
1. It must be personally real first (v.6 — "shall be in thine heart")
You can't teach what you don't know/live yourself — parents need their own regular time in God's Word before they can pass it on.
There is value in a physical Bible over a phone/app: fewer distractions (notifications), and the ability to highlight, underline, and write notes 
Not legalistic about method (no requirement to read X chapters/day) — the goal is that Scripture is treasured and genuinely part of daily life, not just consumed on a screen.
2. It must be diligently taught (v.7 — "teach them diligently")
Two forms: Formal family devotions — scheduling a set time (Dave and Bethlie do this in the evenings). Their practice: reading a passage, reviewing memorized passages (Ten Commandments, Beatitudes, Psalm 1, 19, 23, 100), closing in prayer.
Informal/organic teaching — woven into daily life as Deut. 6:7 describes ("when thou sittest... walkest... liest down... risest up"): Using teachable moments from TV (example: an Andy Griffith episode with a drunk character as an opening to discuss what the Bible says about alcohol; also referenced a real story about alcohol contributing to an affair in a church).
Correcting sibling conflict by quoting Scripture on the spot, and having kids write out Bible verses as a consequence/reinforcement.
Attaching specific verses to recurring life moments — e.g., Psalm 19:1 ("The heavens declare...") for stargazing, Psalm 23 imagery for green pastures/lakes seen while driving, Ecclesiastes ("in all labor there is profit") for schoolwork motivation, Proverbs 11:16 ("a gracious woman retaineth honor") for daughters navigating "mean girl" dynamics, Job 31:1 ("I have made a covenant with mine eyes,") for teenage sons and purity of eyes.


3. It must be prominently displayed (v.9 — "write them upon the posts of thy house")
Scripture decor/signs around the home
Kids writing verse references or phrases on their own hands as personal reminders — modeled after a young evangelist who traveled with the family; framed as intentional and temporary, not a tattoo.
4. It must be reasonably explained (previewed, to be covered in a future episode)
As kids get older, genuine "why" questions are an opportunity to explain Scripture's reasoning — distinguished from rebellious "why," which needs correction rather than explanation.
As kids mature, ask them "What do you think we should do based on what the Bible says?" to build their own habit of returning to Scripture.