Why We Said Goodbye to Cable Television

     For years we did without cable television.  We didn't miss it at all.  In 2014, we decided to get hooked up and honestly, it was not a good thing.  We were spending a too much money on it and were only able to watch a few channels. 

     I remember wondering for months why we allowed ourselves to be talked into getting cable tv, then I remembered it was because our local cable company offered us a deal.  If we packaged our internet services with cable and phone services we would get a huge discount.  The only thing about this was that once the first year of this agreement was up, our bill would double and we would be reluctant to deal with them about turning off the cable and phone services.  They make it so easy to upgrade but you have to jump through many hoops to get rid of services.  They make you talk to many service representatives who work hard on trying to talk you out of downgrading.  

    On Thursday of last week, we decided to take the plunge.  No matter how many people we had to talk to, or how many times they put us on hold {hoping we would just hang up and forget it} we were determined to get rid of these services we no longer wanted or needed.  It was not an easy task, but we got it done!

     So, why did we want to turn off our cable?  Well here is our list of reasons: 

•  It was expensive {more than $100 per month}
•  We didn't watch 95% of the channels we had
•  The commercials during the shows we did watch were disconcerting.  We didn't appreciate the immodesty, foul language, and overall demeanor.
• We enjoy watching old shows and movies that are not typically aired today.  
•  There are free ways to get the weather, news, and upcoming events.
•  We need to spend more time doing things other than staring at a television screen.

     When we are watching TV, playing games, surfing the internet, and living our daily lives we must remember that God wants us to be pleasing Him.  My favorite verse to remind me of this is: 

     So, what will our family do instead of watching cable tv?

• We will talk more.
• We will play board games together.
• We will have family movie nights and purpose to watch things that are uplifting.
• We will have more time to read.
• We will be more productive and creative.

     As a family we can get use to vegging out in front of our televisions, computers, and devices.  We forget to talk to one another because we are busy talking to friends through texting, messaging, social media or phone conversations.  We don't have time to have fun with each other because we are too involved with the outside world.  Our lives become focused on anything but our families.  It ends in families not really knowing one another and being distant from each other.  

     I am not saying that all families should do away with cable tv, internet, computers, and devices, I am saying we need to be careful about how we use these things.  We need to have balance!  In our home we have chosen to keep our internet services, but we will limit usage and will have rules about surfing the net.

    Here are our reasons for keeping internet:

• We use it for online school classes and to download worksheets for use in our homeschool
• We use it to stream shows and movies that are decent and uplifting.
• I use it for blogging and emailing.
• Our kids play online games that are educational and appropriate for their age and meet our household standards.
• We use it to download music and books.
• We use it to pay household bills.
• We use it to make online purchases that save our family money.

   We are careful to use filters that keep our internet from going to sites that are inappropriate.  I will be doing a great post about that in the near future.  

    How do you balance out the use of electronic equipment in your home?  I would love to hear from you!