Unplugged

Well... Kind of.

Last Tuesday evening after getting home from work and in the midst of getting ready to go to Bible study, I was convicted that the television is on way too much in our house. Now there are two people in the house that account for that, but this is just my conviction so far. Usually I'll turn it on as background noise, but then, what if you get interested? Then you find another show? And the show after that one peaks your interest. It's a crazy cycle that leads to hours of filling your mind with garbage. Now, not all garbage stinks. Not everything I watch is "bad" in that sense of the word, but is it good? Ehh. Could I be using my time more wisely? Abso-frickin-lutely.

So back to last Tuesday. I got home from Bible study, went to the room, shut the door, opened my Bible and journal, and made my commitment to God.

I commit to keep my television watching to a bare minimum (I do have 2 shows that I enjoy weekly, so that's about an hour a week).

I commit to turn on music instead of the television if I want something to "fill the dead air" while I'm doing laundry or dishes or housework. I have so many awesome "mix" and old school Christian CD's that I've completely forgotten about! :)

I commit to reading as a way to wind down, or fill down-time. This has actually been really exciting for me. I love to read. Emphasis on L-O-V-E. If there were a job that I could just read [what I wanted to] all day, every day, I'd be in utter bliss. And I haven't made time for myself to read either. So with the TV not an option, I've finished a couple books, started a couple more, and have thoroughly enjoyed studying the Bible more in depth.

An "exception" is that Chris and I enjoy watching movies together. I enjoy spending "shoulder time" with him, and vice-versa. So I won't compromise that. But we don't watch movies in excess, so I don't foresee this as an issue :)

Today marks the one week of my commitment, and I feel so refreshed. I didn't think it would make this much of a difference, but I feel like I've taken back a part of my life. I didn't think that "mindless" television watching had much effect, but I guess we learn something about ourselves all the time :) I didn't put a time frame on this either, and I'm glad now that I didn't. I don't care to ever fall back into that routine.

So here's to a fresh start just in time for Spring! :)