Online Mission Statement

I have been thinking and praying (and gratefully receiving your prayers on my behalf) for the past several days about how to curtail the time I spend online.  As I mentioned, I want to be more intentional about how and when I spend my time online.   Tapping my thoughts out on a keyboard (or spilling them onto paper if I am feeling old school :) is how I seem to think best.  So, I stared at a blank word document and prayed.  And I believe He helped me clarify the purposes of my time online and how these purposes fit into my more general beliefs and priorities in life.  Here's what we came up with:

I will limit the time I spend online so that it fulfills the following purposes:

• to enrich my real life

• to grow in my walk with the Lord

• to build relationships online and off

The use of my hours (online and off) will reflect my life's beliefs and priorities:

• building relationships

• loving well

• living a fully engaged, abundant life

I am convinced that the beliefs and priorities mentioned above are the reasons God has placed me where I am for such a time as this. I want those who are watching to see that my reality matches my stated priorities. 

With these purposes and priorities clarified, I came up with some guidelines for myself.  Taking a page from Michelle, I am posting them right in my sidebar to keep me honest.  I'm also setting my blog as my homepage on my web browser so that whenever I go online, I will be reminded.  As with any plan of action, I'm guessing I may have to adjust times or be flexible on certain days.  But having a plan feels good!

Now about that iPhone.  It still works- which is a blessing!  As with most material things, the iPhone is not the problem.  I am the problem.  So, I am going to change the settings on it so that it only fetches e-mail once a hour.  I am hoping that not hearing that little e-mail alert every few minutes will reduce the temptation to check it constantly.  So, while I will allow myself to check e-mail once an hour on my phone, I will not respond to any e-mails that are not time sensitive until my prescribed online times.   This should limit my internet time on the phone to no more than 5 minutes per hour- if that.

All the thinking and praying about this topic has inspired me to write a Mother Mission Statement like the one Kat at Inspired to Action describes.  But seeing as I am out of time for today, that will have to wait for another time :)

Please share if you have had victory in this area!  It is so encouraging to hear how others have navigated this path.  And feel free to share if you are working toward victory, too.  It's a blessing to know we are not alone on our journeys!

How to Crack Your iPhone and Hear from God

It's time for a confession.  I spend a lot of time online.  Even when I am not on the computer, my trusty iPhone is within reach.  Our Summer of Purpose has helped limit my online time by focusing me on activities with my kids.  But I still check e-mail and respond to comments on the iPhone.  A few nights ago, I cracked the screen on my iPhone.

It was on my bedside and I picked it up for who knows what while my husband and I were watching the news.  I knocked in right into a cermaic plaque I have hanging from my bedside lamp.  Here's the plaque:

It says: "Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and light unto my path."

Now I am not one for over-spiritualizing or seeing signs in everything but I immediately thought, "o.k., Lord, I get it.  YOUR Word is supposed to be my lamp and my light."  You see, the cracked iPhone was the proverbial last straw.  As of late, He has been gently convicting me to examine my online time and to be more intentional about when and how I spend that time.

His message and challenge has been all around me lately.  My husband has been not so subtly hinting that I need to unplug a little in the evenings.  And I've been ashamed to note lately that I get a bit out of sorts when I don't get to blog/read when I want to because of my responsibilities as a wife, mother, worker, etc.  Each time I visit Michelle's lovely website her Note to Self is like a flashing red light.  This recent post of Ann's and the following quote from it really hit home:

Do my daily decisions support my belief that relationship is the essence of reality?  Or do I merely pay lip service while the use of my hours clearly reveals true priorities?

I want to live my life fully engaged.  I want to love well.  I want my time online to enrich my real life.  I want those who are watching to see that my reality matches my stated priorities.  So, I am praying about how to limit my time online while still reaping the benefits it does bring.  Stay tuned, I'll be sure to blog how He and I resolve this one :)

I would love to hear how you have resolved this issue in your own life.  Please share!   

Weekday Encouragement

***Edited to add more good stuff at the end of the post***

Just popping in to mention that I read another wonderful article by Ed Gungor on The High Calling of Our Daily Work this morning about rest.

"Finding time for silence and solitude will be no easy task. You will have to believe in and value them highly. To-do lists and appointments will mercilessly encroach. But you’ll be surprised at the “little solitudes” that will appear if you look for them: those moments after you wake, before other family members begin stirring; sitting for a few minutes with a cup of coffee before you head to the office; do a radio-free drive to work; take a short walk during lunch or after dinner; stepping outside just before retiring at night; etc. Keep hunting for these moments, or your life will end up flat and tasteless. Without them, you will have a vague sense that something is missing, but you won’t be able to put your finger on it.

Rest that comes from reflection is a beautiful thing—a divine gift. Unpack it. Hold it. Treasure it. Use it well, and life will grow sweeter."

In the article, Ed offers more on the theological basis for rest and some practical tips for grabbing hold of this gift God has so graciously given us.  If you are being intentional about receiving His rest, I urge to read it!

Kat from Inspired to Action, a website that is "dedicated to practically helping moms develop the habits and skills they need to effectively manage their homes and raise children who are prepared to change the world," has a guest post on Steady Mom today about the Difference Between Refreshment and Relaxation that is certainly worth the clock!

