Creating a No-internet Fun Basket

How do you make the best of different?

Recently our internet went out and I know we weren’t the only ones as various storms swept through the US.

It turned out okay and perfect timing for this topic that I had prepared for specifically for the #WinteraryMonths series (Jan-Mar. 2023).

There’s only so much one can do in the cold season when not on a farm or near places to hike (yes, those are the top two reasons that come to mind for me to outside when I can see my breath…)–I will be sharing some fun and relaxing posts about things we are doing around here.

The things I will be sharing promote:

1) rest

2) learning/trying new things

3) something other than screen time (minus me sharing about it initially)

4) generosity

5) well-being

This idea of creating a no-internet fun basket didn’t come to me right away. I started off in Hobby Lobby trying to find a cross-stitch pattern so I could gift something handmade to someone I want to bless.

I really have desired to be able to step away from screens more, to fill my time with more meaningful activities, or nothingness for a chunk of time.

I don’t know about you, but when I free myself a wedge of time–not for being productive but solely for relaxation or enjoyment–I feel human again.

If there is some frazzledness going on, it seems to be a nice reprieve to have some peaceful activity to tend to. One that’s not demanding but slows down the time.

What started off as an idea for creating gifts to give away through the year and/or holidays turned into “how can we organize this and make it something desirable to reach for”?

We stopped at the Dollar Store recently and found tons of cute cards and a whole isle of stickers. Did you know they had one of those?

Needless to say, we spent the majority of our time in that isle. We saved a lot by checking there first rather than the mart, if you know what I mean.

I was shocked at how many quality stickers they carried. I won’t necessarily use them all for scrapbooking, but for mailing cards. A decade ago, this was something I wanted to do, but one of my character flaws is how much I think versus actually doing something I really want to do.

On Facebook recently I wrote about how this was–Lord willing–going to be the year of living outside of my head.

At home that night, my eldest daughter and I unwrapped each package and tucked them into an unused planter rather than a “basket”. It’s what I had and matches the nature-y theme in our home.

We wrote letters to someone on our hearts and prepared them for the mail this week. It was super fun and relaxing and took me back to before texting when things felt slower and more appreciated.

As you can see, we plan to do more of this, since one of my goals this year is to not only continue to take better care of myself for the sake of my family, but love others better in a way that touches them not necessarily elaborately, but more meaningfully.

Why is this a goal of mine?

Because life is short, I am realizing more and more, and as one who has never had a strong suit of watering relationships–yet wants to be a giver and less of a taker–I realize how I pour into others creatively and emotionally is another version of this, not just materialistically.

Some might say, well what about Spiritually? But I think as a disciple of Christ, that is already a given. Because when I meditate on scriptures like, “Do all you do unto the Lord,” life as a whole and the daily gems that make it up, are under this umbrella.

If my life is dedicated to Him, then everything I do is unto Him, and there is no categorical separation where this is over here, apart for Him and “that part of life.”

Rather, my Heavenly Father breathes on all I do, I pray, encompassing the temporal minute things with His eternal favor and beauty so that I can be “a city on a hill” wherever I am by leaving a trail of blessings where I tred.

My goal in life is to build others up, though I am not perfect in this and still catch myself when I am thinking or saying things that do not line up with this personal conviction.

Thankfully, I realize now this is not a weight to cry over but a reality to praise Him for, that I feel deeply and would rather choose to be movable clay than solid stone.

Christ Jesus is the only rock I want in my life, and I need Him daily. Even my wonderful-in-my-mind goals and doings are filthy rags compared to my Savior. I am okay with this and fully accept it.

Well, that’s all for today on the blog. If you want more content like this but something you can watch instead of read, consider subscribing to my new Youtube channel below by clicking my newly released Warmly, Meg Vlog Trailer. (Have mercy on me. I am newer to video editing, but I enjoy it so much and figure this is the best practice).