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Reunion!

Posted on April 26, 2011 by auburnchick

Easter Sunday is the high point of a Christian’s year.

On Easter, a Christian celebrates the resurrection of the Savior.

A Christian who has been observing Lent also celebrates the end of the fast that the person has committed himself or herself to.

As you might recall, I gave up TV.

Yes, Your’s Truly gave up the thing I lived my life around.

Heck…I’m surprised I didn’t schedule the birth of my children around my television shows.

Of course, there weren’t such fabulous shows such as Dancing With the Stars, Survivor, or Criminal Minds way back when.

Good thing.

The forty-three days (I started three days early) I spent sans-TV were interesting indeed.

The first week was very difficult.  As I watched the days go by, I mentally ticked off the shows.

I was grumpy.  I’ll admit that.

The sound of silence in my house was more deafening than the sounds that had come out of the dumb-me-down machine.

I grew used to the silence, however.

Lent became a blessing to me as I was able to focus on my challenging education certification classes.

I spent time in God’s Word and in prayer.

I grew to understand that I was wasting my energy on people I did not know nor would ever, in many cases, care to know.

There was a freedom on that…a letting up of emotional responsibility.

I grew to discover that I really don’t care that Sammie was justified in shooting EJ.  To this day, I have no idea if Rafe is still locked up in Stefano’s basement.

By the way, I’m talking about Days of Our Lives, which will be one of the few soap operas left on TV after the end of the year.

But, I think you get my point.

I grew to love other activities…

Coming home and spending time sitting outside while my dogs played in the yard.

Oh, you should see my Molly when I venture out to “her” world.  She’s like a toddler who cares for nothing better than a Mama who will sit down to play, or in Molly’s case take time out to throw a stick or a ball.

I discovered, through the 43 days, that I can be disciplined, if I put my mind to it.

With God’s help, I can do anything.

I feel incredibly thankful that God put the TV fast on my heart.  He always knows what’s best for me (and you too, for that matter).

Now, with all of that said, I have to admit that I grew antsy on Friday and Saturday.

It’s kind of like when kids wait for Christmas to come.  They’re eager.

I was eager, let me tell you.

I considered staying up until midnight on Saturday just so I could turn on my TV.

But, I waited.

After all, I had already waited for six weeks.

I attended church with my family.

And then I couldn’t wait any longer.

Chicky captured the moment…

The reunion, if you will…

After Chicky left for her long drive back to college, Rooster and I sat down, and we watched TV.

And we watched (for you see, he had kind of fasted from TV as well, since I had unplugged the cable box).

And we watched…

I sat on that couch, knit, and watched TV from about 1pm until 8pm.

I was not ashamed, oh no I wasn’t.

I was content.

When Amazing Race was over, I decided not to watch Celebrity Apprentice.

Thanks to the lessons learned during Lent, I decided that I never liked LaToya Jackson before the show, so I had no reason to watch it now.  In fact, I didn’t see any “star” *cough* who I could connect with, so I turned off the TV…

Only to turn on my computer and catch up on episodes of Criminal Minds…

Which I watched until 11:45pm.

I am not ashamed to admit this.

I went to school on Monday a happy lady.

Though I am back to watching TV, I do feel like I’ll be more selective.  I’m also quite sure that I won’t have a problem when reruns hit the airwaves during the summer.

I’ve learned that there’s more to life than TV.

Filed under: Christian, This-n-That | Tagged: , , | 5 Comments »

Darkness and Light

Posted on April 9, 2011 by auburnchick

A few months ago, Tom, one of my church’s pastors, sent me an email asking if I would be interested in writing a devotional for the Lent Reader that he was putting together for the upcoming Easter season.  He provided the Bible verse that he wanted me to focus on and let me chew on the idea for a while.

I wasn’t sure if I would have time, but I prayed about it.

In the end, I felt that God wanted me to write it.

So I did.

The Lent Reader has been organized into five weekly devotions (with the exception of the week of Easter, which has seven).

We’re currently reading Week 5.

The week that my devotion appears in.

I wanted to share what I wrote with you.

Ephesians 5:8-14 (NIV)

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. 14 This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”

Darkness and light – these are two words that followers of Christ often encounter in Bible passages and in Christian music.  How often do we see and hear these words yet give them scant attention?  Have you ever stopped to consider what the words really mean, though?

