"Closed for Spiritual Maintenance"

You may have seen my post Friday night: 

     In the hustle and bustle of one busy week after another, I'm sure I'm not the only once who grows weary. And by weary I mean emotionally spent and spiritually dry. It's not that I haven't been spending time with God and in His word, because I have been, every day. But I do believe the things of this world can have strong influences on our spiritual well being. Yes, God is bigger and more powerful but when we open our hearts to other things and not be solely focused on God and growing closer to Him, we lose our grasp on our relationship with Him. He doesn't hold us with a tight fist and never let us walk away. He wants us to want Him and so He lets us choose and most of the time we don't choose Him. 

     Over the last couple weeks I'd spent more time in worldly entertainment (such as tv shows on Netflix) instead of pouring into God. I told myself that I was tired and needed a break from reality plus the show I was watching was just so funny. But the constant in and out of relationships of the characters left my expectations where they shouldn't be. I lost my contentment and peace. It left me sad and dry. A place that God doesn't want me to be in. He wants me to find my joy in Him and find my purpose and peace in Him, not the flamboyant lifestyles of fictional characters in a TV show. But that's our culture, isn't it? They throw all this garbage in our faces making us think that the only way to be happy is to be throwing yourself at whatever whim you want to on a daily basis.  That couldn't be farther from the truth. 

     God has good plans for us. Better plans than anything we could ever come up with. And it can be hard to hold onto that hope that God will work it all out if we but believe and trust Him. But it is going to be so worth it when we do! There will always be valleys that we will face and we can either let the weight of the world hold us down until we are sinking or we can cling to Christ, the greatest hope of all. He loves us as only the best Father can. He wants to take care of us. But we have to trust Him to do so.

     I wasn't really planning on going into all that. I really wanted to just focus on what I learned about myself in my 48hour phone/social media fast. It was a relaxing weekend (with a couple stressful moments lol). Saturday was a great day. I got everything on my To-Do list done! Which rarely happens because half my day is spent on social media. Just being honest.

     I also realized that I am a very impatient person but I never really realized that until I took away the very thing that gives me access to immediate contact and information. So many times I wanted to take a pic of what I was doing and snap it to a friend. Or text my mom telling her about something I got in the mail. I did relent and turn my phone on so I could take some pictures of my cats.

     It was very refreshing to not feel attached to my phone. I was able to stay 100% fully engaged with my family when I visited them on Sunday or my friend on Saturday night. 

     So how will this change my way of life as I continue forward? Well, I'm keeping my notifications off for Facebook and Instagram. I'm less likely to get sucked into scrolling when there is no reason to open it. I might do these fasts more often as now I don't feel so glued to my phone. 

     Overall, it was a great refreshing weekend. I got things done. I rested. I spent time with God. He refreshed my soul and I'm able to move forward in this new week back where I should be- content and at peace in Him.