Last night, I read another mom's blog, and the post was about a challenge issued by her Sunday school teacher to go one week with no television. For some people, that's probably not a huge deal, but still a bit of a challenge to figure out what to do with all that time usually spent watching TV; for others, that would be torture! For our family, though, that's just ordinary life. I honestly can't remember the last time we even turned on our television.
I used to love watching TV. Back in my single-and-working days, it was good company when I was home (living by myself), and there were several shows I loved. Later, as a stay-at-home mom, I got in the habit of turning it on in the morning, and it stayed on most of the day, even if I wasn't particularly watching a show. I never could justify spending the money for more than one television, so fortunately I never got in the habit of having one in the bedroom.
Lots of things have changed in my life over the past several years. And in the process, I ended up watching much less television. I realized, for one thing, that TV watching really hinders good conversation! How often have you ever had a great conversation with the TV on in the room (and I mean more than how great so-and-so is on American Idol!)? Probably seldom or never. TV-watching also cut into my sleeping time because I'd often get involved in some show that stayed on later than my planned bedtime, and sometimes I'd have trouble sleeping because of too much going on in my head because of whatever show I'd watched. And a really big deal for me is that I've found that it's very easy to slip into worldly thinking when I watch TV! In my new-and-improved life without television, I have found much more time to read, sleep, do crafts like needlework or scrapbooking, catch up on household projects and chores, go for walks, play games, study my Bible, pray, talk to friends, dance in the living room with my husband ... and the list goes on and on!
We never made any big decision to not watch television. We just happened to have better things to do. And when we moved into this house, we didn't want the TV in the main living area, so we put it upstairs. Now, our televsion sits lonely up there, with no furniture in the room; we sold the upstairs couch because we never used it, and moved the chair and table to another room (I rearrange often, but that's for another entry!). A couple of months ago, we all went up together and watched "The Sound of Music" that we borrowed from the public library (we sat on the floor). And about a month ago, Ken & Kathryn watched "Because of Winn Dixie" while I hosted a get-together for the ladies from our Sunday school class. (Kathryn loved the book, so we gave her the movie in her Easter basket.) Other than those two times, I can't think of any time we've even turned on the TV this year. And it's so lovely.
Not long ago, Kathryn had a friend over. They were playing with legos and I overheard their conversation. He said that our house was "way more fun" than his house because we have a playset. But then he thought again, and then said, "except my house is funner because I have lots of TV's in my house!" It did take Kathryn a while to break the TV habit, but now, she has learned that there are much more fun things to do!
I challenge you and your family to try it: one week with no television... and let me know how it goes! You might love it so much that your TV gets lonely, too! Then you could try something new & exciting, like learning to ride a unicycle (that's my hubby... I'm not brave enough to try it!!
I used to love watching TV. Back in my single-and-working days, it was good company when I was home (living by myself), and there were several shows I loved. Later, as a stay-at-home mom, I got in the habit of turning it on in the morning, and it stayed on most of the day, even if I wasn't particularly watching a show. I never could justify spending the money for more than one television, so fortunately I never got in the habit of having one in the bedroom.
Lots of things have changed in my life over the past several years. And in the process, I ended up watching much less television. I realized, for one thing, that TV watching really hinders good conversation! How often have you ever had a great conversation with the TV on in the room (and I mean more than how great so-and-so is on American Idol!)? Probably seldom or never. TV-watching also cut into my sleeping time because I'd often get involved in some show that stayed on later than my planned bedtime, and sometimes I'd have trouble sleeping because of too much going on in my head because of whatever show I'd watched. And a really big deal for me is that I've found that it's very easy to slip into worldly thinking when I watch TV! In my new-and-improved life without television, I have found much more time to read, sleep, do crafts like needlework or scrapbooking, catch up on household projects and chores, go for walks, play games, study my Bible, pray, talk to friends, dance in the living room with my husband ... and the list goes on and on!
We never made any big decision to not watch television. We just happened to have better things to do. And when we moved into this house, we didn't want the TV in the main living area, so we put it upstairs. Now, our televsion sits lonely up there, with no furniture in the room; we sold the upstairs couch because we never used it, and moved the chair and table to another room (I rearrange often, but that's for another entry!). A couple of months ago, we all went up together and watched "The Sound of Music" that we borrowed from the public library (we sat on the floor). And about a month ago, Ken & Kathryn watched "Because of Winn Dixie" while I hosted a get-together for the ladies from our Sunday school class. (Kathryn loved the book, so we gave her the movie in her Easter basket.) Other than those two times, I can't think of any time we've even turned on the TV this year. And it's so lovely.
Not long ago, Kathryn had a friend over. They were playing with legos and I overheard their conversation. He said that our house was "way more fun" than his house because we have a playset. But then he thought again, and then said, "except my house is funner because I have lots of TV's in my house!" It did take Kathryn a while to break the TV habit, but now, she has learned that there are much more fun things to do!
I challenge you and your family to try it: one week with no television... and let me know how it goes! You might love it so much that your TV gets lonely, too! Then you could try something new & exciting, like learning to ride a unicycle (that's my hubby... I'm not brave enough to try it!!