The Hebrew word for darkness is “choshek,” which translates into, “separated from God’s glory because of works.”  Compare this definition to that of light, or “ohr” in Hebrew.  The Hebrew definition for light is “God connected to man.” What we see is that prior to God sending Jesus, His Son, to earth, we were separated from Him because we relied on a mentality that stressed work done by our own hands rather than the grace that is given by God.  Grace is a free gift, and there is not a magic number of works that we can perform that will put us in right standing with God.

But, is it enough, as The Message Bible says, to “climb out of our coffins” and let Christ’s light shine on us?  Does God say, “Oh, you’re good now.  You’re forgiven.  We’re best buds now.  Go lead a life of luxury.  Your work is finished.”  Most assuredly not!  We are instructed to “live as children of light” and expose the “deeds of darkness.”

We must, at this point, reflect on what it means to live as children of the light.  Just as lit candles in a sunny room do not serve the purpose they were created for – to dispel darkness, we, being infused with God’s Spirit and light, do little good if we don’t leave the confines of our comfortable lives and reach out to others living in darkness.  Verse 13 makes an incredible promise that everything that is illuminated, or enlightened to comprehend God’s word, will become a light.  Praise be to God for His abundant love and mercy that pulled us out of darkness and into the light.

Filed under: This-n-That | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

Two Weeks of No TV

Posted on March 22, 2011 by auburnchick

Sunday marked two weeks since I turned off my television set.  Easter is still four weeks away.

Some of you have asked for updates on what it’s been like in Chez AuburnChick.

Well, let me tell you that it has been quiet.

It has been very quiet.

The first few days were very difficult.  It’s amazing how much we rely on noise to fill empty space.

I thought that Spring Break would be especially difficult with Rooster being gone for half of it, Chicky being back at college, and the Mr. at work all day.

It wasn’t.

I am so much more focused right now.  This focus has helped me accomplish quite a bit of stuff these past two weeks.

Time does seem to stretch endlessly, but that is a good thing right now as time is what I need to complete the many, many tasks on my plate.

Although I did not have any assignments due in any of my classes last week, I used my quiet time to complete all of the quizzes for my Field Experience class.  In addition, I have completed all but one of the quizzes for my technology class.  I have also finished all of the assignments through week five of that same technology class, and I’m halfway done with week six.

I know what you’re thinking…slow down.

I can’t.

I cannot afford to until my own teaching schedule is finished in May.

Another benefit I’ve noticed is that I have grown to not care as much about what the “reality” stars are up to.

Boston Rob?

I have no idea if he’s been voted out and gone to Redemption Island (don’t anybody tell me either).

I did receive text messages from Chicky regarding who the bachelor chose.  Go Emily!

But honestly, I am so glad that I did not watch the After the Rose show because I would have been all up in arms about their less than perfect relationship (go figure).

I really do not need the added stress in my life right now.  Goodness knows that buying two cars and returning one within two days is enough stress!

Another thing I have noticed is that I have grown very sensitive to the sound of the TV that the Mr. watches in the other room.

In fact, I have found it rather distracting and annoying as I sit in the living room and attempt to work on my assignments.

It’s as if my brain craves the peace that is only broken by the tapping of my fingers on my keyboard.

Because I am no longer tied to my TV schedule, I feel freer to sit outside and enjoy the gorgeous weather my part of the state is enjoying right now.

I am not fidgety during Rooster’s college class…anxious to get home “in time for my shows.”  Gosh…it’s almost like TV provided a “fix” to some insatiable need for entertainment.

The cable box used to mock me with it’s glaring white display of the time.

I fixed that.

I unplugged it.

Imagine that.

So, two weeks of no TV…it hasn’t been as bad as one might think.

Filed under: This-n-That | Tagged: , | 6 Comments »

A Whole Lot of Quiet

Posted on March 10, 2011 by auburnchick

Last night marked four days of my endeavor to give up TV during Lent.

I’ve gotta tell you that fasting from a non-food item is just as difficult as giving up something like sugar or junk food.

I never realized how quiet the house is when the TV is turned off.

My daily routine used to encompass working until 3:30, watching DOOL for 45 minutes, and then hunkering down to work on certification assignments WHILE listening to the TV in the background.

