For lent this year, I decided to give up watching television during the week. At first, I struggled with finding other activities that provided me with the "down time" I was seeking. I had a routine of sitting down and grabbing the remote control after all the necessary evening "chores" were done (homework, cooking dinner, basic cleaning, kids' nighttime routine, etc.), justifying it as my reward for working hard all day. I was reluctant to give this up because I was of the attitude that I deserved to watch TV to temporarily escape the craziness of the day and unwind.

During this Lent season instead of dwelling on my "right" to relax, I began Bible journaling. As I read my Bible, I chose one verse to meditate on and drew or copied the text into a notebook. I am not an artist, by any means, but I enjoy internalizing God's Word.

Since I started journaling, God has led me to 1 Corinthians 6:12 several times. It says, "I have the right to do anything - but not everything is beneficial. I have the right to do anything - but I will not be mastered by anything." Sometimes limitations stir up feelings of depravation for me and I resist. God gave us free will, but my choices, although they aren't necessarily wrong, don't always benefit or grow me spiritually. Watching TV isn't inherently bad (unless the content of the program is bad), but it distracts me from spending uninterrupted time with God.