Why My Silly TV Shows and Books?

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding."   ... Proverbs 3:5

*****

Guess what Tom brought home Friday afternoon after work? Eight pristine 1960's copies of Nancy Drew that he'd bought at an estate sale. Wow (he was rewarded with kisses).  Now,  I did already own two, yet not in terrific condition so I'll let them go. And as I told Tom, no more Nancy Drew. Part of wisdom is knowing when you've collected enough of anything, lest you wander into obsession. And clutter.

Probably some of you wonder about my reading material--and while we're here--my tv viewing habits. It must seem odd that I read very few Christian books yet lots of kids' lit. and vintage biographies and pretty much only watch one Christian teacher (online), yet my blog posts tend to tip a bit heavy along Christian lines.

Well, here's a simple (but kinda weird) way to explain it: Almost constantly it's like there's a Christian audio book playing inside my head. Hour after hour I'm mulling over the way certain Bible verses apply to what I'm doing and how I should record those thoughts here. 

It's like this blog is a living thing inside my head and I'm always feeding it. 

It's also as though, in the very nicest way, I'm surrounded by the crowd that is you and always, I'm meditating about what to teach and what to do next so that I'll faithfully fulfill this calling God handed me.

So. With all that going on? Ol' Debra needs some serious breaks. Her head requires the simplicity (and beauty) of kids' novels, the silliness of shows like The Middle, Let's Make a Deal and the polar-opposite-of-my-life shows like Major Crimes, Castle and Cold Justice. 

With that 'Christian audio book' on a perpetual loop (and the usual 'cares of this world' which we all have), my head does need its recesses so I can go out and play. Then come back inside, refreshed and ready to listen and think some more.

Lots of well-meaning godly folks condemn all secular tv and books and I get it. I do. But for me and a few million other Christians? In order to stay balanced, relevant and just downright sane, we also need the relaxation and getaways our books and tv shows provide us. We need to switch Off, at times, for being constantly On can lead to burn-out, shorting-out, something never intended within God's perfect plans.




*****


"Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established."   ... Proverbs 16:3


No time is wasted if it brings any sort of benefit to our mental health.


*****



In other news...

Our new replacement picture window was installed this morning--hooray! No more sad little crack in the corner.

Also, Sammy The Cat is eating much better! Thanks so much for your prayers. Most likely it is the tuxedo cat thing which we've dealt with before, namely, this. A simple thing like giving him too many of his much adored 'treats' (Iams kibble, supposed to be super healthy) can set this off. Poor baby--he just can't handle more than 2 or 3 tiny pieces of dried food a day. (And poor us who must buy thousands of those littlest cans of moist food.)  heh.

And clearly I have shelves on the brain because I ordered four of these today from Home Depot for the end of the cabinets above our kitchen sink:

I'm unable to arrange buying all the many shelves our office dearly needs, so I'm doing what I can do, instead. 'Pro-activity' I think they call it.  :)

*****