Screen less. Book more.
I gave up T.V. in my bedroom. Maybe you’ve never had a T.V. in your bedroom so that’s no big deal to you. But for me it was a colossal move. I don’t even know how long a TV has lulled me to sleep.
6 years? 7? 10?
Too long.
The first week of August I began twenty-one days of giving up some things so that I could lean into Someone. His Name is Jesus. Twenty-one days may seem like a blip on a screen, but this year those days taught me so much about Him and myself. Things I hadn’t recently seen.
Silence.
I had grown uncomfortable with silence. Was I afraid of my thoughts? Was I afraid of His Presence? Was I just afraid? Yes, I think the answer was yes to all three.
Jesus always has answers to my honest questions.
Saying no to T.V. in my room has done something phenomenal for me. It’s given me the power to say, “No” in other rooms and to other devices, too. And even, “Yes” to things like prayer, sitting, reading, and even sleeping.
It’s also made me wonder, what would a screen less life look like?
I think it’d look like:
More talking with my loved ones and strangers.
More writing.
More exercising.
More car rides, just because.
More of my thoughts.
More serving others.
More of His Presence.
More Joy.
I’m experiencing some of the mores above, especially more reading. I’m one book away from my goal for the year!
Elementary school was one of my favorite seasons of life. Dr. Seuss, Shel Silverstein, The Baby Sitters Club. Reading fascinated me. We get to do this, all the time? Read more, achieve more, receive more, why weren’t my friends as giddy as me? LOL!
But the older I got, the older reading got. I’d rather talk to my friends, go watch a movie, get into some mischief, anything that others were doing, that’s what I wanted to do.
Soon, reading lost its luster and its wonder, all together.
But then something earth-shattering happened. I met Jesus for real. When I met Him, I quickly realized that I had to learn to read again. Everything I was being taught about Him was contained in a Book. And I wanted to know every single thing.
From then on, simply put, books have changed my life.
Books about Jesus. Books on Leadership. Books on Waiting. Books on Forgiving. Books on Purpose.
I remember sitting in my room over a decade ago and reading a book about a life that was driven by purpose. What a concept! God made me on purpose and had a plan for me?
And then a book on forgiving others, I hadn’t even thought about forgiving ANYONE, let alone EVERYONE.
There were so many things to unlearn and reframe. God wanted to change my mind.
Paul wrote it best in Romans 12:2, Do not conform 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.
Books have done just that for me. The book I love best is divided into 66 segments and is best digested whole. I thank God for the men and women who preserved the history, the poems, and the letters that I find on the pages of my Bible. It’s not the only book I read, but it will be the only one that lasts forever.
Screen less. Book more.
You need to read some books. Why, you ask? Thanks for asking:
Reading reduces stress.
Reading improves vocabulary.
Reading increases empathy and philanthropy.
Reading can help to improve concentration and memory.
But more than all of these, reading renews your mind. I love the definitions of renew. Restart, begin again, take up again, resume after an interruption.
Looking back at all those nights of TV, it fires me up to think that anything, but Jesus could dominate my life - my thoughts, my time, my actions, and emotions.
Who do these screens think they are anyway?
Screens have a way of interrupting us, in a way that is unprecedented in our history. And if researchers are correct they will dominate life as we know it from here on out.
What if you put down your devices for a time, what if you limited your screen time and expanded your book time, exercise time, prayer time, friend time?
You might just find yourself refreshed and renewed.
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Need help finding a book? I’d love to help you!
Need help finding time to pray or ways to pray throughout the day? I can give you some tips!
Uncomfortable with silence? Try it for small increments at a time. 2 minutes. 3 minutes. 5 minutes. You can do it!