transformation

{The craziest yet most brilliant thing we’ve ever done}

The Mr and I joined forces and made a hard decision last week. That decision resulted in terminating our home phone line, internet connection, and TV. Let me clarify – we no longer get any channels on the old boob tube. No modern family, no grey’s anatomy, no private practice, no bachelorette (that one hurts) no golf, no ESPN, not even one fuzzy channel. Nada.

Crazy? Hmm, define crazy.

Liberating? For.100%.Sure

Let me start of by being clear when we say that this decision is not for everyone and we are not condemning anyone who has access to these “extras”. After all, we’ve been in our house for over 4 years and we have always had those pricey extras. It was really never a question. It was basically like, you buy groceries because you need to eat. You pay for electricity because you need heat/cooling systems. You pay your mortgage because you need a roof over your head. You pay for clothes because you need to not be naked in public (or at home for that matter) You pay your phone bill, internet bill, and cable/dvr bill because you need entertainment, or you need something to occupy idle time, or you need something to fill the silence in your day, or you need to be keeping tabs on what everyone else is up to. (thank you facebook for that last one)(my life is now complete knowing that so & so’s kid used the big boy potty today)(grin)

Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing, and perfect will.

Have you ever wondered what God’s will really is for you? The above states that the key that opens this door is a key that requires un-conforming. Quite frankly I’m sure God has been frustrated with me in this regard. I find myself praying prayers like “God lead me in the direction I should go or God show me what you want me to do and btw please hurry up because I need to go check my facebook, email, 23,498 blogs, and check my phone for new messages. The thought even once crossed my mind, I wish God had a blog or facebook, maybe then growing in Him would come a little easier. That last little bit is hard to admit and I feel full of shame even typing that. Wow had I completely missed the buck. Only now after making this decision do I feel like I’m starting to get it. Maybe others are better at setting limits for themselves, and not letting tv and internet connections take up unproductive hours of your day but for my husband and I this was a real struggle.

I started looking at this through a new set of eyes, through the eyes of my almost 15 month old. What were we teaching him by almost always having the tv on, or getting frustrated because he had gotten into something he shouldn’t have because we were in the other room on the computer? I knew my priorities needed a good nudge in the right direction.

Finances also played a role in our decision. Could we afford to pay the $130/month? Yes, easily but wasn’t it actually costing us more than mere money? We decided we would continue to set aside that amount of money each month but prayerfully consider what God would have us to do with it. That might sound ludacris to some and that’s okay with me because that is honestly what we felt the Spirit moving us to do.

We know in the grand scheme of things this is small. By cutting out $130/month we will not cure world hunger, but we are learning to listen to God’s whispers and live accordingly. These past days have been some of the best of my life, of course there have been moments when we’ve thought “what have we done?!”  But so far the good is outweighing the bad ten-fold. My husband put it perfectly when he said “my head feels so clear”. Amen buddy, so does mine. My Bible no longer has dust on it. I have freezer meals sitting in my freezer right now. Relationships seem smoother. I have time to pray, reflect, and listen to God. Suddenly Gavin isn’t throwing quite as many fits as he was previously. It is so true that kids just want your time and undivided attention. 

So does God.

{And for those of you who are wondering how I am blogging with no internet connection at home, the answer is the public library baby. I always knew I was a library geek at heart}