Silence

When I was younger I learned that my mom and dad didn't have a TV the first year of their marriage. During some of that time they read The Screwtape Letters together. In retrospect they felt it promoted more talking and more quality time together.

I thought that was awesome. I made a goal then to not own a TV when I was first married. I remember sharing that with someone. They responded, "Good luck finding a guy that doesn't want to watch his sports." Because I guess men only care about sports. But I'm glad they wished me luck.

As luck would have it, my goal was met. And I think it has fostered a strong sense of unity. We share what we're thinking and learning. We entertain each other. We get creative with our time. And we sometimes do read books together. I certainly read more in my own downtime too.

Besides that, our home is quieter. The voices in our home are our family's voices.

I love when it's quiet. I love having time to think. I love that the input into my brain and memory is my choice.

There's a song that Ben sang in BYU Singers called "In the Quiet Hours". I can't find the song or the text anywhere online. I only know the first line. But I think about it rather frequently: "God is calling in the silence."

I think that's true. When I feel God speak, it's most often in the quiet hours.

We love some movies too. And we'd likely enjoy some TV shows too. We by no means have a "no TV forever" policy. We're planning to get a TV in future.

But I'm grateful for what I'm learning now, so I can remember it later. God is calling in the silence. Don't saturate my mind with noises, voices or images that drown Him out.