It was an expense I saw no real value in. So many times nothing worth watching was on TV and the family could end up watching less than prime entertainment at the end of the day. Darling daughter was worried as she did have her morning cartoon routine she was used to watching after I said bye-bye to head to work and while she waited for dear hubby to bring her to school. I told her not to fret. We will still have streaming Netflix (I am grandfathered in on a great rate right now) and I added in Amazon Prime. It had benefits beyond streaming video to music and free shipping without orders having to reach $35. Since I live on Maui, free shipping is a BIG thing and not having a $35 target would save me some money. Yes, I was guilty at times to add something in just to get to the free shipping. Not a good budgeting plan. And yes, the Amazon Prime yearly fee plus Netflix (which I was already paying) still saved me significantly from what cable TV cost me.
Fast forward to today and I am so glad we no longer have cable TV. The programs we do watch are selected perfectly for content and what we want to see as a family. We are loving documentaries and faith-based programming. On both platforms, I have put movies into our lists so darling daughter can go to the approved viewing list and pick something to watch. She is growing in faith through Adventures in Odyssey and learning about so much other things! Plus many times, the TV is off while we do other family based activities or just have music streaming in adding calmness to the home. In fact, just this past Sunday I put on some Christian tunes to listen to while we were enjoying Mother's Day morning and getting ready to church. The home had a whole new atmosphere and the typical pre-church battles were diminished. It is hard to be grumpy with calming music playing in the background.
I am not one of those moms who say no TV or set a timer as I truly feel there is good and wholesome programming out there that can benefit the family. The other day we tried something new and tuned into a cooking show featuring a grandma and we got to learn about her life and got some traditional cooking tips that she grew up with. I even learned a couple of new ideas that can be incorporated into my lentil soup. And last night we got inspired to make our own dumplings...and I added some extra flavor to my lentil soup! Darling daughter loved the meal and devoured it readily! And we treated ourselves to dinner and a movie while watching God's Not Dead.
A triple win for me!
We had a wholesome meal incorporating some new cooking tips we learned online, watched a faith-based movie, and discussed throughout the movie and after about the choices we make and how we can honor God.
Daily Gratitude: I am glad I had the courage to speak up on behalf of our budget and get rid of cable TV. I am glad I didn't cave it when the family resisted. I am glad I remained faithful all would be good.
Daily Bible Verse: Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ~ Philippians 4:8