Setting the Pace

My big boy has been sick this week.  He was home from school both Tuesday and Wednesday.  As is my usual response to unexpected changes in my schedule, I was anxious, at first, about how I was going to get everything done this week.  My calendar for Tuesday and Wednesday was filled with running to and fro.  As it turns out, these two days at home were a complete blessing!  Those things that were left undone that were outside of the home must not have been so important after all.

In addition to taking care of my little man and my girl, I got so many little things done around the house during those days.  And I had time to think, to write, to begin to plan our summer, to read more of the 550 page book I am trying to finish.  It has been so refreshing!  I've had such a peace all week.  It's inspired me to be intentional about scheduling in at least one day a week (Monday-Friday) when I am home most of the day.  The day may vary week to week, depending on my work and school volunteer obligations and, of course, I will do some routine household chores and paperwork on that day.  But, I intend to spend most of it in self care with time for exercise, and for thinking, writing, planning, dreaming and reading.

I know the Lord has been calling me to do this for some time now.  I've written about it here a few times already.  Frankly, though, I have not been sure how to put it into practice with all my responsibilities, so I have hesitated.  After thinking about it and talking with a wise sister and friend, the only way to do it is to do it.  So, I opened iCal and scheduled one day next week for Self Care.  And I've committed myself to do that each week.

How about you?  Are you already taking care of yourself?  Do you need regular times alone to slow down?  Time to think, write, plan, dream?

Simple Woman's Daybook- January 26, 2010

FOR TODAY...January 26, 2010

Outside my window... Kids heading off to school, bright sunshine and the drying earth after a day of downpours
I am thinking... about how to better order my mornings so that they are less stressful
I am thankful for... second (and third and fourth...) chances
From the kitchen... my first cup of coffee awaits
I am wearing... a comfy sweatsuit that will be swapped for another (clean) comfy sweatsuit after a shower
I am remembering... James 1: 19-20
I am going... nowhere today- have my big guy home sick with the stomach virus
I am reading... Beth Moore's A Woman's Heart God's Dwelling Place
I am hoping... I can learn how to be "naked" before God and let Him cover me rather than trying to cover up my sins before Him
I am hearing... a Disney movie from the living room where my sick guy is camped out on the couch
Around the house... there's lots to do- cleaning, laundry, etc.
One of my favorite things... is to create photo slideshows. I am working on one right now for a friend of a recent mission trip to Cameroon, West Africa. It will be presented at reporting meetings for the ministry that organized the trip.
A few plans for the rest of the week: Since Monday's and Tuesday's plans were derailed by power outages and sick littles, I am trying to be flexible with the rest of the week. Generally speaking, my goals for the rest of the week are: to get some work for church done, get the bills paid at home, finish a photo slideshow for a friend and keep up with my bible study homework.
Here is picture for thought I am sharing...
Read some more daybooks here...

Slowing Down

I have been having a rough week emotionally. Feeling very overwhelmed. Less able to handle the everyday annoyances or typical kid issues than usual. Feeling like am sliding backwards into old and ugly patterns of behavior. Feeling discouraged about that.

It all started with a blessing, actually. I had the opportunity to spend the afternoon with a dear friend who lives overseas now but is home for a short stay. L and I have been friends as long as we have been moms- met at a baby group- and carried each other through the long, hard days of first time mothering. Our babies grew up together, playing together several times a week, until L and her family moved about an hour away. We still spent time together when we could, especially in the summers when school was out. This summer, L and her family moved overseas. They returned for the holidays and so the kids and I made the hour long drive to spend the afternoon with them this past Saturday. It was a wonderful day. A true blessing! The kids played so nicely together the entire time. I don't think we refereed even one conflict! And that is saying something as L and I have 7 kids between us, ranging in age from 8 to 2. And 5 of them are energetic boys. We all gave warm hugs as we said goodbye knowing it would be a long while before we could do that again.

After that, I just felt sad. It sounds strange but the best way to describe it is that I felt homesick for that time when we all passed so many afternoons together and life seemed, in retrospect, simpler, slower, less harried. And as the new week began on Monday, the sadness turned to feelings of stress and grumpiness. There was no more time to feel sad. I had kids to get ready for school, appointments, food shopping, work (which I do a few hours a day from home), dinner, school events, etc. So, without realizing it, I traded the sadness for irritation and impatience and stress.

But today, as I slowed down to examine my emotions, I began to realize what I had done. In taking a few moments to acknowledge that feeling of sadness and brainstorming about how to handle it without denying or minimizing it, I felt the heavy weight of stress and irritation begin to lift. It was an important reminder of the need to simply slow down, allow myself the opportunity to experience my emotions (good and bad) and resolve them productively so that they do not spill out carelessly and hurt myself and my family.

I have many more thoughts about slowing down as I know the Lord is calling me to do just this in my life. I will save them for future posts as He reveals more of His plan to help me to slow down. As the Lord would have it, these two posts today helped me to order my thoughts on slowing down as well:
STOP
Prayer