If you remember from last years lent season I gave up facebook, twitter, and pinterest. You can read more about that decision here. Also if you look through some old posts from February and March of last year you can find out how it went for me.
This year I've decided to give up facebook and twitter again. I spend a lot of my time on these two sites and so I think its healthy to give them up and use that extra time to focus on my relationship with God. This will also allow me to get more school work done and pay attention in class more so I think it will be a win-win.
I will try and update my blog more about what is going on in my life during this time, but I'm not sure how good I will be at it so don't get too excited, Traci.
Showing posts with label lent. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lent. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Saturday, April 21, 2012
40 Days Without Social Media
I realized that I haven't posted about lent went without social media since I was 2 weeks in, so I thought I would update you all on that. It was quite difficult at first. I was so used to typing in facebook.com everytime that I logged onto the internet. As the weeks went by though it got much easier. It was also much easier than I expected to not go on twitter or pintrest.
I found for the most part that it was easy for me to keep in contact with people and I really wasn't missing too much vital information by not being on facebook. Really everything that I found "important" and thought that I would miss by not being on facebook people told me about. So those "really important" things I didn't miss much of.
Overall, I think it opened my eyes to how much time I spend on these sites and showed me that I can really live without them. I didn't do as great of a job as I wanted to of spending that time with God. I seemed to spend it on other websites either reading news articles or blogs. I do think that I did spend a bit more time on my homework and talking to people in person, which was great.
Now without being on social meeting for those 40+ days I'm finding it easier to only check my facebook a couple times a day. Really nothing super important happens when I haven't checked it in a few hours so that is a great realization. Recently I've also tried to stop reading quite so many blogs. I was finding myself investing time into other peoples lives that I didn't really know so I've tried to mainly read blogs of people that I actually know. That seems to make me a little more present in my relationships, which I think is great!
I found for the most part that it was easy for me to keep in contact with people and I really wasn't missing too much vital information by not being on facebook. Really everything that I found "important" and thought that I would miss by not being on facebook people told me about. So those "really important" things I didn't miss much of.
Overall, I think it opened my eyes to how much time I spend on these sites and showed me that I can really live without them. I didn't do as great of a job as I wanted to of spending that time with God. I seemed to spend it on other websites either reading news articles or blogs. I do think that I did spend a bit more time on my homework and talking to people in person, which was great.
Now without being on social meeting for those 40+ days I'm finding it easier to only check my facebook a couple times a day. Really nothing super important happens when I haven't checked it in a few hours so that is a great realization. Recently I've also tried to stop reading quite so many blogs. I was finding myself investing time into other peoples lives that I didn't really know so I've tried to mainly read blogs of people that I actually know. That seems to make me a little more present in my relationships, which I think is great!
Monday, March 26, 2012
Connecting with Friends
One of my goals for not being on social media during lent was to connect better with people. The week before spring break I thought I did that pretty well.
I started by skyping with my sister. We don't skype much, but when we do I really enjoy it. I heard all about her spring break trip to City Lights in St. Louis. I loved hearing about her trip and seeing the similarities between what she experienced and what I did. It really made me miss being in St. Louis and was just great to remember what I learned while there. Also to think about how much my faith has grown since then and also the areas where it hasn't changed much and where I could use some growth.
DG's internet is also slow at times so I had a little trouble pausing in awkward places and such. Somehow Carina gave me the idea to take some screen shots of her making strange faces. I told her I'd put them on the blog so I have to do it.
Later in the week I went over to Michelle's to chat about life. I hadn't really talked to her in what felt like forever. I had mostly been keeping up with her life via her blog. I miss living with her and our more frequent chats, but it was great to go over to her apartment and talk. I found out about the things she's been up to-the job interviews, etc. It was just great to talk.
I love talking with my friends and family and learning about what is going on with their lives.
I started by skyping with my sister. We don't skype much, but when we do I really enjoy it. I heard all about her spring break trip to City Lights in St. Louis. I loved hearing about her trip and seeing the similarities between what she experienced and what I did. It really made me miss being in St. Louis and was just great to remember what I learned while there. Also to think about how much my faith has grown since then and also the areas where it hasn't changed much and where I could use some growth.
