Looking back, I realize that he had been there for a couple of years, but I had never noticed him until a couple of months ago.
He wasn't trying to steal money. He was trying to steal something far more valuable than that. He was trying to steal my time.
The thief was Facebook. Facebook was stealing my time.
And after being on Facebook for a couple of years, I have just recently begun to realize how much time I am capable of wasting on it...checking people's statuses, photos, comments, "likes", etc.
One example: Mimi comes to me, asking for a story while I'm on Facebook. My standard reply was, "In a second, Sweetie." That "second" turned into a couple of seconds, then minutes. And by the time I logged off, she was occupied with something else, and I had missed a wonderful opportunity to spend some precious moments with her.
This situation (and many other similar to it where my children needed me and I put them off) occurred more than I would care to admit. Thankfully, the Lord showed me that this "thief" was stealing my time from my children and from my homemaking.
He showed me that I was becoming what 1 Timothy 5:13 calls a "busybody". I would start out by checking my inbox and notifications. That would lead to reading everything on my news feed page. Then I would check friends' statuses that didn't show up on my news feed page. And then..well, you get the picture.
Let's be honest, does it really matter if a friend of a friend comments on another friend's tagged photo of their second cousin's wedding? Or that a family member is getting ready to wash dishes? Not to mention all of the drama on Facebook, as if life doesn't have enough drama already.
It had become a complete waste of time...time that could be spent with my children - playing together, working together....just being together.
So as of Monday, November 21st, I am Facebook-free.
Did I miss it? A little at first: every now and then I had to resist the urge to log in and check my news feed page.
But I am enjoying all the extra time I have with my children. My house is cleaner. I'm keeping up with the laundry. (Yay!)
And I am happier.
Will I delete my account? Maybe. Or maybe I will open an account for my blog. I don't know. But I have lots of extra time to decide. :) And if you have struggled with the time thief, I'd love to hear how you dealt with it.
Psalm 90:12 "So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."
Have a blessed day,
linking up with www.aboverubies.net
www.deeprootsathome.com
Hi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI deleted my account some time back. My husband did not like facebook at all. And it truly was a time theif.
Blessings,
Amy Jo
I have never had an account, and I still don't want one :)
ReplyDeleteI find that now that my boys are older, I can do so much more with my time, but not in front of a screen.
Great post.
Maria
I was there on the train when it became so poular a year or so back. I had an account for 3 months but also the Lord convicted my heart and I remember reading that very same scriputre. We all have a theif that will sneak in at times. We have to be on guard. My theif can be "cleaning" sometimes I can focus on that and miss valuable moments with others.
ReplyDeleteI am so excited to explore your blog. Have a blessed day.
I went Facebook free about two months ago and haven't looked back! It has been so wonderful to have MORE time to do things! I hope it will be a positive experience for you!
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI am always thrilled when someone else has this revelation! Yes - Facebook can be a lovely way of staying in contact and a useful tool for sharing photos with relatives and friens abroad - but I realised a couple of valuable things when I deleted my profile. 1. I gave my long list of 'friends' advance notice and methods to stay in contact. So far I have heard from 1 of those many, many 'friends'. 2. I realised that many of the status updates were about intimate personal issues in marriages and relationships. I felt so uncomfortable being 'forced' into a knowledge of these matters. 3. It was a HUGE time waster. Yes. My fault entirely and God showed me as well that I had to 'clean up my house' and get rid of the fragmented ideas that FB allowed into my life. I know that there are many people who can use FB in a proper way and there is much benefit...hats off to them. For me...I chose to remove this 'window' into the lives of others...many of whom really had no deep connection with me or my family at all. Call me old-fashioned, but I still enjoy a real cuppa with a very real human being in the same room 8-)
Wow - I almost wrote a whole blogpost!
Many blessings!
Liezel
www.raisingnoah-redeemedbygrace.blogspot.com
Hi dear friend,
ReplyDeleteI was on fb for four or six months when I decided to close it. As Liezel says, I knew about things I shouldn't and it made me feel angry and frustrated at others without them even knowing it.
