For the beginning of the new year I am fasting Facebook and Pinterest. I didn't realize how much time I have been spending on these two forms of entertainment until now when I am purposefully abstaining from them. In the place of the time spent on them I am praying, spending time with my family, reading, just doing other more productive things. I didn't spend tons of time of Facebook, I would pop on, check out what was going on with everyone, like a few statuses, respond to a few messages, update my status, ooh and aah over a few pictures...yeah okay, I spent some time on there:). Pinterest is a whole different ball of wax...Pinterest I could spend hours on, literally! I had already curtailed the amount of time I was spending on it because I recognized it's addicting characteristics very early on but I am sure I was still spending a good amount of time on it. 
So here I am with no electronic vices to enjoy...(perhaps a slight exaggeration as I sit here and write this blog on my computer)...and I am wondering what I am going to do with myself. It got me thinking...what did we do before all these amusements divided our attention from what we really should be doing in our lives? I read a novel about the Amish community and I was so impressed by the amount of work they did in a single day. With no distractions such as TVs, phones, video games, computers, and text messages they are able to really get things done. Of course the chores are divided among the men and women and the book that I was reading focused on the duties of the Amish women. They had an entire day designated to laundry because they washed everything by hand, they stripped all their bedding, washed, hung, and folded or remade beds all in a day. While doing this they managed to cook meals (from scratch), maintain their homes, attend to their children, manicure their gardens, tend to their livestock, and train their daughters in the duties of running their homes, and educated their children. Their homes were their companies; they were the CEO's and they managed their responsibilities with a proficiency that would impress almost anyone. In the hustle and bustle of my everyday life I sometimes find myself in a rare, very rare, moment of alone time; no kids calling my name, no hubby needing me to do something for him, no homework to do for class, no chores to be done at the house, no phone calls, emails, or texts to return...just quiet. And frankly, in all honesty I love those times. I purpose to carve out time each day to have quiet time with the Lord but aside from that time, my day is full of noise, duties, and people clamoring for my attention. I love it that way...I like to be involved in my family's everyday lives, I like having this to do and that to do, I even like just sitting down and watching a movie with my daughters. But when the rare time comes that I have my own time to do what I want I often times don't do much at all. I will read, or pray, or watch a show no one else in my house finds entertaining. I don't break out a heavy project or start organizing closets, I just sit in that moment and enjoy my time for the few minutes it lasts before the truly glorious parts of my life resume.
I guess what I have learned in this brief abstinence is I could never get on Facebook again and I would be just fine, I could never pin another adorable picture on Pinterest and my life would not be damaged in any way. But if I didn't have my kids, my husband, my family, my friends, and my time with Jesus everyday than my life wouldn't be all it is supposed to be, it wouldn't be enjoyed and shared and blessed with the people who I truly cannot live without. I will most likely get on Facebook again someday soon, I will even link this blog on my wall but I don't want social networking to encroach on real communication, conversation, and relationship. I will pin on Pinterest again but I don't want to let what I am planning for to overshadow the magnificence of what I am experiencing everyday. The goodness of my life deserves all the attention I can give it, so if other less important things fall by the wayside, I am determined to be just fine with that.
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