Hello, facebook . . . with limits!

Well, I'm at the end of my official facebook sabbatical.  I have to admit, I did log on about 4 times, for maybe 5 minutes each, during the month I took off.  But in my defense . . . a few of my friends from college were having babies and I just had to check on them!!

To describe the break from facebook, I think I can sum it up in one word: "refreshing". 

I knew that facebook had become an idol of sorts to me, but I really didn't have any idea of the extent until I stopped logging on altogether.  I still can't believe the amount of time I was spending on the computer and on the Kindle Fire in contrast to the time with my children as well as doing other, more constructive, activities!

Here are a few of the things I got done in the past month that I truly believe wouldn't have happened if I'd spent my normal amount of time on facebook.

*I read books to the kids.  And read, and read, and read.  Literature has been such a huge part of my life, and I have so enjoyed sharing that with Samuel and Julia.  I even set aside a half hour each day after laying Julia down to read more informative, "older" books to Samuel.  He absolutely ate them up - all the knowledge, entertainment, imagination, and ideas in each book.  It has also been absolutely precious time spent just sitting together on the couch with my quickly-growing 3-year-old that I never would have had because I was always itching to put him to bed and check on everyone else's kids via facebook.

*I spent more time in God's Word.  Oh, sure, I did okay before.  But once again, I'd rush through any quiet time with God that I may have had so that I could log on to facebook for as much time as possible.  But this past month, I was able to truly spend and enjoy that time that I need reading my Bible, studying, and praying.

*The kids and I spent more time outside on walks, playing in the yard, and enjoying parks nearby.

*The house stayed cleaner.  I didn't think it'd make a difference, but it certainly did!  I wasn't rushing to get one thing done and doing it half-heartedly, but rather spent all the time I needed really cleaning.

*I read a whole bunch of books!  As I mentioned earlier, literature has been a huge part of my life, but I just wasn't finding the time to read over the past several months.  I think I read about 6 books during the past month, and it was great!

Those things alone made it worth it to take a break from facebook.  And now that I'm back on, I've found that if I'm on for 15 minutes, I quickly log off and feel at least somewhat guilty, wondering all the things I may have rather done during those past minutes. 

What is fun is being able to continue to see progress with friends as facebook is the primary means for keeping up with people in other towns.  So these past few days (and I haven't been on every single day, just a couple), I've just quickly scrolled through the news feed and checked on a few friends specifically who I knew may have changes or may have posted pictures recently. 

It is definitely refreshing not to feel so attached.  I can see how that could easily become a habit once again, so we've moved our computer back upstairs to the office and out of our living room.  I also put up the Kindle Fire and am considering sending it to work with David to prevent me from picking it up on a whim and getting "stuck". 

I hope that anyone else who feels he or she might be spending too much time on facebook would consider taking a break.  Even after a week, I felt so much less dependent - a month just solidified it for me! 

A quick update on other events in our life:

David will be starting his new job working for his dad December 31st.  We will be moving in with my in-laws for the time being until we put more of a dent in our student loans and find a place to live.

We are negotiating the sale of our home here, so if our praying friends would oblige, please pray that we could sell it for enough to pay off the mortgage and have a little extra!

The baby is due in 6 weeks.  She has finally moved out of my ribs and is sitting much lower, so I am not experiencing so much pain from that at least!

We are continuing to trust God for each step and though it is bittersweet right now, thinking of leaving here after 5 years, we are very excited to see what He has for our family in the future!