From Screens to Simplicity: Reclaiming Beauty in the Evening Hours

By Dr. Barrett Mosbacker

March 23, 2025

Put more thought into your leisure time … when it comes to your relaxation, don’t default to whatever catches your attention at the moment, but instead dedicate some advance thinking to the question of how you want to spend your “day within a day.”¹

I was recently convicted that I had been spending too much of my limited downtime watching television. Although my schedule is full — many evenings are taken up with school functions — I had slipped into the habit of defaulting to television when I finally had a moment to rest. My justification was simple: “I deserve this time.”

Rest and relaxation are gifts from God. Jesus himself said,

The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27).

The Hebrew word Shabbat means “to cease,” “to end,” or “to rest.” Rest is good and necessary. But like all good gifts, it can be misused. Taken to excess, it becomes harmful. This is why moderation matters:

If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit it (Proverbs 25:16).

Even good things, when overindulged, can do more harm than good.

That does not mean every moment should be filled with work. Scripture exhorts us to walk carefully, not as fools but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:15–16), but it does not require nonstop labor. Rest is good. Leisure is necessary. The question is not whether we rest, but how. Are we using our leisure time wisely?

That question led me to take a hard look at how I was spending mine — and to a growing conviction: my wife and I were not stewarding our leisure well. We both felt it. We were not using the gift of rest in ways that nourished our souls or honored the time God has entrusted to us.

So we made a change.

Good Books, Good Music, Good Tea, and a Good Cookie

We established a new evening routine. Rather than heading straight to the television after dinner, we now begin our evenings with reading and beautiful music.

Chesterton once said, “Art is the signature of man.”² He meant that art is one of the defining marks of humanity. Animals do not make art — only man does. Monkeys do not draw pictures of men; men draw pictures of monkeys.

Literature and music are forms of art — the fruit and evidence that we are made in God’s image. Just as God created, and continues to create, beauty, we reflect his image when we create. But we are also blessed as recipients of beauty. Good art, whether expressed through literature or music, nourishes the soul, engages the mind, and refreshes the body.

Benefits of Good Music

Research on the benefits of music is robust. Regular listening reduces stress and anxiety, improves mood, and helps with depression. It enhances memory and cognitive function, particularly in older adults. It assists in pain management and recovery, improves sleep quality, and supports emotional expression and processing.

Our music of choice is usually instrumental smooth jazz or classical compositions chosen for their calming qualities. I especially enjoy listening to quieter, ambient music while reading. It is not distracting; I can stay focused on the book while enjoying beautiful, restful music in the background.

Benefits of Good Literature

Good literature offers similarly significant benefits. Reading reduces stress and promotes relaxation, enhances empathy and emotional intelligence, helps preserve cognitive function, strengthens memory and mental sharpness, expands vocabulary, and improves both focus and sleep quality when part of a regular evening routine.

Our new evening routine gave me more time to read. I recently completed Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI by Ethan Mollick, which I highly recommend. And, believe it or not, I have just started War and Peace. This will take a little longer.

Tea and a Cookie

To good music and literature, I added a cup of tea — which is also good for you — and a low-sugar, homemade oatmeal cookie. I like to think of oatmeal cookies as health food.

Try It — I Think You Will Like It

Aristotle is attributed to have said, “Greatness of spirit is accompanied by simplicity and sincerity.”

I encourage you to reconsider how you spend your leisure time. Try embracing a quieter, simpler evening routine by setting aside a small portion of time to read good literature, listen to good music, and perhaps enjoy a good cup of tea with a good cookie. You may find, as I have, that your soul, mind, and body are better for it.