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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxwzk4P4A5c Missy’s Update: Wow! Today is a very big day at Stately Bennett Manor…not because it marks the halfway point of the month of September, but because today our story was shared with the listening audiences of K-LOVE and AIR-1 Radio! So for those of you joining us today for the first time: Come on in! Make yourselves comfortable! Do be sure to catch up on some of the previous videos…meet the family! Can I make you a snack? And to the friends who have been following us all month, you know we’re glad to see you again today! You...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bGrmhF3KPA Jim's update: As we near the end of our second week with no TV, no movies, no video games, no social networking and no mp3 players, I am thinking about one of the few television shows that I watched regularly. It's a smartly written and often hilarious comedy program and I watched every episode of the first five seasons. The clarity that this experiment has brought me has allowed me to assess just how appropriate it is for me, as a Christian, to soak my mind in such fare. For all of its artistic excellence, this program is like...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_wVCrcZtlo Jim’s update: Missy mentioned on a recent video how parenting has changed for her without television’s anesthetizing influence over the children and the distractions provided by other electronic amusements in our home. I affirm her assessment. While the attitudes of the children are drastically improving – and we delight in that – we acknowledge that we, by necessity, are becoming more attentive, engaged parents. And that often means we are finding ourselves saying things that we wouldn’t normally say. For example… (Photo) GIRLS! DON'T PUT YOUR LIPS ON THE AQUARIUM! Harvest is well underway here in Rozetta and this...

If you watched the Day 10 video, you know that our big announcement was regarding an interview we did with George Rath of the K-Love Christian Radio Network. That’s right – Family Media Detox is going nationwide, Baby! The interviews will air at several times throughout the day, usually on the 40 minute mark of the hour. We hope you can listen! A note about today’s video: Jim demonstrates a prank in which he pretends to stick a fork in his eye, when in actuality he punctures a packet of Half-and-Half concealed in his palm. Just wanted you to be...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7otcu2lR8A Day 10 Yesterday, we received some pretty big news! We hinted on our Day 9 blog video that we hoped to have an announcement on today’s video…and guess what! We do! Check it and see! This afternoon, while the kids were playing outside (funny how I just can’t seem to keep them in the house anymore!), I had the opportunity to spend some time really meditating upon what God is doing in our family—and in the lives of the individuals who make it up. The children are deepening their relationships with one another…there is even more talk and laughter...

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btSm5TUHWsc] Jim's update: We have been receiving some very encouraging comments, which we greatly appreciate. You all are hilarious! Love it! You have my support from Atlanta, Georgia! - Jenny I am loving your media detox. I’ve found it interesting that users of texting and facebook claim “oh, but you are able to stay connected to so many people” while they are disconnecting from real face-to-face (or voice-to-voice) conversations! -Sherri Wow! What an undertaking! As if home-schooling wasn’t enough! I was home-schooled and raised without a TV and video games, therefore, I’m not at all surprised by your findings. I...

youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIqQb94d0t4 "The Family Media Detox Challenge" By Jim Bennett Things are a little different around the parsonage these days. We are in the midst of a burgeoning cultural renaissance. The Mrs. and I, along with our children, have agreed to give up television, movies, video games, mp3 players and social networking for the month of September. This started when we cancelled our Dish Network subscription in August. It was an unnecessary expense at a time when we’ve been tightening our belts anyway, but frankly, this isn’t merely a financial decision. It’s more like CPR for the mind. How vividly I...

