Stats on our 1st week without TV

Is the house cleaner? No.
Did we get more sleep? No.
Did we have an abundance of free time? No.
Was our time spent on more important things? Absolutely.

Instead of spending 8-10 hours this week watching TV in the evenings, I only watched one hour with Seth of an SNL compilation on Netflix. I honestly did not miss it at all. I read 1 full book this week, (the one to the left,) and 3 magazines that I had been wanting to read for a month. I read more books to the children and spent more time interacting with them since they weren't glued to the TV. Most importantly, I read my Bible twice this week compared to the usual zero times a week and I clearly heard His voice both times.

29 gifts updates...
From the book 29 gifts by Cami Walker, "If I wash the dishes because "I'm supposed to" or make suggestions to a client because "I have to," I am in a very different mind space when taking the action. I actually end up feeling resentful. When I'm approaching everything as a gift, my  heart feels open and it's easier to enjoy my day, my life." This is so true for me I've noticed! Such a small change in mindset, makes such a big difference in my joy.

This has been a very good week overall. I honestly didn't believe that giving these gifts would actually cause me to start receiving things in return, but it totally has. I have received so much this week that I may not have qualified as a gift if I hadn't started this. On the 29 gifts website, they give you a free calendar to download to keep track of the gifts you have given and received each day. I have run out of room to write in all the gifts I have received. The days where I seem to give more and receive more are the days that I don't know what I'm going to give. I believe this is because the gifts are truly from the heart and spontaneous instead of premeditated.

Day 6 - I had woken up yesterday to children fighting and not a lot of joy. Later in the day, I received the sweetest message that completely turned my day around. I also received some coconut flakes from a friend and the instructions on how to make my own coconut milk, which will save us A LOT of money a month. In the past 10 days since taking Owen off dairy, I have spent $60 on coconut milk. :-o There was no way it could have continued for much longer.

Day 7 - It's only noon on Day 7, and I've already received 2 gifts. A friend came over and brought some clothes for Owen that her son had outgrown. Brighton got to play with a friend and I got to catch up with one of mine. Also, I talked to my mom this morning and she offered to pay for our haircuts tomorrow. God is good. :)

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

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