Psalm 119:37 tells me to "Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word." (NIV)
While my friends and family on Facebook are not worthless, the time I spend on it sometimes is. So, I am going back to His Word so I can utilise my time (His time!) better in the here and now. He tells us in many places in the Bible how to utilise our time.
1 Peter 1:13 reminds us to prepare ourselves for action and be self-controlled. Colossians 3:2 is an instruction to keep our mind on heavenly things, not earthly things.
The most important piece of wisdom comes from Proverbs 4:23 - "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." (NIV)
The enemy uses many diversions to get us away from God and His purpose for us. Facebook is one of these diversions. We all know what the others are, and I am guilty as charged at spending a few hours too many watching DVDs instead of spending my time with God. And it’s not only God who I need to be spending more time with; it’s other people also; my daughter, my sweetie, friends and family, and me. By me, I mean just having alone time by going for a walk, reading a book, sitting by the ocean admiring His wonders, and so on.
Our God loves us, and He wants us to utilise our time to the best of our ability. Our purpose is for Him. This new season will be the start of something good.
As you know, I am struggling with the same thing and am so proud of you for recognising what is so important in our life. So many times I hear My King wooing me to spend time with Him, only to ignore the prompting as I am on facebook. I also find myself neglecting my family. Being, present, but not being present if you know what I mean. Love that I am taking this journey with you. You are amazing. xoxoxo
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your time with the LORD and others and many blessings to you and your daughter.
ReplyDeleteYour blog is very nice and peaceful looking. Love and hugs.
Good for you, Paula! He is drawing you close, wrapping holy arms around you.
ReplyDeleteYour blog is beautiful!
Hi Paula,
ReplyDeleteI love how God works in our lives. It looks like you and I have some things in common. I spend more time on my garden blog than my Branches one, but this morning, decided I was going to check in on people there while waking up, and yours was the blog I landed on.
I have been invited to join people in Facebook and Twitter, but I spend so much time on blogging, that I dare not join those sites. Actually my husband signed us up for a private Twitter account so we could send messages back and forth, since we don't text, but I never learned how to do it. Then I started getting emails from Twitter, saying different users wanted to be my friends or whatever they are called. I wasn't able to tell Twitter I don't tweet because I didn't know my password. My husband told me a few to try, because he couldn't remember either, but I didn't find one that worked.
Anyway, when I first became a Christian, I spent lots of time in the Word, and couldn't understand why others struggled with finding the time. Well, now I am one of those "others". When it wasn't blogging, it was ebay, Snood, or the GardenWEb forum.
You are right when you say the people we connect with online are not worthless, but we so need to find a good balance with our time. I like how you used Bible verses about time. One that comes to mind for me a lot is where we are told to live quiet lives at home. I just looked up "quiet" in my concordance, and found 1 Thessalonians 4:11. I saw I had written, "gardening" with a smiley face in May of 2008.
So, God doesn't expect us to spend every waking moment doing things for others. The way we live our lives, even enjoying the activities we are interested in at home can be used by God to draw others to Him. I feel my interest in gardening is how I was made by God. I just need to find balance with my time. Did I say that already? LOL
God has provided what I sometimes perceive as interruptions from time to time so that I can help others, that I end up being glad for. He also has works of service for those in need that He has provided for me that come up several times a year, where it takes up a big chunk of the weekend. That is a real blessing to me, and I always enjoy it. Like you, I also think the blogging and such are good things, as long as...
Well, I need to get ready for church. I plan to come read some of your other posts when I get a chance. I see you have some other posts about time.
I hear you, friend. Right there with you. Thankfully, I've found a balance of sorts; facebook just isn't my thing. I do have an account but have about a 5 minute quota per day, if that.
ReplyDeleteBlessings to you and yours this Christmas week. May the tender presence of Christ walk you to the manger to behold the revelation of the Gift!
peace~elaine
I love your post here, there are many cyber world things to draw us away from drawing near to Him. Be blessed while you fast face book.
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