At The End of a Week {Technology Fast Update}

It's done.

I'm wrapping up day 5 of my technology fast.

And I think my brain has turned to tofu. Or exploded. Or melted.

I'm not sure...

Well, if you read this post then you know that I've ventured into 30 days of minimal technology. I've turned off Instagram, Facebook, Netflix, Hulu, and Pinterest. I'm still writing/blogging and using the internet for email and meal planning (I've shaved more than $20 off our weekly grocery budget just by planning strategically! (and relying heavily on beans, rice, and a sad lack of goldfish crackers.))

At the end of a week, here are my thoughts:

1. Doing the dishes, folding laundry, and general household tasks are boring. When I can't flip on "Rehab Addict" or (let's be honest), "Friends," these tasks become very mundane. But guess what? Without the shows, they also go much faster...

2. My brain has atrophied. No, seriously. I have a "job" that allows me a large amount of mental freedom. Because of our current social media obsession as a culture, I can fill large amounts of that mental freedom with other people's news, updates about my life, and general flitting from one topic to the next. Mental discipline has gone out the window. At the end of day one, (day ONE, mind you!), my brain was exhausted. All it wanted to do was tune out with a good ol' Pinterest scrolling fest or some delightful old sitcom (Hello, "Murder, She Wrote.") My brain was tired of being engaged all day. I didn't even do anything crazy strenuous. I'm letting myself "get stupid" because of a consistent lack of mental discipline!

I mean, come on! Who wouldn't
want to share this precious sibling love?

3. It's hard to not share happy moments of my day. I love my life. Love it. And I want to post pictures of my cute children and our happy play times. I also made homemade "Chick-fil-A" chicken nuggets (without using grains and deep fried in coconut oil), and I really, really, REALLY wanted to tell someone. Turns out, brining is the secret to those delicious nuggets.

4. Purity is hard. I'm working my way through the gospels, looking to "behold my God," and this verse clung to me with a persistence and a severity that can only come from the Holy Spirit: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." As I venture deeper into these thirty days, I'm becoming increasingly aware of how hard it is to remain "pure" when I fill all of my time with external influences. There is nothing wrong with TV, but too often the shows are full of bad language and sinful situations. There is nothing wrong with Facebook, but it can lead to comparison and wasted time.

I desperately want to see God. I want to behold his glory. I want to learn how to shout his splendor into the universe and join the cosmic symphony of adoration.

And my weary brain is slowly, dimly, beginning to grasp the fact that I've been allowing the world to clutter my life much more than I realized.