It consumes our lives

Last night at church we heard a great lesson. It came from a man who has been through a lot this past year and a half or so. His son was diagnosed with neuroblastoma the fall of 2013. He and his wife have spent multiple days and even weeks in the hospital with him since then. He said one of the things he just can't get over is, sitting in the waiting room and seeing people on their phones. Married couples sitting right beside each other on their phones and not saying a word to each other for over an hour, all because they were too involved with something on their phone. He said when he and his family go out to dinner it's something they notice other families/couples doing at the dinner table as well.   And that's when it hit me.   Matthew and I have made it a rule that we don't have our phones out when we eat dinner but other than that we usually have our phones right by our side or even worse, in our hands. I thought about it all night after his devo and it kinda makes me sick. Don't get me wrong, I love social media and I am very thankful for how far technology has come. I can FaceTime my family whenever I want if I am feeling homesick, my cute little sisters can send me "mirror selfies" of their outfit they are wearing for picture day from my moms phone, I can get coupons in seconds while I am standing in the checkout at Old Navy and save money, but how much is too much? I am so thankful I made it all the way through elementary school, middle school and high school before I got a smart phone. It breaks my heart to know my sisters and future children won't.   He asked us last night, "What is it that draws us in so much?" Is it being nosey? Trying to stay up to date? Boredom? Yes. Yes. and Yes. I'll be the first to admit it, I like seeing how other people live. I love when they post pictures of what their night is consisting, what they wore that day, or what craft they are making next. Does that make me weird? Maybe, but I'm almost positive YOU are the same way. Am I trying to stay up to date? Yes. That new blanket scarf that is so popular this winter? Better believe it has crossed my mind to buy it (until I saw the price) Is it cute? Yes, it's cute but I'm not completely sure if I wanted it because it was cute or because I thought I needed it because it's all over my Instagram feed. Do I get bored? Yes, I do, but isn't there more I could be doing instead of being on my phone when I'm bored? Of course!   He asked us, "Why can't we look at the person sitting across the table when we are talking to them...without our phones in our hands?" or "Why can't we sit in a waiting room with our loved ones, waiting on good news or bad news, and comfort each other instead of being on our phones?"   If you are like me you probably check your phone when you wake up, when you are at a red light or sitting in a long line of traffic, when you are waiting in line at the store, when you are doing your thing in the bathroom, when you are in the car with your significant other, when you are waiting at the doctor's office, when you are on the couch after work, when you are hanging out with friends and right before you go to sleep. It's embarrassing writing all that out, but it's true. We have let it consume our lives.   He gave us this verse to think about, and it hit me all over again.   Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8   He emphasized on the word "think" at the end of that verse. Are we really filling our minds with everything that verse is saying?   I'm not saying I'm going to go and delete all my social media accounts and never look back, but I am going to limit myself. I am going to try and not look at Instagram and Facebook every 15 minutes. When I am hanging out with family/friends I want to be all there. When Matthew and I are riding in the car somewhere I want to be all there. Not half way paying attention and scrolling on my phone.   I don't want set rules, I just want to break my habit of refreshing my social media accounts.   I know this is a lengthy post but it's been on my mind every since last night and I wanted to share. And because I don't like posting without any pictures... In honor of my favorite guy graduating in TWO days a little #tbt to last years graduation picture!

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It consumes our lives