DG's internet is also slow at times so I had a little trouble pausing in awkward places and such. Somehow Carina gave me the idea to take some screen shots of her making strange faces. I told her I'd put them on the blog so I have to do it.
Later in the week I went over to Michelle's to chat about life. I hadn't really talked to her in what felt like forever. I had mostly been keeping up with her life via her blog. I miss living with her and our more frequent chats, but it was great to go over to her apartment and talk. I found out about the things she's been up to-the job interviews, etc. It was just great to talk.
I love talking with my friends and family and learning about what is going on with their lives.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
2 Weeks Without Social Media
So it's been 2 weeks now since I gave up facebook, twitter, and pinterest for lent. So far it's been going pretty good. At first it was very hard not to log into facebook. My usual routine is to go on the internet and then open up gmail and facebook. I spent lots of my time those first couple days typing in facebook then getting to the site and discovering I wasn't signed in and realizing that I gave it up. I've since mostly stopped doing that. Now as I'm typing facebook into the search bar I realize that I gave it up.
I've also realized that not that much happens on facebook that I'm really needing to check up on. Occasionally I find myself thinking that I could post something on someone's wall or something similar, but then I realize I got just text that person to tell them. Or I could call them or just tell them in person when I see them. Also my friend Traci wrote me a letter and so we've started a little snail mail correspondence. I love getting mail so I have enjoyed that so far and actually I'm finding out more about her life through that than I probably would have on facebook.
As far as the original purpose of giving up these types of media so I could spend more time in prayer, intentional listening to God, etc. I haven't been very good at that. Instead I've either spent more time working on my homework (which is actually a plus) or else looking up random articles online to read. For the remainder of lent I'm going to try really hard to only use my computer for homework related things or blogging. That way I can spend more time with God and also in real relationships with people.
I've also realized that not that much happens on facebook that I'm really needing to check up on. Occasionally I find myself thinking that I could post something on someone's wall or something similar, but then I realize I got just text that person to tell them. Or I could call them or just tell them in person when I see them. Also my friend Traci wrote me a letter and so we've started a little snail mail correspondence. I love getting mail so I have enjoyed that so far and actually I'm finding out more about her life through that than I probably would have on facebook.
As far as the original purpose of giving up these types of media so I could spend more time in prayer, intentional listening to God, etc. I haven't been very good at that. Instead I've either spent more time working on my homework (which is actually a plus) or else looking up random articles online to read. For the remainder of lent I'm going to try really hard to only use my computer for homework related things or blogging. That way I can spend more time with God and also in real relationships with people.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Holy Spirit
I've been meaning to write this post for about a week now, but never got around to it. Now I'm finally doing it. The past few weeks at Intervarsity we talked about the Holy Spirit. It was a great topic and now I really want to read The Forgotten God by Frances Chan, but will probably wait until this summer to read it.
Last Wednesday as the ending of the series we got into small groups to just sit and listen to what the Holy Spirit had to say to each person in the group. We focused on one person at a time and just listened for 5 minutes or so and then shared with that person anything that we heard, saw, etc. I normally don't like activities like this because I'm not very good at turning off my brain and actually listening to what the Holy Spirit has to say to me. I really tried to focus though and since it was only 5 minutes I decided I could do it.
The first thing that I found so refreshing was that I came late so I didn't sit by my usual group of people and therefore I wasn't in a group with them. The group that I was with though, was really great because we each seemed to be in a similar place in our lives and I think everything that we heard for each other also related to ourselves. I was also really excited to actually hear some things and to allow myself to listen to what the Holy Spirit wanted to say to the others in my group.
The first person that shared what they heard was to be bold. At first I was really confused by this and didn't exactly know what they meant. Then the other 2 shared and said they heard something about building bridges, and also related to DG and how I know so much about these women and we share so much. We then all talked about this for awhile and it made perfect sense and was also very encouraging to me.
