Going Cold Turkey

Last Sunday evening, after the kids had gone to bed, Danny and I lounged around in our family room, talking about all the big stuff in our lives.  Work.  Children.  Future.  But most of all we talked about God, and His relation to those things. Where do we put Him?  What should our lives really look like according to His word?  How do we raise our kids to follow Christ...really follow Christ?

We have these big talks every so often, and it is always a good thing.  We reconnect on this road called life.   As a husband and wife we attempt to whittle all the daily little things that keep us running on a treadmill down to what's really important.   It's wonderful.  As a woman, with the desperate need to release thousands of words daily, these talks are exhilarating, I have to admit.  Anyway, the talk was great.  You get the point.

My portion of the big talk consisted mainly of complaining about how little time I have to myself.  And on top of that, of the few moments I have to myself, I really didn't like the way I was spending that time. "My time" consisted of reading up on other people's news on Facebook, catching the last few minutes of a ridiculous show on TV, or nibbling on something decadent.   I didn't want to do those things anymore. I would rather spend my time working out, reading the Bible and completing my Bible study work, and doing more constructive/fun stuff with the kids.  But how, oh how would I make those changes????

The next morning, while washing my face, I heard a voice in my head say, "Cut out Facebook, TV and sugar for one week."  It was God.  Yep, that still small voice just laid it out.  He probably said the cutting out part, and I'm pretty sure my conscience added the one week part.  Anyway, just like that, I logged onto Facebook (the irony!) to post my final message for a week, that I was going cold turkey.  And in fact that is what one family member responded when she heard I was going off the air for a week.

The TV stayed cold and black for one week. I think I showed maybe one Dora episode for the kids, but they basically had a week away from television too.

The sugar fast didn't go so well.  On the fourth day, Danny and I were out at a dinner function, and I found myself mindlessly spooning vanilla ice cream into my mouth.  I didn't even realize it at the time.  Now this really happened.  I got home from the dinner, and started bragging to Danny about how awesome I was doing on my three part fast.  I started to say how successful my sugar fast had been, when literally in mid-sentence I remembered the ice cream.  We burst into laughter.  Oh well.   Sometimes you gotta laugh.

So what have I done instead with all of my free time......?

I homeschooled Pocahontas.  I mean, Emma.  

I dealt with every red-haired munchkin  that came into my life with tough worksheet assignments. Mainly mazes.  

I watched my son get all dolled up for what appears to be a Dora wedding extravaganza.  Poor little guy.

And I marveled at Little G's fine fashion sense.  She's going to give Emma a run for her money in this department!

We would normally watch a movie, or at least view a couple episodes of their favorite show, but instead we made crafts.  

This penguin mosaic is a favorite. 

The hand print tree is also pretty fun.  

Basically we spent a whole lot more time doing a whole lot more important and constructive activities.  As a stay-at-home and homeschooling mom of four little ones, I tend to look for that daily escape. Even if it's a few minutes to veg out in front of the TV, I looked forward to those moments of thinking about nothing.  I now spend those moments in scripture, cooking, crafting, or reading with the kids, and enjoying the little moments with this blessing called family.