Things are a little different around the parsonage these days. We are in the midst of a burgeoning cultural renaissance. The Mrs. and I, along with our children, have agreed to give up television, movies, video games, mp3 players and social networking for the month of September. This started when we cancelled our Dish Network subscription in August. It was an unnecessary expense at a time when we’ve been tightening our belts anyway, but frankly, this isn’t merely a financial decision. It’s more like CPR for the mind. How vividly I remember my point of reckoning. I was engrossed in...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOQXI4LJEN4 Missy's update: As we began this month-long experiment, I wasn’t altogether sure what to expect. I certainly didn’t expect to have over 100 people come visit our blog every day! And if we had any visitors at all, I guess I had expected them to be mostly supportive of our attempt at a media-free September…mainly because I assumed the majority of our guests would be people who know us in real life. So I was surprised when we received a rather critical comment from a visitor who suggested that keeping the children away from media for a month was...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzMpNyXvUAg We are celebrating "Sam-iversary," as mentioned in the Day 3 entry. Our two youngest children, Sam and Mercy, came to us first as foster children. Less than a year after a social worker had brought Mercy into our lives, we learned that her birth parents were expecting another child. Cocaine use by the mother during this new pregnancy had been confirmed, just as meth abuse had been a factor while she was carrying Mercy. We were asked if we would take the placement and we readily agreed; the idea of keeping a group of siblings together had been one...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sANengCGmLw Jim's update: Ah, Sunday! We love us some Lord's Day around here. As Missy and I discuss in today's video, we had an especially uplifting church service. I preached on one of my favorite topics: The blood of Christ and how the whole of scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, points to the Cross. In fact, the praise team offered a special arrangement of "At the Cross" for the offertory, and it was a big ol' blessing to me. Sunday afternoons are usually devoted to naps for Missy and me, and I've developed a habit of watching Westerns on TV...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9xWAzkAkLw Missy's update: September 4th, 2010 Day 4 found us hitting the ground running! (I’m noting a tiring theme so far this month!) Jamie and Hannah have piano lessons on Saturday mornings, and Jamie threw in an art lesson too, just so we wouldn’t get bored. While Jamie was painting, I took the rest of the kids to the park in Alexis, where I can’t help but stop at the Cardinal Convenience store. Usually I just use the bathroom, then buy a bottle of V-8 and a bag of popcorn while I’m there, but today I also took a lengthy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXqC4wiqVpA Jim's update: Sam's fourth birthday! My baby turns four. You know, he has another special day coming up: September 6th. That's the anniversary of his arrival in our home. Sam and Mercy (PeeWee) both came to us as foster children; social workers brought Mercy to us on October 4th, 2005, when she was six weeks old, and Sam arrived almost a year later, just three days after his birth. Both had been born drug-exposed; they were so frail and sickly. Missy and I watched and prayed over them, waiting and working for indications that they would grow stronger and...

Scientists dismiss 'detox myth' Eating fruit and vegetables is the best way to feel healthy, researchers say There is no evidence that products widely promoted to help the body "detox" work, scientists warn. The charitable trust Sense About Science reviewed 15 products, from bottled water to face scrub, and found many detox claims were "meaningless". Anyone worried about the after-effects of Christmas overindulgence would get the same benefits from eating healthily and getting plenty of sleep, they said. Advertising regulators said they looked at such issues on a case-by-case basis. The investigation, done by research members of the Voice of...

A controversial Church of Scientology treatment used on World Trade Center emergency responders is being used in Utah to "detoxify" cops who raided methamphetamine labs in the 1980s and 1990s. The Utah Meth Cops Project is treating around a dozen former and current police officers at taxpayers' expense, using a regime devised by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard at a Bio-Cleansing Centers of America facility in Orem, Utah. State Attorney General Mark Shurtleff brought the project west after seeing it used to treat emergency workers in New York who were injured working at Ground Zero following the Sept. 11, 2001,...

TOM CRUISE is attacking those who prescribe psychiatric drugs again in the May (06) issue of men's style magazine GQ. The actor, who embarked on an anti-drug tirade in TV interviews last summer (05) on behalf of his Scientology beliefs, has launched a fresh attack on psychiatry, calling for prescription pill poppers to think carefully about the harms they're doing to their bodies. He tells the magazine, "I've always found the 'if it makes me feel better, it's OK' rationale a little suspect. "I think it's appalling that people have to live a life of drug addiction when I have...

Mass Extinctions - A Threat from Outer Space or Our Own Planet's Detox? University scientists suggest extraterrestrial theories are flawed and that more down to earth factors could have accounted for past mass extinctions Earth history has been punctuated by several mass extinctions rapidly wiping out nearly all life forms on our planet. What causes these catastrophic events? Are they really due to meteorite impacts? Current research suggests that the cause may come from within our own planet – the eruption of vast amounts of lava that brings a cocktail of gases from deep inside the Earth and vents them...

To Any Person Who Suspects They May Have a Drinking Problem, I have written this to describe my experiences of the past 14 months as I have worked to resolve my drinking problem. Everyone is different and I do not propose to be an expert on this topic, but I have my own personal experience and I am sharing it in the hope that it might help someone else to solve this problem and change their life. I have now been sober for 14 months without a drop of alcohol. This is not a long time as compared to over...

Fight over $60k "medical treatments" with tainted L.A. detox doc SEPTEMBER 14--A business associate of rock star Scott Stapp, the Creed frontman, claims that the singer failed to reimburse him $60,000 paid to a controversial Beverly Hills doctor known for his unorthodox drug detox treatments. In a lawsuit filed this month in Florida's Orange County Circuit Court, Jeffrey Cameron contends that he paid Dr. David Kipper "for certain medical treatments received" by Stapp during a three-month period in mid-2002. Cameron, who works for Stapp's management company, does not further describe those treatments in his complaint and he declined to provide...