Cutting the Cable

In my last blog I admitted my weakness. I'd created a late night TV and junk food comfort zone.

I'd tried to break the habit. The trail of nacho cheese Doritos gave me away.



photo courtesy of vectorolie@freedititalphotos.net

I came across Psalm 138:3

"As soon as I pray, you answer me; you encourage me by giving me strength."

Oh yeah, baby, that's what I needed. Strength.

So I prayed for it, expecting be endowed with super-human strength. A sudden disdain for chocolate. A potato chip aversion. Instead, my husband Jake, himself a TV junkie, asked if I'd be willing to cut out cable.

Say WHAT?

My husband spends the majority of his at-home time camped out in his Lazy Boy in his secret lair--the basement.

But the day after I prayed Jake said, "I have too much to do around the house to waste my time watching TV. How would you feel about canceling the cable?"

Say WHAT?            

photo courtesy of Ambro@freedigitalphoto.net

After I picked my jaw off the floor we pulled out the cable bill and checked the latest rate increase. That clinched it.

March 31st will be our last day. No cable TV as of April Fools' Day. Ironic, huh?

Jake & I are getting prepared.

• Instead of turning on the Weather channel, I stick my head out the front door.

• Rather than checking in with Cramer and the gang, Jake's going online for stock market reports.
• For breaking news stories we have our dads on standby. If Walter Cronkite was alive, they'd scoop him. Both fathers know everything happening locally, nationally, and around the world.

I think we're covered.

God answered my prayer in a totally unexpected way. Has He ever answered yours in a way that caught you by surprise? I'd love to hear it.

Meanwhile, I'll keep you up to date on our cable-cutting experiment.

Goodbye Turner Classic Movies. I hope Robert Osborne will be OK without me.



Photo courtesy of imagerymajestic@freedigitalphoto.net
 

As Walter would say, "…and that's the way it is, March 26th, 2014"

Possum, anyone?

Ever had a possum in your oven?

Not some animal that accidentally scurried into your home and holed up behind an appliance.

I'm talking about cooking a critter. One so far outside the norm that people give you "THE LOOK" if you mention it.

A hunk of wildlife that the Duck Dynasty family might enjoy for lunch.

Roasting a possum puts me WAY out of my comfort zone. Seriously, how many guests does a marsupial feed? Looking at its small foil wrapped body, I was pretty sure there wouldn't be enough to even satisfy Uncle Si.

But my parents are pretty light eaters...

I called my mother and said, "You and Dad are invited to dinner. I'm making possum."

There was a long silence on the other end of the line, then my mother burst out laughing. "Sweetheart, I though you said you're cooking a POSSUM."

"Yeah. I was kinda queasy at first, but with the fur off it looks like meat you'd get in the supermarket. Except for the little legs sticking out. Can you come?"

Without missing a beat my refined mother replied, "Thank you anyway, but we had rat for dinner. We're stuffed."

Evidently possum is out of her comfort zone too.

Sometime I let my comfort zones become Grand Canyon-sized ruts. Have you ever been there? The rut, not the Grand Canyon.

Seeing Nick Vujicic on YouTube took away all of my excuses.

http://www.attitudeisaltitude.com/

This Australian-born man doesn't have arms or legs, but he's a father, swimmer, and world-wide inspirational speaker.

He shared how the Lord transformed his life from "A life without limbs to a life without limits."

 

 

Watching him inspired me (OK, guilted me) into addressing one of my literal comfort zones: The Late Night TV & Snack Food Couch Potato Arena.

I'm struggling with this one. Here's the scenario: It's bedtime, but the pull of mindless TV and potato chips draws me to the couch. I sit there like a zombie until I nod off. I wake up in the middle of the night disoriented and covered with crumbs. I stagger off to bed, and wake up in the morning exhausted. Am I the only one?

I've tried to break the habit in my own strength. My attempts were as effective as using honey for fly repellent. If you relate, don't give us hope. God knew we'd be challenged. I came across this reminder today:

"As soon as I pray, you answer me; you encourage me by giving me strength."     Psalm 138:3 NLT

Nick Vujicic crosses the globe to inspire and encourage people. With God's help I can get off the sofa and cross the street to do the same.

How about you? What's your comfort zone? Are you ready to come out of it?

Let's ask God for the strength to do what we were created to do, and make a positive difference in the world.

And leave the roasted possum to Uncle Si and the family.

Photo courtesy of Grant Cochrane @ freedigitalphotos.net