The question of What's more - More? or Less? has really been on my heart lately.
I find myself wanting to be involved in everything so that I'm not missing out on anything. Admittedly, I am on Facebook too often, was on Twitter too often, and am also addicted to my friends' blogs.
In the last two months all of the time I have been "investing" in everything else has started to weigh on my heart. Earlier this week I spent almost 2 hours on Facebook - chatting with old friends, looking through photo albums, creating new photo albums on my own account, catching up on what my friends (and acquaintances) are up to. I honestly felt as though I deserved that "down time" in my day because I had not had much time to myself lately. But at the end of those 2 hours, I felt a conviction in my heart.
It's like I heard God saying to me, "Those last two hours could have been spent with Me."
Talk about causing me to pause.
So what do I do with that conviction? My first reaction was to immediately delete my Facebook account. But, I didn't. Not yet, at least. I'm still praying about that.
You see, I have been able to reconnect with people on FB and through blogs - some of whom I have had the opportunity to encourage and uplift, and many of whom I have been encouraged by. I don't know what to do with that. I'm not into having a ba-zillion "friends" on FB or blog lists, so my goal is not to simply be popular. (I "ignore" friend requests often simply b/c I'm not into letting just any old acquaintance see all my business - and photos of my kiddos.) But I do enjoy connecting with old and new friends, and I have honestly seen how God can use social media as a tool for Him.
I think, for me, it's where my priorities are. Why do I "invest" so much time in small things and not truly invest in big things?
I have made a list of values. It's short, as it should be:
*Invest in my relationship with my Heavenly Father.
*Invest in my relationship with Scott.
*Invest in my relationships with Ella Beth and Landon.
*Intentionally spend time with God, Scott, Ella Beth, Landon, and close family and friends so that I can be built up with encouragement and be used by God to further His Kingdom.
Hmmm...doesn't seem like FB and other fore mentioned distractions fit in with my values too well.
I feel that I have been making some progress. In the last month, I have made a rule for myself that when I am spending time with my kiddos the computer stays OFF. For me, the internet is like this massive black hole that sucks me in and distracts me.
And, I don't want to be distracted.
I have such fleeting time with Ella Beth (who is already closing in on 3 1/2) and Landon (who is almost 2). Why do I want to be distracted from that? Why do I want to waste what precious time I have with them?
Like I said, I don't.
I've really decided to start blogging more intentionally, from my heart (when my kiddos are asleep!). And I'm going to be spending less time on Facebook. Hopefully, my true friends will still know where to find me and send their encouragement. :)
So...my answer to the question "What's more - More? or Less?"
For me, it's what defines More/Less.
If it's More time being intentionally devoted to my values - then the answer is More.
If it's Less time being distracted and pulled away from where my heart is truly led - to the cross of my Savior - then the answer is Less.
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What's your answer?
We are so on the same track. It's the whole reason why I'm taking a 'leave of absence' from Twitter, Facebook, and my blog for 31 days (12/1 to 1/1). And I told Mark yesterday (after only 3 days off) that I'm thinking the blog will be the only thing I bring back to my life. Interesting - not the first time we've been on the same thinking track :) Love ya friend!!
ReplyDeleteHey Amber! Your new pics of the kiddos are just darling! They are so beautiful! I have struggled with this topic from time to time, too. I chose to keep my FB account simply because we moved away from "home" and I don't get to see my family and friends, like y'all, from back home as often as I would like to. Vet school has not been gentle on our free time, so it's usually just the holidays or birthdays that we go home for, unfortunately. I don't have a twitter account or myspace or any of that. But I do love blogging and I get on FB sometimes daily, sometimes several days go by. My solution is to simply put a time limit for FB. No more than 30 min. a day. What I have found is that I usually spend much less time than that on there. I don't log into the chat option, so that doesn't eat up my time either. As far as blogging goes, I find it more personal and much more encouraging (see my link for Christian Women Blogging) to take part in so I may spend a bit longer reading blogs than I do on FB. There are options to cut back and simplify without giving it up completely so that you can keep in touch with those you don't get to see often. I hope you get a peace about this and whatever decision you make is what's right for you, and that's the important thing! :) Take care and tell Scott we said hey. Brandon is actually in Cumming for the next couple of weeks doing an externship at Crestview Animal Hospital (where he used to work), so maybe you'll run into him somewhere! :)We miss y'all a ton!
ReplyDeleteThis is good, Amber. I've struggled with this lately, too, feeling like I am "wasting" so much time on various things - from the internet to tv. What SHOULD my priorities be, and why am I not pursuing those? For me, I don't think the solution is to just cut them off cold turkey, because as a stay at home mom (and a homeschooler) I feel like I can connect to people via blogs, and learn a lot from others blogs, and I like that. I think the constant struggle is to find that balance. There are some days when I feel I spend way too much time on the computer, and other days when I hardly use it at all. But the goal is to make sure when I'm with my family and kids, I'm really with them, not mumbling 'mmm-hmmm' while checking email. So for me, I do my best to limit my time during the day (even if this means shutting my computer off) so I can be intentional with my children and try to blog and read blogs and FB after the kids bedtime, or early in the morning. (But I do also struggle with FB - is it really necessary? Not sure.)
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed this post! :)And I hope you are able to find your balance, too. :)
Hey there, Amber! I too have had this struggle from time to time. Now I am just ignoring my blog and FB for the most part.... actually rarely get to the computer more than a couple of times a week these days. Probably more because I can't seem to fit it in during the day and fall asleep mighty early at night with a baby still waking up a few times ! But, I wanted to make a point to say that I personally have been SOOOOO blessed by you and your involvement in my life/blog. Your prayers and weekly blessings this fall made all the difference in my life, and I can honestly say that I truly feel it was a gift from God through you. And, too , that you personally have a gift for praying intentionally and specifically, which is something that not everyone can do. Whatever you decide, I completely understand.... but I just wanted to make sure I told you "thank you" again for your sweet heart for our Father.
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