TV

I couldn't think of a good topic, so I picked "TV".

Pros: TV entertains us. TV can allow me some much needed time alone (ie Jenny and David watching Dora, Diego, or Caillou). TV allows for time spent together as a family. TV informs us - news, etc. TV is free (at least in my house since my husband works for the cable company).

Cons: TV distracts us from life - often I find myself in front of the TV, watching mindlessly, when there are more important and more beneficial things to be doing. Often the TV numbs us to the moral issues of the day - we see things (and yes, I'm speaking to myself here as well) that we shouldn't accept as okay or normal, yet we end up being numb to them when we see them in real life, since we see so much of it on TV. TV keeps conversations from happening - connections from being made. TV allows us to escape from reality.

Other thoughts: I watch too much TV. Most days, I don't watch any "adult" TV during the day (although there are some weeks when I sit and watch "my" shows while the kids are napping and then some) as the TV is on "kid" TV - Dora, Diego, Caillou, etc. Most nights, I don't do anything BUT watch TV - from 5pm til the time we go to bed, the TV is usually on - news, shows, sports, whatever... it doesn't matter, it's on. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursday - these nights are full of shows that we watch devotedly (we DVR most of them because most of the time there are multiple shows we watch that are on at the same time and we DVR them in case we happen to miss part of them, and the others are available on demand, so we can watch them later). Since MTT are busy watching part of "our shows", WFS usually end up being "catch up" nights for the rest of "our shows". Once in a great while, we actually turn the TV off for a night (only when NOTHING is on and all "our shows" are "up-to-date") and spend time reading. (We usually read, surf the internet, etc while the TV is on.)

Some things I find annoying about TV:
*If someone is watching a show that you don't want to watch it's okay to (A) leave the room and watch TV in the other room or (B) sit and watch it with them in order to show an interest in something they like. BUT DON'T CHANGE THE CHANNEL WITHOUT ASKING!!! And if you do ask, and they would like to finish watching the show, be polite and let them - even if they do have it on DVD and have already seen it multiple times. It's not like you don't ever watch reruns!
*If you turn the TV on, turn it off when you leave the room (assuming nobody else is watching it).
*If you're not watching the TV, there's no point in having it on - or at least let somebody else pick the channel.

I'm sure there's plenty more I could say about TV, but I think I'll leave it at this... in college, they posted a verse on the TVs in the dorm: "I will place no unpleasing thing before my eyes" (or something to that effect)... maybe I should think more about what I watch, and maybe I should shut the TV off more - I think I need to cut back on TV and spend more time in the WORD!

Oooo... idea for another post - how much time do you spend getting ready for the day (shower, makeup, getting dressed, eating, etc) versus how much time do you spend getting spiritual ready for the day (praying, devotional time, meditation on Scripture, etc). I had this question posed to me once, and every once in awhile it comes to mind. I fail SO badly at this - I need to spend so much more time preparing for my day in the spiritual realm! (I don't really spend all that much time in the physical realm most days, since I don't usually have to leave the house 5 days a week!) But, that's not TV, so I'll save it for another post.