7:54 AM Part of an email I received overnight:
My husband and I decided after prayer and some reluctance that we would give Jesus our T.V. time, computer game time & the kids' Play Station time until after Christmas Day when we will re-evaluate what God would like us to do. We truly want to honor him with this time and are praying that he changes us and grows us up in him. I believe we all have addictions to these electronics. It's felt like a purging even in just 3 days. God has truly blessed our time thus far. We have cried a little (okay, for me it has been a lot), laughed (I mean belly aching laughs) much and enjoyed each other, our children and most importantly God more.
Over twenty years ago I challenged the church I pastored in California to join me in “fasting” from TV for a month. People thought I was nuts to make that suggestion. It was harder than I expected because we had become addicted to TV noise as part of the background of life. And this was long before computers and video games. But it was so freeing and led to many good things. We spent a lot more time that month talking and playing and laughing together as a family.
7:45 AM A friend recommended that we read Redwall by Brian Jacques. I picked it up a few days ago and couldn't put it down. I currently reading Mossflower, the second book in the series. They say these are children's books, but I am enjoying reading them.
7:42 AM It's seems like we're going to have a cloudy, cold day here in Marion. At least that's what it looks like from my motel window. Right now the temp is 37 and the skies are overcast. The terrain is mostly flat with a few rolling hills. Good farming country. Southern Illinois University is just down the road at Carbondale.
You can reach the author at ray@keepbelieving.com. Click here to sign up for the free weekly email sermon.