It is time we came to an understanding. I have always said that if there is one thing I wish our family could do without, it's the internet. Not e-mail, but the whole rest of the world wide web. There was a time when we did without, and enjoyed ourselves. Can we get there again?
Today I sat on the couch and informed my daughter that the old run-down house she wants is up for sale. There I was with Sarah on my right, Elijah on my left, and Tom across from me on the chair. We began a conversation about how we could buy this house for Sarah (we can't but it's a nice dream) and it would be a nice dowry for her. (No, you do NOT hear wedding bells yet, don't even think it.) That led to a discussion about what dowries biblically are meant to be (protection for the bride, and something for her to fall back on in case her hubby died or turned out to be a wife-deserting scumbag) compared to what they became in American history (totally turned over to the husband to enhance his estate, leaving her with nothing if he turned out to be that worthless scumbag).
Tom got up, to go do whatever pastors do on Saturday nights (go to bed early), leaving me to supervise the bath/shower routine. Josiah took his place on the chair, then Lizzie snuggled up between me and Sarah, and Abby snuggled in on the other side, between me and Elijah. We continued to speculate on how we could get that house for Sarah, with Josiah adding a half-dreaming plan or two of his own. (Seriously, if I had the money I'd get it, if it were structurally sound enough to be worth fixing--old houses are so much more "alive" than the factory made, cookie cutter houses of today.)
The point of this post is not to discuss the topic of tonight's conversation, but to emphasize the fact that a conversation took place at all. Sarah did NOT have her laptop in her lap, I was NOT on my computer, and NObody had mp3 players plugged into their ears. I was snuggled up with some of my most favorite people in the whole world, just talking.
It was nice.
If, in a year or two, you come back here and still don't find anything new, it's because I'm doing something more important: spending time with the people I love the most.
P.S. In case you think I'm being extreme, here's a good video to watch: A Journey Home. Set aside 45 minutes of your time to watch this with your family. Seriously. I've been praying for a long time for something similar for our family. Tom hardly ever watches a video with us, but he found this one, watched it, recommended it to me, we watched it with some of our children, then I watched it yesterday with the rest of our children.
Showing posts with label Managing our time. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Managing our time. Show all posts
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Saturday, July 12, 2008
No more encumbering
Below this post is the last of the "Servant's heart" series. Now the time has come for me to say goodbye to the internet for an extended period of time. I will continue to communicate with friends and family via e-mail. But there will be no more blogging, no more internet "research", no more Facebook (why, oh why, did I ever sign up for that anyway?), no more home-school or large-family forums, no more frantic searches for the best, most miraculous (the "Christian" word for magical) weight loss secret.
I am not even going to print out my friend Rand's Friday Night Notes for our church bulletin board. I'm going to pass that job on to my son Josiah.
Pray for us this summer. Our church Bible conference runs July 30 - August 3. Our very dear friend Pastor David Dickerson is coming all the way from Georgia to preach for us. We are so looking forward to his coming, and pray that the Lord will bless it and begin to send us the revival we have been longing for (but not longing for nearly enough).
August 11-15 we will be attending the Bible conference at Maranatha in Pennsylvania. Our oldest son Nate was able to get time off from work to go with us. Please pray that God will awaken him.
The Sunday after the Maranatha conference we hope to be in Mount Vision, New York, visiting our friend Chris Ellis' church. I'm looking forward to seeing them again, and visiting with his wife, and his daughter Esther. Mount Vision is just about half-way between our house and Pennsylvania, so we've been sometimes stopping there to break our trip in half.
I am concerned about us living in a neighbourhood setting. On the one hand, I see such an opportunity to share the gospel with our unsaved neighbours. But on the other hand, I see my children more and more negatively influenced by those lost children. Pray for us about this. I don't want to try so hard to win my neighbours for Christ that I lose my children to the world. But I don't want to so close my family in that we neglect our neighbours, either. I don't know where the balance is, but I do know that my first and primary responsibility is to my home and family.
Part of what's hard about living in a neighbourhood is when all the neighbour children congregate in my yard. This is fine sometimes, but often they're all here way too much. If none of the children are outside, they'll come to the door and ask if they can play. I like that. But if the children are already outside, they won't ask my permission. They'll just come into the yard and start playing. I'd like to find a way to stop this so that my children are not with the world's children hours upon hours every day throughout the summer. I don't think it's fair to make my children stay inside until I am able to be out there with them. I'd like for them to be able to go out without having the neighbours in my yard, too. If any of you have any suggestions for how to deal with this, let me know.
