I have a lot to write, but its all so swirly in my head right now.  So stay with me here, it may be a bit of an unorganized post!

How is it going?  It is going really well.  I miss it, and I don’t.  The thing that is the most obvious is how often I just naturally try to go to it.  Like I head to the TV to turn it on or I pull out my phone to check facebook, without even thinking about it.  It’s like it’s a natural extension of who I am.  And I do not like that.  I don’t want to be addicted to or rely on media to get me through the day.  I want to rely on God to get me through.

Giving up tv has not been a challenge.  I really have broken my tv habit over the years.  I used to have lots of shows that I was following.  And then we got cable and a DVR and it made my addiction worse I think.  People say that when they get a DVR they watch less TV, BALONEY!!!  It’s true that the DVR gives you the luxury of not watching commercials (which is amazing), so that the time you spend watching one particular show is less, but the DVR gives you the option of watching whatever show you want whenever you want, which is also a cool feature but lends itself to the TV habit!!!  Anyways, two years ago we decided to give up cable and with that, out went the DVR.  Now, I just don’t even have the option to look for new shows to watch.   By the time I sit down in the evening its usually after 9pm and I try to go to bed by 10:30, so there’s no real use in trying to watch anything, and have any quality time with my hubby.  So there you go, have 4 children and your tv habit will break itself.  It’s really a simple solution .

All that being said, I do enjoy watching Good Morning America in the morning.  Yes, I know there is a lot of fluff to that show and it can barely be called a news show, but I enjoy it.  And if there is anything major happening in the world they will cover it in the 4 minutes of news they report.  I also enjoy a little PBS for my darling 2 year old.  She doesn’t really watch it, but I like to pretend that she is.  So I miss those two things. I also realize that I have the TV on often for background noise.  That is going to be stopped when this thing is over.  It catches my attention far too often and the background turns into the foreground really quickly.

As for the Internet…………we basically have cut out sports news (easy for me, it would be painful for me to look at sports news for 5 minutes!) and facebook.  So we have been using the Internet to look things up, get email, read a few blogs (only of people I know personally) and reserve library books.

I am trying to figure out what my devotion to Facebook is.  I think there are many things that contribute to it.

1) About 70ish percent of my waking day I am with people who think that bodily functions are hilarious and/or cannot wipe their own noses.  I am in desperate need of some grown-up conversation.  And its wonderful to see other Moms going through the same things.

2) I am not an easy conversationalist.  Words often don’t come quick enough when I am talking to people.  But when I’m writing it I can take my time.

3) I have family who do not live in my town or state.  I want to see pictures of my nieces and nephews and be ‘in the know about their lives’.

4) I always wish I would write the things down that my kids do, but I always forget.  FB is sort of like a little journal to document the funnies and not so funnies that happen over here in this crazy house!

5) My church community it fairly active on FB and if I have a prayer request I can be sure the news will spread and people will be praying instantly.  And in turn, I can be praying for folks who need it too.

So for those reasons, I do miss my dear Facebook.  But there is a issue that arises too.  Even good things can be overdone or used in excess.  I definitely was treading that water.  It isn’t right to be looking at facebook when the four little faces that are in your care are sitting right in front of you.  I don’t even want to imagine what that does to them deep down.   Its bad enough when you are doing something important and don’t have time to be with them!

My husband always uses the term ‘a false sense community’ for what Facebook creates.  I agree, to a degree.  Those people that I haven’t seen for years and probably had forgotten even existed had it not been for FB, yes, there is a false sense of community when I am commenting on their posts.  But for those people that I have a true, real-life connection with, I think that FB can enhance that even more.  A way to be even more connected to them when you can’t physically be with them.

I look forward to getting back on FB next week.  I miss my peeps!  I will be using the grouping function so I can focus on the people who I have true community with!

Phew, this is getting long.  The whole point in this, and all, fast/s is to allow God to fill the spaces that you create by taking something away.  This first week that didn’t come too easily, I mean seriously, there are many other things that slip very easily into any free time I have.  But this next week I am trying to focus on God and listening for anything He has to tell me.  I want to hear from Him and I know He will speak if I am quiet enough.