31 Day No TV Challenge

After much deliberation and trying to reason my way out of not doing this (because I'm going to be honest, I love Seinfeld) I have decided to pursue a month without television. It's very convenient because tomorrow is a new month, so it's perfect! This is a personal goal, so I am not forcing Nicholas' participation; this is something I want to do for myself. Starting tomorrow through March 31st, I will not do the following things:

• Turn on the T.V. Period.

• Play our N64. Occasionally I play when I'm bored.

• Play any online games, including ones on Facebook.

• Watch movies unless it's for a date with Nick.

• Be in the front room when Nick is watching T.V.

There are many reasons to do this, but one is that it is something I can lay aside in my life to grow closer to my Heavenly Father. He has great plans for me, and none of them include wasting my precious time in front of a television set. I have made a goal "to relish life as [I] live it" and that is best done outside the realms of the world of television and pointless Internet meanderings.

Another thing I often think about is a talk I listened to about Mothers Who Know. Here is a portion I think about a lot (emphasis added):

Mothers who know do less. They permit less of what will not bear good fruit eternally. They allow less media in their homes, less distraction, less activity that draws their children away from their home. Mothers who know are willing to live on less and consume less of the world's goods...These mothers choose carefully and do not try to choose it all.

Another talk I enjoy is Good, Better, Best, which is a fantastic talk on time management. This is a small quote that helped me make this decision:

We should begin by recognizing the reality that just because something is good is not a sufficient reason for doing it. The number of good things we can do far exceeds the time available to accomplish them. Some things are better than good, and these are the things that should command priority attention in our lives...Consider how we use our time in the choices we make in viewing television, playing video games, surfing the Internet, or reading books or magazines. Of course it is good to view wholesome entertainment or to obtain interesting information. But not everything of that sort is worth the portion of our life we give to obtain it.

I encourage you to find something in your life that does not deserve the attention you give to it. May I just say that the opportunity to make my life better tomorrow than it was today is just one of the many blessings of the Atonement of Christ. I am so grateful for the hope I have in the future and the faith I have to know that, with Jesus Christ, I can accomplish difficult things.

I am so excited to see what I accomplish by the end of the month and will be updating everyone on all my new adventures!