Welcome back to my Life Happens When Guest Series. Today, Stefanie shares with us how she kicked her DVR addiction! Make sure to offer her some encouragement in the comments. Do you have a “Life Happens When” moment you’d like to share? Check out the writer’s guidelines here. Enjoy!

Okay, so I admit my reality TV guilty pleasure has been The Real Housewives series for the past several years. Until the middle of this summer, I hadn’t missed an episode since it started in 2006 (except for the D.C. season – I couldn’t stand it!). Somehow I got sucked into this drama-filled saga of catty, bickering women that was the opposite of my own life and I couldn’t let go, until I cut the cord – the cable cord.

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As a full-time working mother of two young daughters, I usually have quite a to-do list to accomplish when I’m at home in the evenings and the weekends (not unlike many other mamas). Somehow The Real Housewives of Orange County, Rizzoli and Isles, The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Top Chef, Criminal Minds, The Real Housewives of New York, etc. became items to complete on my mental checklist. Whittling down the accumulating number of shows on my DVR each night competed with reading, dishes, and “fill in the blank.” I mean, a woman’s got to relax sometime, right?

When my husband and I started discussing the possibility of getting rid of cable to save some extra money, I was open to this idea, especially because a vehicle purchase is in our near future and he is pursuing a music career as an independent artist. Around this time, I read a book by Lysa TerKeurst titled, What Happens When Women Say Yes to God. In the beginning of the book she talks about how she felt God was asking her to stop watching television. She stated that she didn’t watch TV for two years. I figured God was probably putting something on my heart, as well.

As the reality of our decision sunk in, I started to feel a loss, like I’d be cut off from connecting with the outside world. Surprisingly, after we officially dropped cable, I felt a peaceful sense of freedom. I found that I could focus better on other tasks and the burden of an ever-growing list of television recordings to keep up with was lifted. Not having cable is like not keeping ice cream in the house – if it’s not around, you can’t eat (watch) it!

Now, I fill more of my limited spare time with writing, reading, researching, planning, creating, etc. This also gives God more opportunities to plant seeds, since I’m not drowning out His voice with the sound of the television. I find that I feel more accomplished before my head hits the pillow each night. I am exhausted at the end of each day, but in a fulfilled way. While I still watch TV shows (Netflix, anyone?), I am not tied to my television.  I feel like I am living life more purposefully. I needed a serious intervention to break me from The Real Housewives series anyway– seriously, why have I been wasting my time with all that negative women drama! I’m done!

I do have to confess that my husband recently found a great deal on a cable package, so it was hooked up again just in time for football season. I hardly watch any television when my husband is at work most evenings, though.  I’m enjoying my newfound freedom too much! Life does go on without the Housewives!

Life happens when we live in our own reality!

Stefanie Shick lives outside of Nashville, Tennessee with her husband (a musician) and their two young daughters. In between her full-time job at a community mental health agency and caring for her family, she writes about their journey and the pursuit of God’s will on her blog, A Dreamer’s Wife. Stefanie loves hearing about others’ dreams and how God is working in their lives. She is also an avid coupon-user, reader, and Notre Dame fan!

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