I've spent so much of my semester so far feeling really down and like all of my worth was in my school work and just super nervous about the whole semester. Encouragement in that area of my life was what I expected to hear from the Holy Spirit. Instead the things that I got were about how I need to step out and be bold and really be there for my sisters. I need to continue to love my sisters and show them what Christ's love is. I don't need to shove the gospel down their throats, but instead through my actions spread that love. When words or conversations are needed or come up though I need to be bold and say what I'm really thinking. I really felt encouraged by this. It also made me really think about how I really only have these last few months with my sisters and living with all of them. I'll still have school next year. These relationships that I'm building now will be very important. The goal also isn't to convert everyone to Christianity instead it is to show all of my sisters who God is. Even if they don't accept Him now they will know that I really value my faith and later in life if they need someone to talk to I will be there. I really hope that this will be evident for the rest of the semester.
Also doing this activity showed me again how important it is to sometimes just be silent and listen for what God wants me to hear. At the Ash Wednesday service Jon talked about all of the noise in the world. I'm definitely conscious of this noise more recently and want to do a better job of just being silent and seeing what God says even if its only for 5 or 10 minutes a couple of times a week.
Last Wednesday as the ending of the series we got into small groups to just sit and listen to what the Holy Spirit had to say to each person in the group. We focused on one person at a time and just listened for 5 minutes or so and then shared with that person anything that we heard, saw, etc. I normally don't like activities like this because I'm not very good at turning off my brain and actually listening to what the Holy Spirit has to say to me. I really tried to focus though and since it was only 5 minutes I decided I could do it.
The first thing that I found so refreshing was that I came late so I didn't sit by my usual group of people and therefore I wasn't in a group with them. The group that I was with though, was really great because we each seemed to be in a similar place in our lives and I think everything that we heard for each other also related to ourselves. I was also really excited to actually hear some things and to allow myself to listen to what the Holy Spirit wanted to say to the others in my group.
The first person that shared what they heard was to be bold. At first I was really confused by this and didn't exactly know what they meant. Then the other 2 shared and said they heard something about building bridges, and also related to DG and how I know so much about these women and we share so much. We then all talked about this for awhile and it made perfect sense and was also very encouraging to me.
I've spent so much of my semester so far feeling really down and like all of my worth was in my school work and just super nervous about the whole semester. Encouragement in that area of my life was what I expected to hear from the Holy Spirit. Instead the things that I got were about how I need to step out and be bold and really be there for my sisters. I need to continue to love my sisters and show them what Christ's love is. I don't need to shove the gospel down their throats, but instead through my actions spread that love. When words or conversations are needed or come up though I need to be bold and say what I'm really thinking. I really felt encouraged by this. It also made me really think about how I really only have these last few months with my sisters and living with all of them. I'll still have school next year. These relationships that I'm building now will be very important. The goal also isn't to convert everyone to Christianity instead it is to show all of my sisters who God is. Even if they don't accept Him now they will know that I really value my faith and later in life if they need someone to talk to I will be there. I really hope that this will be evident for the rest of the semester.
Also doing this activity showed me again how important it is to sometimes just be silent and listen for what God wants me to hear. At the Ash Wednesday service Jon talked about all of the noise in the world. I'm definitely conscious of this noise more recently and want to do a better job of just being silent and seeing what God says even if its only for 5 or 10 minutes a couple of times a week.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Lent
I've never given anything up for lent in my life before. I always associated giving things up for lent with being Catholic. I don't know if it was never mentioned in church growing up or if I just wasn't really paying attention. This year however, after hearing the sermon (when your spirit runs dry) this Sunday I got to thinking that maybe I should give something up.
The things that I took away from the sermon was how easy it is to let your spirit run dry. We have so many distractions in our lives that take away from our relationships and our time with God. I am so guilty of spending so much time on facebook, twitter, etc. I'm not gaining life from the hours I spend on these websites. Instead I'm mainly just looking at other people's lives and seeing what is new in their worlds. It's also so automatic for me to go to my computer check my email and facebook and I do it multiple times in one sitting. Pastor Mike also discussed how we are all so overwhelmed and such because of all of our distractions. I find myself always saying that I don't have time for things because of work, school, etc. I don't have time to read my Bible or pray regularly. But in reality I do I have the time. I just don't make the time. Instead I spend my time on the computer doing random things.