As I get the money, I am ordering schoolbooks for this fall (the only other internet use I will justify for myself right now; a money order costs five dollars!!!). I am looking forward to starting up school again. I am thinking of doing home school more or less year round with breaks for gardening, conferences and family days. That way I don't have to try to cram all the lessons into the short months between Canadian Thanksgiving in October and Victoria Day in May like I have been. (That's between the end of harvest and the beginning of spring planting.) And it will help some with keeping my children occupied without the neighbourhood joining in.
That's it for now. Have a great rest-of-the-summer.
I am not even going to print out my friend Rand's Friday Night Notes for our church bulletin board. I'm going to pass that job on to my son Josiah.
Pray for us this summer. Our church Bible conference runs July 30 - August 3. Our very dear friend Pastor David Dickerson is coming all the way from Georgia to preach for us. We are so looking forward to his coming, and pray that the Lord will bless it and begin to send us the revival we have been longing for (but not longing for nearly enough).
August 11-15 we will be attending the Bible conference at Maranatha in Pennsylvania. Our oldest son Nate was able to get time off from work to go with us. Please pray that God will awaken him.
The Sunday after the Maranatha conference we hope to be in Mount Vision, New York, visiting our friend Chris Ellis' church. I'm looking forward to seeing them again, and visiting with his wife, and his daughter Esther. Mount Vision is just about half-way between our house and Pennsylvania, so we've been sometimes stopping there to break our trip in half.
I am concerned about us living in a neighbourhood setting. On the one hand, I see such an opportunity to share the gospel with our unsaved neighbours. But on the other hand, I see my children more and more negatively influenced by those lost children. Pray for us about this. I don't want to try so hard to win my neighbours for Christ that I lose my children to the world. But I don't want to so close my family in that we neglect our neighbours, either. I don't know where the balance is, but I do know that my first and primary responsibility is to my home and family.
Part of what's hard about living in a neighbourhood is when all the neighbour children congregate in my yard. This is fine sometimes, but often they're all here way too much. If none of the children are outside, they'll come to the door and ask if they can play. I like that. But if the children are already outside, they won't ask my permission. They'll just come into the yard and start playing. I'd like to find a way to stop this so that my children are not with the world's children hours upon hours every day throughout the summer. I don't think it's fair to make my children stay inside until I am able to be out there with them. I'd like for them to be able to go out without having the neighbours in my yard, too. If any of you have any suggestions for how to deal with this, let me know.
As I get the money, I am ordering schoolbooks for this fall (the only other internet use I will justify for myself right now; a money order costs five dollars!!!). I am looking forward to starting up school again. I am thinking of doing home school more or less year round with breaks for gardening, conferences and family days. That way I don't have to try to cram all the lessons into the short months between Canadian Thanksgiving in October and Victoria Day in May like I have been. (That's between the end of harvest and the beginning of spring planting.) And it will help some with keeping my children occupied without the neighbourhood joining in.
That's it for now. Have a great rest-of-the-summer.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Servant's heart, part 2
I would encourage you to read Romans 12 in connection with this post. I was going to quote the first 13 verses, but felt it was too long for this blog post. But please read it to get the whole context of what I am quoting. Also, when I try to give the sense of what different words and passages mean, I am in NO WAY trying to offer a different "translation" of the Scriptures. Most of this information comes from Strongs and Thayer via a handy little tool called E-Sword. I love it. Bible study has been taken to a whole new level since Tom installed this on my computer.
Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
The Greek word translated service means worship. We are to offer our whole selves up as a sacrifice in worship to the Lord.
Rom 12:4-6 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us...
We each have a different gift of service (worship) to offer to the Lord. The following verses describe some of those gifts, including this one:
Rom 12:7 ...or ministry, let us wait on our ministering...
The Greek word translated ministry/ministering (same word) is also translated ministration in Acts 6:1 (the account of why deacons were chosen), minister in Hebrews 1:14 (about angels ministering to the saints), relief in Acts 11:29 (aide sent to help the suffering saints in Judea) and serving in Luke 10:40 (the famous "Mary and Martha" passage)
It is a word used to describe the work of meeting both the physical and spiritual needs of others, and stems from the noun form which means servant.
Rom 12:9 Let love be without dissimulation....
Literally, let your benevolence be without hypocrisy. The word for love is agape, the ultimate giving kind of love.
Rom 12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another...
