The challenge: to go tv free for 1 week

Ouch!!  Now before we get all crazy remember this is only for 1 week.  It isn’t forever, just a temporary step back to see how much more time you COULD have in your week if you would just shut off the tv.

In our home we haven’t had broadcast tv in a long time.  But we do have many DVD’s that we like to watch and I know that to occupy my children I like to put on a video for them to watch–I know use the TV as a babysitter- I am guilty.

One of my favorite things about visiting the Amish homes is that they don’t own a television.  It doesn’t mean that they haven’t watched it before but just that they choose not to have one in their homes.  What a blessing I would come to learn.

Why make the change:

I know that I can personally evaluate my own life and look at how many hours are wasted sitting around in front of the television.  So much disconnect within the family, no real communication going on.

If you were to ask any of my children how it was when we lost power for a week at our home, and they would ALL answer how great it was that we spent so much time together talking and hanging out.  Now I would like to be able to have my water and electricity still work but I definitely enjoyed having the television shut off for that time.  Yes at first it was bothersome, I knew that I had to spend time reading to my children and not doing what “I” wanted to do.  We spent more time talking and hanging out, there wasn’t much time for me to watch “my shows” but we all bonded as a family.

When television are on, Dad comes home and he is tired from a long day at work so he sits in front of the TV.  Children are excited because Dad is home and most of the time is spent telling  them to “keep quiet” or “move” to get out of the way, not a whole lot of family bonding going on.  Imagine having nothing to turn to but our families instead of escaping to unreality?

As with everything it is difficult the first few times but after awhile it will be amazing at how much you talk and share things you normally don’t talk about.  You might even find things to do like play games, or re-connect with your spouse or child.

The Amish choose not to have a TV in the home because it is sometimes treated as an idol.  Plus the amount of inappropriate things seen on TV.  I know you can control much with having your own DVD’s but it still can open the door to things that are objectionable.  It can start to become an addiction in your life something you MUST watch.  How many shows are on that you just can’t miss each week?  How many inappropriate words are our children listening to because they are “allowed” on shows and movies?

How to make the change:

This one is easy, just shut it off.  Yup, unplug it, move it if you have to and do not turn it on for a week.  Remember it is just for one week. It will be a little difficult especially when little ones start to cry and you just need to occupy them for 20 minutes, but try not to be tempted. Be prepared, include them in your work, promise a story when you are finished, make it enjoyable for them as well.  At night time if you are  inclined to watching TV, grab a book to read.  Or better yet, catch up on much needed sleep.  Your husbands’ might even enjoy spending more time with you:)

Remember this is all about simplifying our life.  If we can cut down on the chaos and wasted time we can be happier and more fulfilled in our days.

Let me know how it went.

I had recently saw a recipe for crescent roll chicken roll ups where you roll up a piece of chicken in the crescent roll and then make a sauce to pour over it.  I had added it to my monthly menu but did not get around to making it.  For my daughters sweet sixteen birthday party we had some fajita chicken meat leftover.  I wasn’t quite sure what to do with it so I decided to improvise and use it in the crescent rolls and see how it tasted.

It was great.  Basically it is the same concept just with chopped chicken.

What we did was take crescent rolls and place a heaping amount on the larger end and then roll them up, as best you can.

They looked like little stuffed rolls—-the chicken was just shredded chicken cooked with fajita seasoning.  

Placed them all in a greased 9 x13 pan. 

Mix together 1 can of cream of chicken soup and 1 -16 oz container of sour cream.  Spread that on top of the chicken rolls.

Bake in 350 oven uncovered until browned about 40 minutesServe over rice or with noodles.

An easy casserole we are adding to the monthly rotation menu.

The challenge: to watch your words

This was something that I was unaware of when I started my Christian walk.  I talked pretty much like I did before I was “saved.”  My words didn’t change much, sure I stopped saying the “bad swear” words, but I never gave much thought to the slang, idle words I was saying.

Myself, I am an outgoing person.  I never really need to be prompted to speak, I will carry on a conversation with someone that I don’t know anything about.  It isn’t hard for me to be social.  

But something has changed.

When we were visiting the Amish homes, I noticed something different about the women…..when talking with them, they were “slow to speak.”  It was almost as if they hesitated before they spoke to ensure that they would say the right thing.  Not many joked around or even said “slang” words like I was using.

Why make the change:

When one becomes a Christian there is an expectancy that a change of speech follows because living for Christ makes a difference in one’s choice of words.

Matthew 12:36 – But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

2 Corinthians 3:12
Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:

Jesus reminds us that the words we speak are actually the overflow of our hearts

Matthew 12:34

or out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

Now I am writing this because it was brought to my attention by another Christian woman, in love.  Do I think that it is a sin to say these words??  That is something that you need to ask God about.  These have just become my personal convictions for cleaning up my speech.

The following words are words that I have worked on/are working on eliminating from my speech:

“Oh my“, “oh my gosh“, or “Oh my goodness“—all of these words and various forms of it are just a substitute from the typical words “Oh my G-d”  that people so haphazardly use.

“Kid“, now this doesn’t sound so bad but when it was brought to my attention, I think more about using this word so loosely.  In the bible it talks about the end times and when God will separate the sheep from the goats.  Well what is a baby goat called?  A Kid.  Referring to your children as baby goats puts them into a predestined situation—according to some.  Call them children instead.

“oh crap!”  that is just another substitute for the other pile of manure people say.

Good Lord, Gosh, Jeepers, Lordy, Holy Cow, these are all just substitutes for using God’s name in vain.  And I always ask whenever I hear holy cow..when did your cow become holy??

