How Easily I Forget
I avoided getting a smart phone for years, but I finally gave in last month. It didn't take long for me to get sucked into the world of apps and games, not to mention constant access to Facebook, Twitter, and email. With just a couple of taps, I could be "up to the minute" on everything.
And that became a problem.
My self-centered, worldly heart soon became enraptured with this bit of technology in my palm. I quickly lost my resolve to reduce the noise. I found that I had little time or attention to give to books. Shamefully, I didn't find the Word as appealing as the latest happening in the cyberworld.
The Lord, in His infinite grace, has convicted me - again - about the amount of time I give to social media, its monologues and diatribes. The truth is, nearly everyone has an opinion on nearly every event and conceivable topic out there. That's not necessarily a bad thing. But placing a priority on others' opinions isn't always to my ultimate benefit. In fact, I have been guilty of being so caught up in the latest topic that I neglect my calling.
Once again I find myself purging my Twitter, Facebook, and blog reader feeds. And I'm instituting some guidelines for my social media usage:
~I will be unplugged more days than not. I've already tried to be mostly unplugged on the weekends, but now I will add two additional "social-media free" days to each week. On the other days, I won't log in until after I've accomplished certain goals for the day, and I'll be off-line after dinner.
~I will use "mark all read" more often. I don't need to read every blog post, status update or tweet my friends post. The world will keep spinning if I don't chime in once in a while.
These are goals. I probably won't achieve them overnight, but I know I need to continually evaluate social media's place in my life. When I returned from my break in December, I had no idea how easily I would sink back into the quagmire; however, that's exactly what occured. I too quickly forgot the lessons I learned. I don't want that to happen again.
And that became a problem.
My self-centered, worldly heart soon became enraptured with this bit of technology in my palm. I quickly lost my resolve to reduce the noise. I found that I had little time or attention to give to books. Shamefully, I didn't find the Word as appealing as the latest happening in the cyberworld.
The Lord, in His infinite grace, has convicted me - again - about the amount of time I give to social media, its monologues and diatribes. The truth is, nearly everyone has an opinion on nearly every event and conceivable topic out there. That's not necessarily a bad thing. But placing a priority on others' opinions isn't always to my ultimate benefit. In fact, I have been guilty of being so caught up in the latest topic that I neglect my calling.
Once again I find myself purging my Twitter, Facebook, and blog reader feeds. And I'm instituting some guidelines for my social media usage:
~I will be unplugged more days than not. I've already tried to be mostly unplugged on the weekends, but now I will add two additional "social-media free" days to each week. On the other days, I won't log in until after I've accomplished certain goals for the day, and I'll be off-line after dinner.
~I will use "mark all read" more often. I don't need to read every blog post, status update or tweet my friends post. The world will keep spinning if I don't chime in once in a while.
These are goals. I probably won't achieve them overnight, but I know I need to continually evaluate social media's place in my life. When I returned from my break in December, I had no idea how easily I would sink back into the quagmire; however, that's exactly what occured. I too quickly forgot the lessons I learned. I don't want that to happen again.
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