This why I decided to give up facebook, twitter, and pintrest for lent. I spend so much of my time doing these things without helping me grow as a person. I hope that this will allow me the time I need to do my homework, while also allowing me to grow closer to God, which is really what Lent is all about.
Today at the Ash Wednesday service at Hope (you can watch it streaming live at 7 pm on the link above if you read this before or else I'm sure they'll put it up later) the message was on how clean is your (spiritual) house. It was a really good message and I really related to a lot that was said. I know that currently my spiritual life is very cluttered and not growing. The thing that really stood out to me from the sermon was when he talked about how much time you spend with God and how complacent people get in their faith. I know that lately I've gotten very complacent. I go to church each week and go through the motions. Yes, things resonate with me, but I don't actively seek to grow in my relationship with God. Instead I live off of the faith and examples of others. The stories the pastor tells on Sundays, the stories from Intervarsity on Wednesday, Christian books I've read, mission trips I've been on in the past. I really haven't been working on my relationship with God and growing in that.
My hope for this Lenten season is to grow closer to God and to have experiences with God that are uniquely mine. Instead of relying on the faith of others I want to rediscover who God is to me. I'm very much looking forward to this 40 day journey and seeing what God will do in my life especially with my very small sacrifice of not going on facebook, twitter, and pintrest. I'll hopefully be blogging more about this experience and where I'm going or where I'm struggling. Tomorrow I'll post a little bit more about what I've heard when I stop and listen to God.
Are you giving anything up for lent? Are you adding anything to your life?
The things that I took away from the sermon was how easy it is to let your spirit run dry. We have so many distractions in our lives that take away from our relationships and our time with God. I am so guilty of spending so much time on facebook, twitter, etc. I'm not gaining life from the hours I spend on these websites. Instead I'm mainly just looking at other people's lives and seeing what is new in their worlds. It's also so automatic for me to go to my computer check my email and facebook and I do it multiple times in one sitting. Pastor Mike also discussed how we are all so overwhelmed and such because of all of our distractions. I find myself always saying that I don't have time for things because of work, school, etc. I don't have time to read my Bible or pray regularly. But in reality I do I have the time. I just don't make the time. Instead I spend my time on the computer doing random things.
This why I decided to give up facebook, twitter, and pintrest for lent. I spend so much of my time doing these things without helping me grow as a person. I hope that this will allow me the time I need to do my homework, while also allowing me to grow closer to God, which is really what Lent is all about.
Today at the Ash Wednesday service at Hope (you can watch it streaming live at 7 pm on the link above if you read this before or else I'm sure they'll put it up later) the message was on how clean is your (spiritual) house. It was a really good message and I really related to a lot that was said. I know that currently my spiritual life is very cluttered and not growing. The thing that really stood out to me from the sermon was when he talked about how much time you spend with God and how complacent people get in their faith. I know that lately I've gotten very complacent. I go to church each week and go through the motions. Yes, things resonate with me, but I don't actively seek to grow in my relationship with God. Instead I live off of the faith and examples of others. The stories the pastor tells on Sundays, the stories from Intervarsity on Wednesday, Christian books I've read, mission trips I've been on in the past. I really haven't been working on my relationship with God and growing in that.
My hope for this Lenten season is to grow closer to God and to have experiences with God that are uniquely mine. Instead of relying on the faith of others I want to rediscover who God is to me. I'm very much looking forward to this 40 day journey and seeing what God will do in my life especially with my very small sacrifice of not going on facebook, twitter, and pintrest. I'll hopefully be blogging more about this experience and where I'm going or where I'm struggling. Tomorrow I'll post a little bit more about what I've heard when I stop and listen to God.
Are you giving anything up for lent? Are you adding anything to your life?
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