Baby steps

"One of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at the Last Day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time."

I heard this quote by John Piper a few months ago. Talk about convicting! I don't use twitter, but facebook, email, blogging, coupon searching... it was as if some sort of magnetic field was drawing me towards the computer. Everything in moderation is fine, but in my own life, I knew things were a little out of balance. When I would drag myself to bed late at night shaking my head at how many hours had passed while I sat at the computer, when I told the kids, "not now", because I was "busy" on the computer, when I would sit at the computer and google random things out of boredom, it made me start to wonder if I was really just being a poor manager of my time. I always complained that my house never seemed clean, my laundry never done, and how hard it was to find really good solid time with God...when in all reality, I had the time, I was just choosing to use it on something else. After hearing this quote the first time, I made a huge effort to cutback my time on the computer and spend more time growing my relationship with God. Now, a few months down the road I find myself drifting back in to my old habits, and it's time for a reality check again.

My reality is that I am mommy to four beautiful kids that are growing very quickly. My time is already in short supply, and I really do want to use it wisely. When I waste my time on the computer the two very most important things in my life: God, and my family get put on the back-burner once again. No, I don't think my house will be clean all the time, my kids perfectly happy every waking moment, and that I will have oodles and oodles of time to spend deep in prayer, just because I cutback my time at the computer. But I do think I will be making a step in the right direction. My mom gave me a book one time called, "We're making our house a happy home." And it talks about how the attitude of the mother sets the tone for the whole house. If the mother doesn't spend time with God the whole family suffers. Or sometimes in my case, if the mommy goes to bed too late...the family suffers. I don't want my family to suffer. I don't want to get overwhelmed when I step into my house and see clutter everywhere. I don't want to have junky food to eat because I failed to plan a good meal. No, I won't stop using facebook, email, or even blogging. I love them all and I think there is huge value in relationships and staying connecting. But I do need to re-prioritize again and use them in moderation. So wish me luck as I do my best to stay off of the computer when the kids are awake, and to take a step in the right direction, if only a baby step.