This week, I have been going home, visiting with Chicky (home for Spring Break), and then hunkering down to work on lesson plans and my assignments.

There.

Is.

No.

TV.

There.

Are.

No.

Extra.

Sounds.

A couple of days ago, it was so silent that the only thing I heard was the sound of my fingers tapping away at my keyboard and the deep laugh of my sweet Rooster as he played Xbox Live in another room.

That.

Was.

All.

I have been playing music though.  I love listening to Chris Tomlin Radio on Last.fm.

Still, though, the music is not a replacement for the TV.

What has been even stranger than the lack of noise is the depressed feeling I have.

I feel like the house is a little darker without the bright images being emitted from the television.

Time seems to crawl by.  Let’s face it folks.  We live our lives in segments – in blocks predetermined by the length of our activities.  In my case, my evenings were divided into one or two-hour chunks.

Last night, after working all afternoon on assignments, I glanced at the clock, expecting the time to read 8pm.

It was 6:00.

I kid you not.

I’ve been working at my dining room table lately; however, I moved to the couch, which is in front of the TV, later in the evening.

It was a strange feeling.  I looked at my DVR, and I could see that it was recording something (preset, of course)…

I felt like I was being taunted.

The Mr. walked through, and I made a comment about how tired I was.

He told me I should go to bed early.  He also suggested that my body probably thought it was time for bed because usually, when I turn off the TV, my body takes it as a signal that it’s bedtime.

Good observation.

Probably true as well.

People are conditioned to respond to certain stimuli.  Pavlov proved it with his salivating dog experiment.

I think that the television serves as a stimulant to my body.  It keeps me awake.   I guess that’s why child “experts” suggest that children do not watch television a certain length of time before going to bed.

Who knew that the experts might actually know something.  😉

What I am already coming to realize is that television is almost like a drug.  Certain shows lead us to have certain feelings.  We watch advertisements for things we don’t need and think, all of a sudden, that we need those things.

And so we depend on the TV to help us be who we are, so to speak.

God does not want that of us. 

Nothing should define who we are except for HIM.

It’s no wonder that we wander around lost and confused.

We have too many voices playing in the background of our lives when, in reality, we need to be listening to only ONE voice…the voice that won’t make promises He can’t keep (unlike infomercials for anti-wrinkle cream).

I am praying that the quiet time that I will be having over the course of Lent will help me train myself to purposefully tune out the noises around me so that I can hear God’s voice in a very clear, audible way.

Filed under: Christian | Tagged: , , , | 3 Comments »

Turning Off the TV

Posted on March 8, 2011 by auburnchick

On Sunday, one of my church’s pastors preached a very inspiring, thought-provoking sermon.

The sermon was about Ash Wednesday, Lent, and what these words mean to Christians.

Tom is my church’s newest pastor.

He is young, full of energy, and possesses a zeal for the Lord.

His sermons are fiery.

He reminds me of the pastor who headed up the small, country church I grew up in.

Tom is also very funny, and he had the congregation laughing at his opening statements.

Things got very serious, though, as he began delving into the meat of his sermon.

Ash Wednesday.

Lent.

These are terms that I have grown up with.

On Sunday, Tom made me think of them in a new way.  I hope he won’t mind if I share snippets of his sermon here…all credit to him and God.

First – Ash Wednesday.  What is it, and why do people walk around with “mud all over their faces,” as Tom said?

The dust, which is applied to the forehead in the shape of a cross, is a reminder that people were formed from dust, and we will return to dust one day.

Heavy.

Mortality.

Never a fun topic.

We will die because we are a race of sinners.  Death entered this world because of sin.  We are, thus, called to die.

The fact that the dust that is placed on Christians’ foreheads on Ash Wednesday is put there in the shape of a cross is important.  Why?  This speaks to the hope that Christians have because Jesus died on the cross.

It is precisely because Jesus died and rose again that Christians can find joy in the midst of the sadness that surrounds Lent.  In fact, “Bright Sadness” is the theme for the Lent reader that my church just created (logo created by a member of the church, who, I hope, won’t mind if I post)…

People who aren’t Christians don’t understand how we could find joy in death.

First of all, there is joy in knowing that God didn’t just hand down a bunch of mandates and remove himself from our lives.  God, who knew no limits, took on the limits of a mortal life.  God, who knew only life and love, experienced death and hate.  He took on the shame that we should one day feel at judgment, when we stand before God.