Literally, cherish one another as you would members of your own families with brotherly kindness; showing that you highly value one another.
Rom 12:13 Distributing1 to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
This verse is self-explanatory, but I found the word given interesting. The Greek means to chase after, or pursue, like someone running toward a goal. The goal in this case is loving and entertaining strangers.
So here is a whole passage dedicated to teaching us that we are not alike in the way we worship and serve Christ. We all have different gifts enabling us to worship and serve Christ in different ways. And the act of meeting the physical needs of others, both Christians and strangers (and Christ Himself while He was on this earth) is just as much a legitimate act of worship as any other.
So what was the difference between Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42? Not so much in what they did, but in their attitudes. Both were engaging in legitimate acts. But Martha did not have a legitimate attitude.
A severe thunderstorm is rolling in, so I am going to have to finish this later. I promise to finish this thought before I take my summer blog break. :)
Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
The Greek word translated service means worship. We are to offer our whole selves up as a sacrifice in worship to the Lord.
Rom 12:4-6 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us...
We each have a different gift of service (worship) to offer to the Lord. The following verses describe some of those gifts, including this one:
Rom 12:7 ...or ministry, let us wait on our ministering...
The Greek word translated ministry/ministering (same word) is also translated ministration in Acts 6:1 (the account of why deacons were chosen), minister in Hebrews 1:14 (about angels ministering to the saints), relief in Acts 11:29 (aide sent to help the suffering saints in Judea) and serving in Luke 10:40 (the famous "Mary and Martha" passage)
It is a word used to describe the work of meeting both the physical and spiritual needs of others, and stems from the noun form which means servant.
Rom 12:9 Let love be without dissimulation....
Literally, let your benevolence be without hypocrisy. The word for love is agape, the ultimate giving kind of love.
Rom 12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another...
Literally, cherish one another as you would members of your own families with brotherly kindness; showing that you highly value one another.
Rom 12:13 Distributing1 to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
This verse is self-explanatory, but I found the word given interesting. The Greek means to chase after, or pursue, like someone running toward a goal. The goal in this case is loving and entertaining strangers.
So here is a whole passage dedicated to teaching us that we are not alike in the way we worship and serve Christ. We all have different gifts enabling us to worship and serve Christ in different ways. And the act of meeting the physical needs of others, both Christians and strangers (and Christ Himself while He was on this earth) is just as much a legitimate act of worship as any other.
So what was the difference between Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42? Not so much in what they did, but in their attitudes. Both were engaging in legitimate acts. But Martha did not have a legitimate attitude.
A severe thunderstorm is rolling in, so I am going to have to finish this later. I promise to finish this thought before I take my summer blog break. :)
Monday, June 02, 2008
How to have a servant's heart, part 1
"The aged women likewise, that they be in behavioiur as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed." --Titus 2:3-5
"Let not a widow be taken into the number under three-score years old, having been the wife of one man, well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work. ... I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully." --1 Timothy 5:9-10, 14
"Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did." --Acts 9:36
"I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea: that ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also." --Romans 16:1-2
"Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus: who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles." --Romans 16:3-4
"Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her." --Luke 10:38-42
"There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment." --John 12:2-3
For years I have had the impression, and heard it preached, that we should be Marys and not Marthas. That you can't be both. That Mary chose the better part, and so should we. That we should be in the presence of the Lord all the time, and not be serving. That Martha did not learn her lesson the first time, that she didn't grow, that she's still stuck in the serving mode the second time a year later.
If all that is true, then what do we do with the other verses in the New Testament, the ones that clearly teach that we must work and serve? What about all those women who worked and served, and were commended for their working and serving?
All this time I've thought that the difference between Mary and Martha was in what they did. I now believe the difference lay in the attitude of the heart. We all have different gifts and abilities. I believe Martha's gift was serving. She just needed to adjust her attitude about it.
There is a major difference between Martha's first service in Luke and her second service in John. More on that next.
"Let not a widow be taken into the number under three-score years old, having been the wife of one man, well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work. ... I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully." --1 Timothy 5:9-10, 14
"Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did." --Acts 9:36
"I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea: that ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also." --Romans 16:1-2
"Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus: who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles." --Romans 16:3-4
"Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her." --Luke 10:38-42
"There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment." --John 12:2-3
For years I have had the impression, and heard it preached, that we should be Marys and not Marthas. That you can't be both. That Mary chose the better part, and so should we. That we should be in the presence of the Lord all the time, and not be serving. That Martha did not learn her lesson the first time, that she didn't grow, that she's still stuck in the serving mode the second time a year later.
