For lent I gave up Pinterest and a few other time consuming apps on my phone. Time consuming or time wasting is more appropriate. It may have seem like an odd choice. Lent is for sacrificing something in your life to help you focus on the suffering and sacrifice that Christ gave. The ultimate sacrifice. I thought hard about my choice. I tried Facebook last year and was not successful. I really hope to accomplish that one someday. But it's kind of hard when all groups now only communicate that way. :(. I debated chocolate, that seriously would have been tough and a challenge. But I thought it wasn't fair to Cappie this year, seeing how that's what he really craves. :). So maybe next year. An easy one would have been alcohol since Cappie can't have any of that lol. I mean I'm already 7 months alcohol free. Actually don't miss that at all. Not a sacrifice when I'm not preggo.
Lately I have been struggling with how much time I waste playing on my phone. iPhones are great, technology advancements are great but not always. I had noticed that everything I did my phone was in my hand. Checking who pinned what, playing another stupid game, multitasking everything with phone in hand. I was on Pinterest pinning junk I will never look at again, playing another dumb word game and Drop 7 constantly whole I watched TV, cooked dinner, played with Jack. It's become ridiculous. Sadly it is the norm. Everywhere you go you watch people do everything with phone in hand. Missing everyday life to do who knows what. Granted it can be useful and helpful. But I was seriously convicted with
"what are you focusing your time on?" Jman or a stupid phone?
"What does Jman learn from this?"
Is he learning that you can't focus your mind on only one thing? Does he think that my phone is more important? Does he think that you must occupy your time with 2 things? I don't want him to ever think a phone or game is my priority. I don't want him to constantly need technology, but to enjoy life for what it has to offer.
So with those thoughts in mind I gave up the 3 apps that waste my time. Pinterest, Words with Friends (shout out to Laura for surviving that with me) and Drop 7. Facebook really should be added to that list (someday). I would like to permanently eliminate FB but that's a story for another day.
I didn't delete the apps, I wanted to look at them everyday and avoid the temptation.
So what I learned was it wasn't so hard, I actually have not missed Pinterest, still haven't looked at it. I still don't play drop 7 and well Laura does have me back for words. Couldn't let her down. Pinterest became such a time filler. Let me see what's on there. Look at that recipe I will never make but will pin it. I will never own that outfit. I will never make that project or craft. And so on. I think Pinterest is great, lots of fun and has super ideas. But it can become addictive. It can also prevent you from using your own mind. Instead of thinking an idea on your own, you automatically turn to Pinterest. I used to could be given a topic and come up with 5-10 activities immediately. And now it's like oh let me see what Pinterest has. Boo! So I'm sure I will check back in. But I'm hoping to use it more productively and not to just fill my time. I also stopped watching TV and playing on my phone at the same time. I started reading more. I've been keeping up with my New Years resolution daily and not having to catch up several days at one time. (Which is to read the Bible in a year) I spent more time in the dirt playing with Jman and not watching from a distance. I actively played with him and not just sat by him. We searched for bugs and raced cars. We danced more, we read more. We laughed more, we smiled more. All with the phone put away on the counter.
I know that my sacrifice was nothing compared to Christ's. But I do know it made me reflect on things and make life better. Helped me make some changes that I really needed. Helped me live more in the moment and not just a bystander.
I am grateful for Christ's sacrifice so that I can live so that we all have a chance to live. He is risen!!
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