I have loved writing my blogs, reading blogs, checking email, uploading pictures, etc. I have gotten so much out of it that it IS a temptation to come on the computer a lot..... I believe anybody can become easily addicted to it. and really it's a great thing to be addicted to. Addiction to being challenged & inspired by others who are hungry for the Lord. Addicted to feedback / conversations with friends on email. Addiction to spending time with God through writing. I really believe most of my blogs are great devotional times with the Lord. When I wrote so many times I feel like I'm writing to Him and spending time with Him.
BUT.... even though those are all great things...... addictions are never good!!
SO I found a wonderful website to help me make sure that the computer is never a priority. It's, http://www.online-stopwatch.com/ any time I sit down at the computer, I hit start (or pause if it's not the first hit of the day) and I only allow myself 2 hours a day on the computer. Usually it's :30 in morning. 1:00 at nap and :30 at night.
So there you go - I was an addict. Look at how far I need to go now to make sure it doesn't happen again.
I believe a lot of good has come out of my internet use. It just shows that anything can be good or bad depending on how it's used ya know? Compare using the internet to look at porn vs. what I use the internet for. What a completely opposite use and opposite results. One tears down, distorts, pulls one away from God..... the other encourages, builds up, helps clarify lessons of Truth & draws one closer to God.
I want to make sure what I do in each day reflects my priorities. Listening to God, reading His word are first.... my incredible husband comes next... then my most precious son.... my family & friends. I want to make sure that those around me feel loved, cared for and that they are a priority.
The first place to live out the Word and the Truths I am learning is in my home. I have been praying a lot for my actions & everyday life to reflect my words and the teachings He has been giving me.
My point is....the internet has been such an awesome thing in my life........ but very clearly it doesn't come above my boys. I always want to examine my days and see where I'm getting out of balance. I wonder if this addiction is a problem for anybody else. What other decisions to people have to make daily to handle their minutes better?
Remember Randi: you control your minutes - and your years will take care of themselves! :) It's true. Life is all about making small decisions every day, in the right direction. All about having faith that baby steps actually do make a difference. All about believing that God can use our daily tiny efforts to move toward Him (in our mundane every day preparation time).... and out of those efforts create a beautiful and wonderful ministry to glorify Him and lead others to Him. He is so awesome.
5 comments:
You're right. I've got into the habit of running to the computer every minute I'm not doing something else. As you say, it's been the greatest chance ever to communicate with other Christians. I've just got out of bed. I got straight on the computer when I rose from bed, checked my blog and was glad to see your comment. It's addictive all right! There is the benefit that, returning to your site I found this post of yours, which is a good read with which to start my day. And using the net for Christian purposes is quite different from using it to scan for smut. Yet it's still true that I can neglect other things. The last few days I've had urgent tasks to carry out which cut into my computer time and I realized: you can have too much of something even if it is a good thing in itself. Thanks for your comment and I'm glad to read this one of yours. Blessings.
You are right. It's about prioritizing your time. I know from experience that it is so easy to sit in front of the computer for 4 hours at a time (if not more), with the occasional bathroom breaks, fixing lunch, or doing laundry in the process. I'm glad that you wrote a post about this. This something we all should be aware of. Have a great weekend.
Much Love,
Toia
Great post -- it's so easy to lose track of time isn't it? But part of our calling to "redeem the time" is to be aware of where it's being spent, and to see if our actions really do match our beliefs / intentions / priorities. It's humbling and surprising to see how you actually do spend your time -- same thing when you track where your money goes...
Excellent post! Thanks for the link!
Great idea! It is soooo easy to be addicted....to sit for hours and not even realize that hours have passed by.
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