“What the heck”–another substitute for a place opposite of heaven

Darn it, dang it, daggum, —–more list of words that call down curses

This is a list of some of the more slang words that I know I hear more frequently in my Christian circles:

• Crap
• Freakin’
• Friggin’
• Hosed
• Pissed
• Shafted
• Screwed
• Shoot!
• Shucks
• Sucks

How to make the change:

Okay now that I have listed most all of the words that we probably use, it is time to evaluate your speech.  In your prayer time, ask God if any of those that you speak you should refrain from.  Then it is time to work on it.

I don’t think it is good to find a replacement for your “slang” words.  Just as I don’t think an addict needs to replace one drug with a less addicting one, neither one helps the situation.  You are just replacing one bad for another.  I think that what you need to evaluate is what triggers your response.

If you find that every time something goes wrong and you use the words, “oh cr-p,” then you need to consciously be aware to not say anything at that moment.

If when someone gives you unexpected news and you are tempted to say, “oh my goodness”  change it with “wow, really?”  “that is so sad.”

There is always something better to replace a negative word in your speech. As with everything, it takes time and effort.  That is why we are doing this 52 weeks of change.  You are to challenge yourself for a week and if your speech is something you want to continue on with then you will continue working with it.  If not, then you move onward to another challenge, easy as that.

For my daughters 16th birthday party we had a Mexican buffet.  This was one of the recipes that we did new and it was fabulous. I have since made it as we enjoy eating it.  I put it on top of my spinach salad.  I put it on tortilla chips.  We top it on our Mexican dishes.  It is sooooooo delicious.  The only thing that will make it taste better are fresh tomatoes from the garden—cannot wait for summer.

You will need:

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tomato chopped
• 1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced
• 2 sprigs of cilantro chopped
• 1 green onion chopped
• 1/2 tsp garlic minced
• 1/8 tsp salt and pepper

This was the basic recipe and then we did it times 6.  For that recipe we only added 1 jalapeno as it was spicy enough!!!

This is the ONLY time that I really take the time to finely chop up my onions and tomatoes, it is well worth the extra work.  It tastes great and lasts a long time.  I have had mine in the refrigerator for about a week and it still tastes fresh.

The challenge: to eat more veggies and fruits

Most of us as Americans do not eat enough fresh fruits and vegetables.  Our diets consist of fast food and convenience meals and comfort snacks.  Besides, who wants to munch on a dry piece of celery? Or grab an apple instead of that ooey gooey chocolate chip cookie sitting on the counter?   Or better yet  sit down to a leafy lifeless salad while everyone else is eating cheesy layered lasagna?  Doesn’t sound very appealing does it?

Why make the change:

Why do we need to make this change?  Because we NEED to make this change.  Our minds have been programmed to believe that we DON”T need these healthy foods anymore.  I grew up with the typical diet of EVERY American child.  It consisted of:

• breakfast– a Poptart, a Toaster Strudel, or even better Fruity Pebbles cereal
• lunch– a bologna sandwich on white bread with mayo, and a Capri Sun juice box
• after school snack– a Little Debbie snack cake
• dinner– tv dinners

There was no “push” to eat fresh fruit and vegetables.  That was something you ate when you were on a diet.  It was a “chore” to eat carrot sticks and celery.  Our mentality was brainwashed into thinking that this food was actually good for us.

Thank God for the internet and people’s interest into “whole foods.”  It is amazing to know that foods that are as natural as the day they were picked are better for us than the ones that are marketed to us through the television and prepared in a factory to help make our lives easier.

We need to know that ANY food prepared in a facility loses its nutritional value and that we need to pick foods closest to their natural state.  One of the easiest things is fruits and vegetables.  They take little preparing and are chocked full of nutrients.

How to make the change:

Now remember if you were a typical “junk food” person and you have no real connections with eating fruits and vegetables know that they are not going to be very appealing at first.  Your taste buds are programmed to be stimulated by salty, fried, sugar laden-ed foods.  Fruits with basic sugars are not going to be as tasty as those brownie bites sitting in your cupboard.  You need to reprogram your taste buds and brain into eating this “basic” tasting food.  It will take some time, but I know that I really enjoy the taste of fruits and look forward to my daily salad with all its different vegetable toppings. At first it was just lettuce topped with dressing to smother it, but now it is just a minimal amount of dressing and different fruits and vegetables to flavor the lettuce.

I would suggest that you make sure that you always have a bowl of fruit in your refrigerator.  If it is something that needs preparation like grapes or watermelon, make sure it is prepared.  We keep a bowl of apples and oranges filled in the refrigerator at all times.  In the summer months, we always have a big fruit bowl cut up in the refrigerator.

I keep chopped up vegetables in the refrigerator for a quick snack throughout the day.  If I am feeling the need to grab snacks, I place out my bowl of carrots and celery and eat that.  Chewing something that has a satisfying crunch will help the munchies go away.

Whenever I purchase vegetables I try and prepare them immediately.  That way it will be easier to just grab whenever I need them instead of the excuse that I don’t want to have to take the time to get them out.

I usually shop once per week to ensure fresh vegetables.  I prepare the ones that are going to go bad first so that we can eat those in 1-3 days and then I make the next vegetable or fruit to be prepared for the second half of the week.  For example I might get cucumbers and carrots, I know that the cucumbers will go bad first so I chop those up to munch on during the first part of the week and save the carrots, which will last longer for the second half of the week.  That way I will always have fresh veggies/fruit on hand.

If you are still drawn in to eating your processed snacks, make it a goal to eat 10 carrot sticks before you eat those snacks.  I know when I was going through my weight loss, I would gorge on large amounts of vegetables cut up.  But now I can just eat a few every day.  I don’t feel the need to fill my face anymore.  I reprogrammed my brain into not eating so much..  You can too.  Help your body feel better by giving it the nutrients it deserves.