Radio Silent

October 28, 2012 ~ Jenni at 100 Cups of Coffee ~ Leave a comment

I have heard it said that you spell LOVE…T I M E. We invest our time in all that we love. Our values reflect how we spend our time. On paper I say that I value my relationship with God and my family first–but my quiet times and quality time with my kids tell a different story. We often say we value our health but our time invested in exercise or shopping for healthy food do not reflect this reality. We say that TV is not a priority but studies say we spend 5-8 hours a day watching it.

Enter the uncomfortable book 7 that asks me to take a hard look at excess and the excess that comes in the form of MEDIA. Which means…for the next 21 days we will be going radio silent. As best we can…we are going to try to limit the crazy amount of “input” that enters our world.

Did ya know…

The average American spends 32 hours a month on the internet.

Average hours of TV watching in one day ranged from 5.1-8.5 hours a day depending on demographic and age group and survey.

The average American is exposed to 61 minutes of tv and internet ads and promotions a day.

Here’s a startling stat: The average youth spends 900 hours in school per year. The average youth spend 1,200 hours watching TV per year.

Yikes, okay I don’t want to be a statistic.

So this month we are going bare bones minimum on media:

No…

TV, video games, facebook/twitter, phone apps, radio/ipod/music, texting (unless it saves time–and is necessary), or internet (unless for work)…

I do not do this because I think it will make me a better person–although I might like who I discover I am at the end of the month! I don’t do this for the sheer challenge of it–although I have never been above a good challenge. I don’t do this because I think media is evil…I think there are great things out there and Friends continues to be in our home the ultimate 20 minutes of entertainment.

I do believe we are on input overload and more often than not this causes me to be distracted. We use media to entertain, anesthetize, or disconnect from the world around us. Social media can replace real conversations, real connections, and real relationships. I want slowness and simplicity in it’s most raw form.

I want less distractions in my life.

I don’t pretend this will be easy! I don’t know what I am going to do when the kids are making me crazy and all I want to do is turn on a “show” so that I can have 30 minutes of peace and quiet. I don’t know what I am going to do when I have a super funny situation to share like when Joshua asked me if I had lost my penis or Caleb threw up in my hands–those went immediately to the Facebook wall. Where will they go now?

Heavenstobetsey…I guess I have 21 days to figure it out. But I have a feeling I am going to like the quiet. I will miss blogging because it is like therapy for me. I hope to surface on the other side more refreshed and with a healthier perspective on the stillness and a greater appreciation for what media has to offer: in small doses!

Suggestions for my friends who like the idea of opting out of media for the month???

Consider unplugging from TV for a week…the White House will wait and you will probably just miss a lot of mud slinging anyway!

Unsubscribe…How many emails do you delete in one day??? I want to HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend you UNSUBSCRIBE from all of your “ad” emails. Some take as many as 5-10 days to stop…but I did this and my inbox has SLOWED SIGNIFICANTLY!!!! You can always re-subscribe if you really miss one or two. It REALLY simplifies your inbox…and quiets your world.

Give your Internet Surfing and Facebook or Phone Apps a week off…how often do you check your fb or click on an app while bored in line at the grocery store or waiting in carpool? I am the queen of multi-tasking…but wonder what it would be like to go a week without my fb or phone apps??

I share this to encourage more intentional quiet moments. To be distraction free…and to reduce the noise pollution that pervades our lives. I care about this for me and my family but I care about it for my friends as well. In the end…LOVE=TIME…and I certainly don’t love MEDIA more than my family…so it time for me to spend the next 21 days living that out.

May You Be a Blessing and May You Be Quiet,

Jenni

My New Heroes

October 12, 2012 ~ Jenni at 100 Cups of Coffee ~ Leave a comment

How does one shift their mindset from victim to victor? How does one endure a life of pain, persecution, and poverty and yet still seek to find hope for their future?

There is a human tenacity that we see time and again. A person endures great hardship and survives what most of us find unthinkable conditions. We are inspired.

There is another level that surpasses tenacity. It is where a human not only survives…but their lives are filled with inexplicable joy and peace. These people actually find forgiveness for their brutal attackers, they find comfort where there once was fear, they find hope for their future. These people are my heroes.

In northern Uganda a major civil war took place and ended just 6 short years ago. The war left the country with thousands of children who had once been abducted from their homes as child soldiers to return “home” and find a new life. Unfortunately, many of those children were not accepted in their villages as they had committed murder. Most of the girls had been brutally raped and had birthed children to their military “husbands” that had abused them. These girls came home from the war with multiple children…children that they did not want or have the means to support. Others came home with HIV and no skills as they had not been in school for many years, if ever. Where does one go?

Thankfully, God planted a vision in the hearts of Gary and Marilyn Skinner years and years ago to “care for the widows and orphans” of Uganda. They began Watoto church in the 1970s and in the 90’s started children’s villages. This vision has grown to multiple church campuses, 3 baby homes and 3 villages for orphans and displaced women who become mothers to these children. They also have started an awesome ministry called Living Hope for women who have been estranged…their husband may have died of AIDS or they themselves were child soldiers. Living Hope teaches women life skills, provides crisis counseling, and also teaches them certain trades like how to sew, make jewelry, and peanut butter. Having read the stories of the Living Hope women in the book Return to Dignity I was anxiously awaiting our visit to this particular program. I was blown away by what I experienced. The first thing that happened when we got there was this:

The joyful “noise” that the woman at the end was making was one of greeting, welcome.

Immediately I remembered this passage:

You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.
You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!
Psalm 30:11,12

Our next stop was the Gulu village. This is the home of hundreds of orphans who have now found homes and wonderful mothers, thanks to the heart and leadership of Watoto church. The Watoto baby homes are filled with babies abandoned in trash heaps, latrines, or even hospitals. Still others have lost their parents to war, AIDS, and poverty. Watoto villages have given these children a new home and a new life. When we arrived in Uganda a native asked us where we would be visiting. When we told her Gulu she asked why we would want to go there?! She said there were still land minds and other dangers left from the ravage of war. We were so blessed to meet wonderful mothers and children from this area…and many more babies…they simply don’t have enough homes to place them in the villages yet. In Watoto’s Laminadera village–located in Gulu, we walked up to these precious children singing. They were not doing this for our benefit, they were just hanging out when we “happened” upon them:

Please listen and re-listen to the words they are singing. My kids have asked me over and over to watch this video. They said, “Mom this is the best video ever!” They are inspired by children who are survivors in every sense of the word. They are children who the world has forgotten or ignored…but God has great plans for their lives. The best part is: they believe it’s true. Their joy, contentment, and hope makes them my new heroes.

May You Be a Blessing and May You Be Blessed!

Jenni

I Await Africa…

October 1, 2012 ~ Jenni at 100 Cups of Coffee ~ Leave a comment

There is a place I’ve longed to go.

It is full of joy and sorrow.

This place that I have only seen in books, is a place where God seems to have His hooks.

It would appear that devastation and depravity are all one sees…

But I am convinced I will learn from these:

Not sure what the next 2 weeks will hold, but know I will learn much–as each day unfolds.

I am ready to be wrecked. I don’t want to be the same.

I pray most of all that I will come home changed.

No blog for a little while…

Think of me and Africa…say a prayer…and smile.

May You Be a Blessing and May You Be Blessed.

Jenni