a note of clarification

This has been nagging me a bit and so I wanted to clarify.

I mentioned on this blog that I am taking a break from Facebook during Lent, but I don't think that I said that I would be getting onto Facebook on Sundays. (That was my plan from the beginning, not something I added afterward.) I haven't looked at Facebook except on Sundays. But I have forgotten to log out for the last few Sundays, so as I've been reading blogs throughout the week, I have still been able to click "Like" on them... on the blog itself, not actually going onto Facebook... and it shows up as a post on Facebook. So just in case you have seen me "posting" things on Facebook... I'm not really on there... it just looks like I am. I haven't looked at it at all during the week, although I have been tempted here and there.

I know this is a lot of words just to clarify this one little thing, but it's a big deal to me that anyone who cares enough to read this or think about it knows that I'm not cheating. My first name actually means "cheater," and that is what I was before Christ. A cheater. But my middle name means "consecrated to God," and it is amazing to me the accuracy of my name, because that is the truth of it. I was once a cheater, but by His grace I have been brought near, and He has consecrated me, and I have consecrated myself to Him, for His purposes.

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And I've been meaning to write a post about the things that I'm learning through this choice to take a break from Facebook, but I don't know if I'll actually get around to it. So here it is in a nutshell.

• Instead of thinking of short status updates, I'm praying short prayers.
• My mind is more focused on my family and I am more purposeful about my time at home.
• I am trying to get more involved with my real-life community and less involved in the Facebook one.

I'm not sure if this will turn into a longer term decision to fast from Facebook, but I wouldn't be surprised. I feel like it's a relatively small percentage of stuff that I see or read on Facebook that actually has correlation to daily life. My mind feels so much clearer and more focused when I'm not distracted by random status updates. I need to spend more time with people, not spend more time reading about people. I want to spend more time living life with others, not reading random blips about the lives of others. (And I do think reading blogs is different... but that's another post.)

And... I guess this last part is a pride note, although maybe the whole thing is... I wasn't spending hours everyday on Facebook. But it was more than was healthy or necessary, and as I have been longing for more time with God and more time involved in real relationships and more time enjoying this beautiful life that God has graced me with, breaking from Facebook seems like an excellent opportunity.