No, not food related. Social media related.
I just felt the need to refrain from Facebook and Twitter this week. I wasn't even really sure why. I think mainly I do this every so often just to make sure I can. I also planned to not email too, but that just wasn't practical.
I think one of the main problems with these sites is that other people's thoughts become my thoughts. I don't mean that in a brain washing way. I actually love and adore reading things I don't agree with. I need to constantly challenge what I think by pondering why I believe what I do, then seeing if what I believe truly lines up with scripture or if I have just always believed what I've been told.
What I mean is that I think so much on what I've read that I ponder on those things and not Scripture and praise and prayer.
This is a good thing and a bad thing. I am desperate to learn, but I also want to keep my mind on Christ. I just wanted to fast from the internet to see if that changed the dynamic in my mind.
This is sounding so cheesy and science fictionic. Fictionist? This is sounding a lot like science fiction. (Fictional. What the heck is wrong with me?)
The upside to these sites, and mainly Facebook, is that I know how to pray for my friends. Now that sounds like some sort of spiritual excuse for being on Facebook, but I really mean it. And you could also argue that I should be spending real, quality time with these same people so that I will know how to pray for them. And I agree, except that I can't physically spend time with all those folks, even though I really want to.
I really missed knowing what was going on in my friends' lives. I missed the prayer request, the praise reports and the silly moments that seem to bind friendship in some ways.
But, I really didn't miss the "noise." At all.
I did miss Twitter. I like Twitter better than Facebook. It's just short, concise and done. I try to use Twitter mostly as spiritual education (excuse me, did you just snort out a "yeah, right?) by following pastors, teachers and people trying to make a difference, with friends and a few fluffy Tweeters thrown in. I did miss that. I can't tell you how much I've learned on Twitter this year. Twitter makes me smarter. (I'm thinking that blogging when you've been up half the night at Secret Church is maybe not the most practical idea.)
So, what I took from all this is that limiting what I read really does affect my spiritual mindset. I didn't miss the snatched moments of glancing at Facebook status updates on my phone. I'd rather skim it all at night, gleaning the most important bits of information. I'm not feeling all that compelled to post there much either, although that may change.
I also really do see it as a means of ministry. If I'm being honest, my Facebook friends contain more non Christians than I know in "real" life. I heard once that if you don't know any non Christians, then you aren't doing something right. Fine, I don't see more than 5 people that I'm not related to in a week's time a lot of weeks, so I'm not sure what to do with that. Get out more? Probably.
That's another post, which is going to include thoughts and ponderings about cold witnessing to people. (Think tracks and "excuse me, may I ask you a personal question?) That's going to be a great post. You should really look forward to it. (I have GOT to go to bed.)
So what's the take away here? What did we actually unpack? (Oh my gosh, I'm stuck in Secret Church...) It seems really obvious and a no- brainer, but I have let myself slip into a habit of clicking and checking things that don't encourage a constant prayer dialogue and mediation of scripture and praise. It's such a slippery slope, this social media thing. I want to be a light for Christ, all the while feeding that which makes me a light.
I really think this break helped me re-establish boundaries and remind me of what's eternal and what's temporal. Looks like I need a daily reminder of this. Along with 8 good, solid hours of sleep, which will hopefully correct all that is wrong here.
I just felt the need to refrain from Facebook and Twitter this week. I wasn't even really sure why. I think mainly I do this every so often just to make sure I can. I also planned to not email too, but that just wasn't practical.
I think one of the main problems with these sites is that other people's thoughts become my thoughts. I don't mean that in a brain washing way. I actually love and adore reading things I don't agree with. I need to constantly challenge what I think by pondering why I believe what I do, then seeing if what I believe truly lines up with scripture or if I have just always believed what I've been told.
What I mean is that I think so much on what I've read that I ponder on those things and not Scripture and praise and prayer.
This is a good thing and a bad thing. I am desperate to learn, but I also want to keep my mind on Christ. I just wanted to fast from the internet to see if that changed the dynamic in my mind.
This is sounding so cheesy and science fictionic. Fictionist? This is sounding a lot like science fiction. (Fictional. What the heck is wrong with me?)
The upside to these sites, and mainly Facebook, is that I know how to pray for my friends. Now that sounds like some sort of spiritual excuse for being on Facebook, but I really mean it. And you could also argue that I should be spending real, quality time with these same people so that I will know how to pray for them. And I agree, except that I can't physically spend time with all those folks, even though I really want to.
I really missed knowing what was going on in my friends' lives. I missed the prayer request, the praise reports and the silly moments that seem to bind friendship in some ways.
But, I really didn't miss the "noise." At all.
I did miss Twitter. I like Twitter better than Facebook. It's just short, concise and done. I try to use Twitter mostly as spiritual education (excuse me, did you just snort out a "yeah, right?) by following pastors, teachers and people trying to make a difference, with friends and a few fluffy Tweeters thrown in. I did miss that. I can't tell you how much I've learned on Twitter this year. Twitter makes me smarter. (I'm thinking that blogging when you've been up half the night at Secret Church is maybe not the most practical idea.)
So, what I took from all this is that limiting what I read really does affect my spiritual mindset. I didn't miss the snatched moments of glancing at Facebook status updates on my phone. I'd rather skim it all at night, gleaning the most important bits of information. I'm not feeling all that compelled to post there much either, although that may change.
I also really do see it as a means of ministry. If I'm being honest, my Facebook friends contain more non Christians than I know in "real" life. I heard once that if you don't know any non Christians, then you aren't doing something right. Fine, I don't see more than 5 people that I'm not related to in a week's time a lot of weeks, so I'm not sure what to do with that. Get out more? Probably.
That's another post, which is going to include thoughts and ponderings about cold witnessing to people. (Think tracks and "excuse me, may I ask you a personal question?) That's going to be a great post. You should really look forward to it. (I have GOT to go to bed.)
So what's the take away here? What did we actually unpack? (Oh my gosh, I'm stuck in Secret Church...) It seems really obvious and a no- brainer, but I have let myself slip into a habit of clicking and checking things that don't encourage a constant prayer dialogue and mediation of scripture and praise. It's such a slippery slope, this social media thing. I want to be a light for Christ, all the while feeding that which makes me a light.
I really think this break helped me re-establish boundaries and remind me of what's eternal and what's temporal. Looks like I need a daily reminder of this. Along with 8 good, solid hours of sleep, which will hopefully correct all that is wrong here.
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