Week 3: Sick and struggling

This past week has been the most difficult yet in the fast. All four of us struggled with sickness in some degree throughout the week. When you're sick and just lying around all day it is nice to have the TV as a distraction -- something to do, to occupy your brain. But we lived through it -- even thrived. So, once again, we know that TV is NOT a necessity.

I found several web sites that have hundreds (yes, literally hundreds) of episodes of TV shows that you can watch for free. I told Brenda, "Who needs cable or satellite when we can watch almost anything we want on the computer?" They even have the latest shows that have only been on a month or two.

I even had the opportunity to experiment with using these web sites in a reward system. Brenda was very sick throughout the first part of the week (NO, not swine flu!) but she still had to work as a substitute because we need the income. On Wednesday evening she stayed home with the girls to rest rather then go to church. The girls were wonderful for her! They helped her fold clothes as well as put them away and they cleaned their room with very little help. We were both very proud of them.

The next day I told them how proud I was of them -- no sarcasm, just straight praise -- and when I got home from work we got on the computer and watched an entire episode of Johnny Socco and His Flying Robot. Believe it or not, the girls LOVED it! I'm sure part of it was the romance of watching TV on the computer, but they really enjoyed the show. This knowledge could be very useful in the future.

One of the best things about this fast is that Brenda and I have a lot more time to talk and pray together. After the girls go to bed we sit and read or visit, instead of turning off our brains and completely vegging out. I have to admit that TV is not patently evil. There are fun shows and times when watching it is fun and enjoyable. The problem is that we -- I bet like many families today -- lost our priorities. We put the TV first in WAY too many ways. It really did become somewhat of a god in this house. I praise the true God for the realization and the opportunity to change our focus.

Finally, we found a wonderful family site just last night: tangle.com (formerly godtube.com). It is very much like youtube.com, but the videos are all family friendly, many are church dramas that were recorded and uploaded. It was wonderful for Brenda and I to be able to go into the kitchen and leave the girls knowing that anything they clicked on would be appropriate. Check it out if you get a chance!