A year or so after, I opened an account on fb for the blog, and I don't go to it in weeks, sometimes months. I only post there. Some people who use fb wisely, read my blog notifications on fb and a couple of times I've discussed some things pertaining school with friends on fb. Just two times in the months of having that account. It's not personal, I accept anyone as a friend, I have people that I don't know, but apparently they want to follow Homeschooling in a Bilingual Home.
Ever since I've had some problem with google reader, I can accumulate lots of blogs and start to comment a lot and receive comments, but I always do a fasting period, or limit myself for sometime, and it never fails... I regain focus. But the fb and google plus (which I also use once a month or so) are not time thieves anymore.
Congrats to you.
I don't even bother with facebook. I have my blog, and to be honest, that's about all the virtual "distractions" that I can handle!
ReplyDeleteI'm having to learn to "cut-back" on visiting blogs and leaving kind comments for my blog friends, though it's not always easy. It can be all too easy just to sit in front of a computer screen instead of doing the things that really matter, such as taking care of our homes, children, and family.
I'm not saying that virtual social networks are evil or bad, but we need to set some boundaries with them. Otherwise, they begin to overly distract us and take us away from our god given duties and tasks.
Thanks for your comments, ladies.
ReplyDeleteAmy Jo, my husband doesn't like facebook, either. He will be very happy if I delete my account.
Maria, good for you for never getting on the facebook bandwagon in the first place.
Chrissy, you're right - anything can steal our time and become a thief. Mine just happened to be facebook.
Emily Fay, good for you!
Liezel, you brought up some excellent points: it is a wonderful way to stay in touch with friends and relatives. And, like you, I gave my friends a heads-up that I was going facebook-free for awhile. Only one friend has kept in touch via email. And I love how you mentioned it being a "window" into the lives of people. People are constantly updating statuses with personal details about things that should not be broadcasted. However, I do have one friend who posts Scripture verses almost every day. :)
Silvia, I think a facebook page for a blog would a really good thing..if I can resist the urge to post something every single day. Sounds like you keep it all in perspective. Good for you. :)
Mara Wildflower, right now, my blog is, as you say, about all I can handle right now, too.
Wow...time wasters... I have those too. The computer and reading books have to be mine. I kind of wish I could just avoid the computer all together...I may try that for a time. I do not do facebook....but blogs. I will pray for you and that you will remain facebook free!
ReplyDeleteGod bless you!
~kim
Such a wonderful post and so true. It is such a thief of time!!! It is also like a big, huge, gossipy-mess in many ways. It keeps people from communicating in a normal way in many respects.
ReplyDeleteGod bless,
Mrs. Q
I had an account a few years ago for a three month span. I initiated an account because my hubby's brother made some special page for my hubby who was overseas in the military. Anyway, I quickly discovered how tempted I was to be on there any chance I had to see what was happening. Even though I thought it was a neat way to show old friends that I am a new creation in Christ, I had no peace at all with having the account. I am guilty, too, of having wasted time on there. I don't judge others who do have a Facebook account ~ I know others have more discipline than me in managing their time. I just wanted to remove the temptation. I deleted the account after three months of opening it, and I've never regretted it. :)
ReplyDeleteSince then, I've been very careful to not be just as tempted to spend time unwisely with blogging, as a similar temptation lies within blogging as well! I'm striving to be obedient to only display words and time that are glorifying to the Lord through blogging. :)
Blessings to you and yours!
Katie
Great Post! I have never joined Facebook myself for many reasons but I can see that danger since it is one WE ALL face with the computer each day… I try and allot a certain amount of time each day on it but it sure takes discipline since it is such a useful tool in many ways. You can spend time reading recipes for dinner and the next thing you know you are reading about certain harmful ingredients and then you somehow end up on an excellent herb based site… It was all GOOD reading but it was all TIME USED that got carried away and then, OOPS dinner is late after all that time spent researching it :) Take care and stand strong! JES
ReplyDeleteLisa, you are a wise woman and mother. I could never have had FB while my children were young. Now it's a new season, but I still keep my time down to a minimum. I am blessed reading your blog!
ReplyDeleteGod bless you!
Hi Lisa love your blog :)
ReplyDelete