Deliberate

When I first started blogging, I don't think I thought much about what it was I planned to post. I think I sat down, started writing and just let the words come out. I read back over some of those posts and find many of them horribly embarrassing. Some are good, but more are ridiculously silly and not at all interesting. (And obviously written before I finished eighth grade English. Seriously, people. My punctuation was terrible.)

I'm a little more deliberate now, I think. I do not blog as often, but I like to think I'm more willing to own every word (and ellipsis) that hits the blog these days.

Deliberate.

It's been one of my favorite words as of late. I like what it means - to consciously and intentionally do something.

At the beginning of the summer, we cancelled our satellite. Our television viewing now consists of only what can be streamed into our living room through Netflix, and then only when we specifically invite it. Do you know what this change has done? It's made our television viewing much more deliberate. See, you can't just sit mindlessly for an hour that becomes two hours that becomes three when you're streaming movies or past season television shows. No channel flipping, no mindless surfing. Instead, you have to make a choice. Do I want to invest in an entire movie right now? No? Well then I'll do something else.

I thought I would miss it, but really, it's so completely liberating to be free of any self imposed obligation to catch one show or another. All I really feel is lighter. And more deliberate. See? There's that word again. There's something to be said for doing things on purpose - for avoiding those, "Holy cow, have I really been channel surfing/web surfing/blog reading for three hours?" moments. That doesn't mean I don't watch/surf/read. It just means I do it more deliberately. On purpose. Because it's worthwhile.

And it isn't just about entertainment. There are so many ways in which we can be more deliberate - in our personal discipleship, in our relationships with our kids, in our efforts to serve others. It's a good word.

What do you do to be more deliberate?

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(Also, thank you so very much for all of your supportive comments last Sunday for Terry and his family. I'm so pleased at how thoughtful and wonderful your words were. Stay tuned for the next highlight, not this Sunday, but next. I'm hoping for every other Sunday posts. And don't forget, I'd love to have your nominations! Read about why, and how by clicking here.)