Day 6 of No Social Media

(I'm sorry this is long! This is my first blog!)

That's right! No Facebook, Twitter, or Pintrest! But what about everything else, you ask? I don't get on them or don't have them. Those three are my social media.  They interfere with my life on a daily basis.  So I gave them up for the next forty days.  It could be more since my campus minister is going to challenge us this Thursday to give something up.  But I'm ahead of him on that, and that's cool.

Another thought you may be having as you read this is, did you do any posts for the other days? No.  I hadn't decided if this should count for social media or not.  I decided to go with no, since I'm not really being social on here. If you read it great, if not, I don't care.  I'm keeping my own journal and writing in it everyday.  But I can't just say this is day one, so it's day 6 and I'll catch those who I don't talk to everyday, but would like to keep up with how life is going with no Facebook, Twitter, or Pintrest. So on to that.

Life is flipping fantastic! Don't know why I never have done this earlier! Life is more peaceful in a way.  I'm trying to get in a routine of talking to God everyday and write in my journal everyday.  With no social media, I have more time for that and school.  Sure, I think about it all the time. I open my computer everyday, check my email, Skype, and think about how people are doing on Facebook, but I don't get on.  Boy, do I want to though.  Within the first 24 hrs of no Facebook, God showed me what life could look like for me after college and the next day, He gave me an even bigger possibility.  It's like He's saying, "See how much better life is when you're not distracted by that? Can't you see that being with Me and being satisfied with Me, is so much better than their satisfaction?" And I wanted to share everything I had experienced with Facebook, but I couldn't, so I shared it with friends. I told people.  And so God spoke through that, and said, "See? It's so much better telling them in person or just through e-mail or Skype or text or phone call.  They feel like they are special because you told them on an individual level.  You didn't announce it to everyone.  Only a few people know and did you see how excited they were? That's so much better than a 'like' or a comment, right?" God is always right, y'all.  We try to get our satisfaction our way, through others.  But God's satisfaction lasts longer that happiness from a 'like' or a comment.  Telling people about what God's doing in your life is so much better in person!  But if you're reading this and are like, what's the exciting news? I really want to tell you!!! I do!! Maybe you should leave a comment with your email!! And if I told you the news before around midnight Thurday/Friday, then maybe you should also comment with your email, cuz you better hold on to your seat.. there's more!!! God is just too cool!!  Since then, no further like life changing news. But just unconditional love and assurance from the Father! He's too good.

To break the blog up a bit, I'd like to share with you a verse I came along after I started Lent.  It comes from 1 Corinthians 10:13 and says, "No temptation has over taken you, except that what is common to humanity.  God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation, He will also provide a way of escape so that you are able to bear it."  Super awesome stuff! This is like the "Lent" verse I think.  While yeah, I'm tempted to take my phone out and send in an update to Facebook, that would totally be cheating, but God provided an escape: providing friends to talk to, writing in my journal, and now blogging.  It's like a longer Facebook status.  So it satisfies that urge to update I guess.  But I usually hate writing, and now I just want to write everything God teaches me and shows me and everything I read.  But I still hate writing for school. That has not changed. I have an introductory to a research paper due in like less than 48 hrs and still have yet to do it, knowing it's gonna be at least 5 pages. But anywho, this is actually pretty stress-relieving. Who knew, right? So back to the verse.  I love how Paul says God won't allow you to be tempted beyond your ability, but He puts a clause in there, that basically says, you gotta have God on your side. You can't do this alone.  You need God. Because if you don't have God, you won't have your escape that makes the temptation bearable. Just as Jesus was provided for in the wilderness, so you will be provided for in your times of temptation. Just go to God.  I find that so freaking cool! Like, I know that doesn't mean this "no social media" thing will be easy, but God will make it bearable.

Like for instance, I'm doing this finger labyrinth for my psych of religion class. Great class, nice teacher, but not a total fan of her.  Anywho, we're supposed to journal about this labyrinth.  It's a spiritual journey type thing where the first part is purgation where you go through the maze and let go and release the details of your life and quiet your emotions. I may have to start over on this. I got to the center where it's supposed to be a time of illumination where you open and receive and have a time of prayer and meditation.  The whole sitting still and being quiet has never been a strong point for me. So I put on some instrumental acoustic guitar music and tried to quiet myself. It kinda worked. A quiet song with lyrics came on and I meditated on that. It was so peaceful and yet, I found myself wanting to do more, so I wrote about it in my journal and now here. That's where I am. The center of the labyrinth, supposedly. Still sitting. Not sure if you can call this meditating. It's more like reflecting, which would be more as you're traveling toward the center and purging yourself of emotions and thoughts that are obstacles in getting to a quiet mind. So maybe the journey to the center of the maze is just longer for me. There's just so much going on in my mind and it's so hard for me to be still and quiet down.  That doesn't mean I don't rest, cuz I'm awesome at taking naps. But to be actively quiet is a hard concept for me to wrap my head around.  But just to inform, the journey out of the labyrinth is called Union where you are joining God and the healing forces at work in the world and moving forth into that world integrating the insights you have received.  To me, I get this whole process in my devotions.  I pray before telling God about what's going on in my life and spill everything on my mind. I then go to my devotion book, read what it says and dive into God's word from there, going to the verse that the devotion used and then I just go off on my own. Then I write in my journal everything I received from that and pray again usually going off what I received, thanking and praising God and feeling more insightful.  So all to say, this finger labyrinth is a great tool for meditation, and a great example for what a quiet time should look like and a nice escape that God has given me, but I think my journal, my blog, and my relationships are much better escapes for me.

What's your temptation? How is God helping you escape from it? Or are you trying to get out on your own? I challenge you to reach for God. He has the escape and is super willing to help you to it. Just trust Him. Envision Aladdin reaching for you from his magic carpet. "Do you trust me?" That's what God's asking us all the time. Take His hand, and believe me, you just might be singing something like "A Whole New World"!