Thursday, December 6, 2007

Facebook Fast

Wednesday, December 5, 2007, I went without facebook for a full 24 hours. I know - crazy.

Even though I named it my "facebook fast" it wasn't really a fast in the sense of "I'm going to give something up in order to devote more time to praying and show my dependency on God." I'm all for that kind of fast, that's just not what this was. This was just to prove to myself that I could do it. And let me tell you, it was harder than I thought it would be.

I learned though that I can live without it ... and get more done in the process. :)

Monday, December 3, 2007

Distraction is the name of the game

After spending almost my entire weekend with a 16-month-old I learned something very important - in order to be a good mother (or babysitter in my case) you have to perfect the art of distraction. Crying, screaming, tantrums, wanting something they can't have - toddlers can be distracted from all of it if you find something that's more important to them. For instance - a container of paper clips and a pad of pink post-it notes are way more fun than playing on the keyboard of a computer (at least for a little while) and that glow up snowman holds attention just long enough to get the car seat buckled. I think I may have finally gotten the hang of it.

This whole distraction-theory got me thinking about distraction in other parts of life. Toddlers aren't the only ones that are distracted easily. Take for example me during a normal worship service. How many things do I think of that have nothing to do with God? It's horrible how much work it is for me to focus only on God.

There's also purposeful distraction. I don't know if anyone else does this, but when there's something I don't want to face I distract myself by starting a new project or going out with friends. Anything that will keep my mind off of whatever it is I don't want to think about. I'm especially good at distracting myself when it's God I have to face. All of a sudden there's a million other things I should be doing.

I guess all I'm trying to say is that distraction is a part of our lives even now and when it's part of our spiritual lives it becomes a problem.

Be aware - distraction is out to get you!



Gregg being sufficiently distracted ... for the moment. :)