You know…it’s never fun to stand in front of someone and admit that you did something wrong.  As sinners, we should be the ones doing that before God.

Jesus took our place.

There is joy in that.

It is important to remember, though, that there can be no glory without suffering.

Jesus suffered.

He suffered mightily on His journey.

In Tom’s words, “The road to the cross is a prerequisite to the resurrection.”

I know a little something about prerequisites.  I just finished two classes that were prerequisites for the two classes I am currently enrolled in.

I couldn’t get to Point B without traveling through Point A.

When Jesus told us to “take up our cross and follow Him,” He meant that we would have to travel down the same road that He did.

And thus we get to Lent.

Lent is the 40-day journey.

Lent has, traditionally, been a time of giving up something sacrificially and drawing ever closer to God.

Tom made the point that people allow things to determine who they are.

What a lie the world has fed to us.

We are not defined by the things in the world.

We are defined by our relationship with God.

Giving up things that we consider important to us has the potential to bring us closer to the Lord.

And so Tom challenged us.

The first thing that happened was that the ushers passed out pads of sticky notes.

We held on to our stickies as the sermon was presented.

I already knew what we were going to be asked to do.

A word stuck in my head immediately.

As Tom spoke, my heart started beating faster, and I got tears in my eyes as I realized that this word was something that I’ve used to help define myself.

Tom eventually asked us two questions:
1. What is God telling you to fast from during Lent?
2. What is God calling you to replace it with?

You see, Lent is not supposed to be a legalistic ritual.

Every religion can turn into legalism.

Lent is about drawing closer to the Lord, so whatever you give up should be done with the intention of replacing it with something that honors God.

I continued to mull over the word that was in my head.

Then, Tom asked us to write down something that we would give up, along with the thing we would replace it with.

I wrote.

I had tears in my eyes.

I was embarrassed.

I was also ashamed.

We then had communion.

As we walked to the front, we placed our sticky notes on the altar…

I am so glad someone took a picture after the sermon.

As I sat down after taking communion and watched others go to the front, my heart was moved.

I watched elementary age children put stickies on the altar.

Lessons learned in youth…

A nation of believers in the making.

I honestly cannot remember a previous Sunday when the congregation, as a whole, had been immediately affected in that way.

What had started off as a funny morning had grown quite serious.

Salvation is like that.

It’s not something you wait around for.

It’s also not something you take for granted.

Salvation is a GIFT that you CANNOT earn with good works and crossed fingers.

There is such joy when you understand this very basic precept.

And so, during Lent, I will be giving up something that has grown to mean a lot to me…

I’ve been justifying my extended viewing of it by saying that my shows help me to relax after all of the stress I’ve been under each day.

Phooey.

What a load of baloney I’ve been feeding myself.

But I will admit that I am not overly thrilled.

Shows like Survivor, Dancing With the Stars, Amazing Race, Criminal Minds, and American Idol have become staples in my living room.

I’ve been eagerly awaiting the finale of The Bachelor.

Guys, I waste countless hours each week in front of the TV.

How many hours do I spend studying my Bible and praying?

Not a whole lot.

And so I am committing myself to studying God’s Word and praying for at least an hour each day.

I could easily use the excuse that my schoolwork is too heavy of a load to do this, but I know that I’m only fooling myself.

Every afternoon when I get home from school, I spend/waste 45 minutes watching the Days of Our Lives episode I’ve recorded that day.

Sheesh.

Do you want to know what’s also ironic?

On Saturday, after getting home from my certification classes, I thought to myself, “I hope I don’t get distracted by all of my shows.  There are so many starting up right now, so my TV schedule is going to be heavy.”

Thanks, Lord.

I owe you one.

Actually, I owe Him my life.

He gave His instead.

Giving up TV for forty days is chump change considering that I will be spending eternity with Him.

Will you consider giving something up?

What if you’re not a Christian?

Will you consider spending forty days searching and praying for God to reveal Himself to you?

I will pray that you do.  I will pray that you come to a saving knowledge of Jesus’s atoning work on the cross so that you, too, may experience the “bright sadness” of Lent.

Filed under: Christian | Tagged: , , | 3 Comments »

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