i've written on this subject before. pretty much every day i think about this... goodness we're surrounded & bombarded by image & material possessions & discontentment with what we have & who we are. social media is so good for connecting with people & learning from people on the other side of the country or world. i'm grateful for the ability to connect with family who live too far away. i'm grateful that i can share with other women who are going through the same things i am & learn from women & we are able to know we're not alone in our sin & failings & joys. but if we don't guard ourselves... we will wish we were where everyone else was. we'll want to be anywhere & be anyone other than where & who we are. i've noticed MANY times (if not every time) after looking at blogs, scrolling through instagram feeds, watching vine videos, etc that i am sooooooo discontent with my family, my home, myself, our clothes, our belongings. i want to fill my mind & heart & eyes with things that inspire me in creativity & give me ideas for enriching my kids' childhood, but we sin when we start coveting others' lives & things. & we can only guard ourselves from that when we are fulfilled in our Lord's full & rich love! a few practical things i've either started doing or considered doing...
*i'm thinking vine is not something i will continue to use. it's just something else for me to waste time on & less time & attention that i give to my family. it's not that inspiring to me & it's another way that i sin by coveting someone else's life.
*i don't want to start my days by scrolling through my IG feed. that doesn't help me start my day in the right frame of mind.
*i want to cut down the IG feeds i follow.
*i would like to only look at IG in the afternoon or bedtime. if i look at it throughout the day it really affects my attitude & my view of my role as mommy, wife & homemaker.
*staying away from pop culture... music, certain tv shows, clothing websites, etc.
*staying away from pop culture... music, certain tv shows, clothing websites, etc.
all of this is important to consider as we look at others' social media, but we should also consider how we present ourselves through social media. are we wanting others to envy us? are we sharing only the "good"? let us not try to cause others to stumble as they observe our lives.
His love is SO full & rich & we have been given much! let us live fully right where we are!!! cut down on blog reading, IG, twitter, fb if it's causing us to neglect our family & role.
what are your thoughts on this?
al
10 comments:
"are we sharing only the "good"? let us not try to cause others to stumble as they observe our lives."
I love that you pointed that out. It's not that people should not talk about so many "good" things, but rather reveal an equal amount (or at least some) of the hard stuff too! I know many times I'm given the impression that other people have everything running perfectly and/or little to no problems. I wish more wives/moms would be open to sharing the "junk" so that I don't feel like I'm the only one struggling, and so we can lift each other up! Thank you for being so transparent! Great post! Miss you!
I wanted to let you know how much this post meant to me. Ironically, I started my day with Instagram and saw that you had mentioned a new post.
I was thinking all of these things last night. I was actually feeling very down on myself because the more blogs I read, the more Facebook posts or Instagram posts I see, the more inadequate I feel. Other Christians seem to have it so together and I seem to have nothing together at all in my walk.
I was so thankful to see your post because you not only put things into perspective for me, i.e. causing others to sin by what i/we post, but also to see that someone else feels the exact same thing I was dwelling on last night.
So yet again, I thank you for this post. It was exactly what I needed, exactly when I needed it.
ashleedjones.blogspot.com
Hey girl! I'm not sure if I've commented before, but I've really been enjoying your blog. :)
This post resonates so much with me and where I'm at now. Just this past week, I felt like I needed to back away from social media a bit, for the exact same reasons you listed. I decided that from now on, most all of my instagrams will be latergrams, and that is ok. :) I'm deciding to start my day off in the Word (duh, should have been doing that before!!!) because His Word is the truest and complete source of strength and peace!! :)
It can be such a tough thing to draw inspiration from others but not covet! I agree with you though, we must not try to present our lives to be without imperfection or mess! Truth is, I'm a complete mess almost all day long! I need his grace every hour. Phew.
Anyway, I just wanted you to know that while I adore your family, your style, and your eating habits, you really are an inspiration. And posts like this are so encouraging. :)
Happy Tuesday!!!
<3 Amy
Ahh so good Al, mine is IG and blogs... however your's is one that gives me life and inspires me to be close to the lord and my family... so thank you. I really needed this today
Hi,
I am a subscriber to your blog as I enjoy reading about your walk with Christ and I'm a mommy blogger too (sharingmomlife.wordpress.com). You have written so many good entries, but this one really touched me as it's something close to my heart.
I am a follower of Christ and try my best to always be content with what I have, and I am. The problem comes whenever I look at Facebook or other stuff online and see all the beautiful/more modern stuff others have around me, and then the inevitable happens - I start to want what they have. I know it's wrong and I get upset with myself after because in reality, I don't want what they have, but the sinful side of me wants to play keeping up with the Jones's and I don't. So I keep praying about it, and of course keep thanking God for everything He has Blessed me with. But I think this is a problem for Christians and secular society alike and definitely something worth thinking about. We need to hear more of this from others like you, and myself if I make a post about it. But thank you for saying something, and yes, it's true, as moms, we should balance our posts with the good and bad because we do not want to lead others to envy. We all have problems and it's good to be honest in everything, so thanks for sharing. :)
Roxy
oh thank u for your generous & kind words friends! i'm so glad you're here!!!
I just started reading your blog and love the heart that shines from your words! I totally agree with what you've said in this post. The discontentment issue. It started a long time ago for me and I eventually had to stop buying fashion and home decor magazines. Now we have them right at our fingertips all the time!
I know my heart and I know that I can't handle certain things so I'm not on pinterest, I only follow blogs that are really inspiring and not ones that make me covet and I gave up my instagram feed for a few reasons, one of which was figuring out if I was sharing pictures for the accolades I got from them. Turns out it was definitely part of it.
It's a tricky world we live in, for sure.
agreed! social media is a blessing and a temptation to give into sin at the same time.
i agree, i don't want to be a stumbling block to others by giving the impression that i have it all together. but i also don't want to grumble and complain about the hard things. i think honestly sharing our days in a way that gives glory and honor to the Lord God is what we need, praising HIM for the good and lovely things in our day and praising HIM for the hard and difficult things that are bringing growth in our lives. in the end, it should not be about me at all, but what He is doing.
soooo good!
Wow. I love this post and can so relate. The inspiration versus seeds of envy dilemma! Thanks for sharing. Your post was truly inspiring to me.
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