I have a confession to make.
My name is Della, and I am addicted to noise.
From the moment I wake up to the minute I lay my head down to sleep, I fill my life with noise.
When it’s too quiet, I get jittery and out of sorts almost like a drug addict going through withdrawal.
I have come to realize that this is a problem.
Spiritually, I am certain that I am drowning out God’s voice and missing out on opportunities to draw closer to Him. Most of the time, it is not in the earthquakes or fires that God speaks to us, but rather He uses a still, small voice. How many messages have I missed because my mind is too overstimulated with all the noise in my life?
Physically, our nervous systems were not designed to live this way.
I once heard the analogy that all the recent technology is like a fire hydrant. It is harmful to open the valve and try to drink from it as though it were a water fountain. Used wisely, however, it can put out fires and save lives. I want to live in this world in a wise way that will not harm me.
We are all learning how to navigate the tech age that God chose for us to live in, and powerful entities are trying their best to make us enslaved to their products.
An important first step to healthy boundaries with technology is to admit when there is a problem. That is what I recently did, and now I am free to come up with a solution.
Below you can find the rough schedule that I plan to follow for most days of the week.
I also plan to implement a tech Sabbath on Sundays and will be intentionally praying this prayer each morning.
DEAR GOD,
I PRAY THAT WITH THE HELP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WHO LIVES IN ME, I CAN GUARD THE MINUTES + HOURS YOU’VE GIVEN ME.
I PRAY FOR SELF-DISCIPLINE.
AND I PRAY THAT YOU WOULD DO MORE WITH MY MINUTES + HOURS THAN I, ALONE CAN.
Wish me luck!!!
Schedule for Healthy, Holistic Living in a Crazy Modern World
5:00-6:30 – Quiet Time, Read, Go for a prayer walk
6:30-7:00 – Milk cow, Feed chickens/gather eggs, Feed Sourdough starter
7:00-8:00 – Figure out what to do with milk, Everyone gets completely dressed
8:00-10:00 – (Blocked/Quiet)* Breakfast, Kids complete morning chores*, Tidy house
10:00-10:30 – Screen Time*
10:30-12:30 – (Blocked/Quiet) Outside play, Continue processing milk, Lunch, Quick tidy
12:30-1:00 – Screen Time
1:00-3:00 – Naps for littles, School for bigs, Boredom box*
3:00-3:30 – Screen Time
3:30-6:30 – (Blocked/Quiet) Dinner, Evening chores*, Baths
6:30-7:00 – Kids watch one episode of a show, Mix sourdough
7:00-7:30 – (Blocked/Quiet) Read bedtime story, Chit chat
7:30-9:30 – Finish up daily tasks, Free time
9:30-5:00 – (Blocked/Quiet) Bedtime
*(Blocked/Quiet): I use an app called Opal to completely block access to temptations on my phone. I also plan to refrain from using any other type of background noise during these chunks of time.
*Morning Chores:
5-year-old son: Cleaning glass doors
4-year-old daughter: Wiping bathroom counter, Swiffering bathroom floor
2-year-old daughter: Wiping down kitchen cabinets
*Screen Time: First, I have a few approved options that my kids will be able to choose from.
Second, they will only be allowed the option to use screens if they have 5 pennies in their penny jar. The idea is inspired by M is for Mama’s penny reward system. I highly recommend checking it out and tailoring it to the needs in your home.
Here’s what I came up with for our family and why:
I decided to only do one penny jar rather than a jar for each child. I was motivated by not wanting to deal with the inevitable tantrums that would come with one child earning screen time and another missing out, but once I decided to do it, I can see that there could be benefits. It can encourage them to encourage one another to behave well. It can cultivate teamwork. It can provide opportunities for lessons on how sometimes we carry the burden for others, and other times, others shoulder the burden for us, etc.
Third, once the thirty minutes are up, we will be putting away the screens. (I will use discretion to determine if they can finish a game, video, etc. before putting it away.) If there is unreasonable whining or grumbling from anyone, they will forfeit their next screen time opportunity.
*Boredom Box: I put together a few boxes of fun things for the kids to play with.
Here are some ideas:
Fingerprint books box
Play-doh with accessories box
Coloring box
Random crafty items box
Card making box
*Evening Chores:
5-year-old son: Take out trash (help as needed)
4-year-old daughter: Empty mom and dad’s bathroom trash can
2- year-old daughter: Empty kid’s bathroom trash
Important Note: I am fully prepared that not every day will look exactly the same. I have learned in my five years as a mother that daily plans need to be held with an open hand. We can work hard to try to stick to the schedule, but we must not let it ruin our day if things aren’t going as planned. I know that is easier said than done, and I will confess that I have had a bad attitude that lasts the whole day when a planned-out morning gets off to a rough start. This is an area of life where I am continually being sanctified, and I am slowly getting better. With God’s grace, one day a plan gone awry won’t even phase me a bit!