If all that is true, then what do we do with the other verses in the New Testament, the ones that clearly teach that we must work and serve? What about all those women who worked and served, and were commended for their working and serving?
All this time I've thought that the difference between Mary and Martha was in what they did. I now believe the difference lay in the attitude of the heart. We all have different gifts and abilities. I believe Martha's gift was serving. She just needed to adjust her attitude about it.
There is a major difference between Martha's first service in Luke and her second service in John. More on that next.
Monday, May 12, 2008
The virtual mom
The year was 1999. We had six children, and had just moved from Texas to New York state. We had recently acquired internet and were now, for better or for worse, connected to the world wide web. It was all so fascinating: all those websites with information on anything that might interest anyone. And search engines made finding all that information so much easier than using the card catalog at the library. Before I knew it, I was hooked.
I collected and printed all sorts of things, organizing that information into categories: activities for preschoolers, recipes, things to do as a family, gardening ideas, how to care for and then butcher all sorts of farm animals, how to tan hides, etc.
E-mailing was exciting. I could keep in constant touch with all the friends I ever left behind during our many moves from state to state (and later from country to country). No more waiting for the regular mail to come.
Then I discovered forums. What fun! Talking to total strangers about anything and everything. Now I was addicted.
I heard about women who were becoming virtual moms and neglecting their homes. Tom and I even counseled with a couple whose marriage eventually fell apart because the wife was online so much. I thought, those people are crazy to throw away their real lives for a virtual dreamworld.
Can anybody spell H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-T-E?
All that seems ridiculous to me now. All those ideas? I actually used a very tiny fraction of them. E-mailing is almost as bad as snail mail, for all the replies I actually get. And forums became so much boring gossip.
I am free now. I'm free because God convicted me of sin in this matter, and made me see that my real, flesh and blood family is my priority--and not a drudgery, either, but a great, wonderful blessing. I'm free because I told Tom about my struggles and he very kindly disconnected the internet for me for several months to help me get past my addiction.
And now I must get off my computer. I've gone past my allotted time. We're ready for Bible time and breakfast, then we'll do some quick straightening up, make the beds, and go outside. We're hosting a picnic for Victoria Day next week, and we've got some yard work to do. Also, my garden is calling me. I want to start planting this week.
So if I'm not on here for a while, picture me outside with my children and wish me a happy spring.
I collected and printed all sorts of things, organizing that information into categories: activities for preschoolers, recipes, things to do as a family, gardening ideas, how to care for and then butcher all sorts of farm animals, how to tan hides, etc.
E-mailing was exciting. I could keep in constant touch with all the friends I ever left behind during our many moves from state to state (and later from country to country). No more waiting for the regular mail to come.
Then I discovered forums. What fun! Talking to total strangers about anything and everything. Now I was addicted.
I heard about women who were becoming virtual moms and neglecting their homes. Tom and I even counseled with a couple whose marriage eventually fell apart because the wife was online so much. I thought, those people are crazy to throw away their real lives for a virtual dreamworld.
Can anybody spell H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-T-E?
All that seems ridiculous to me now. All those ideas? I actually used a very tiny fraction of them. E-mailing is almost as bad as snail mail, for all the replies I actually get. And forums became so much boring gossip.
I am free now. I'm free because God convicted me of sin in this matter, and made me see that my real, flesh and blood family is my priority--and not a drudgery, either, but a great, wonderful blessing. I'm free because I told Tom about my struggles and he very kindly disconnected the internet for me for several months to help me get past my addiction.
And now I must get off my computer. I've gone past my allotted time. We're ready for Bible time and breakfast, then we'll do some quick straightening up, make the beds, and go outside. We're hosting a picnic for Victoria Day next week, and we've got some yard work to do. Also, my garden is calling me. I want to start planting this week.
So if I'm not on here for a while, picture me outside with my children and wish me a happy spring.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Should I be on the computer now?
I quote myself from an earlier post:
Are there better things to do with my time than being on the computer? That depends on the time of day. I have chosen to allot a certain time each day to be on the computer, rather than being on randomly throughout the day. This way my computer time does not interfere with what I should be doing in my home or with my family.
This specifically regards internet use, since that is where I tend to spend a lot of time. You probably know how it goes: you're looking something up for some specific purpose. Maybe you need a recipe, or you're doing some type of research, or you're ordering something from an online company. Somewhere in the process something catches your eye and you click on a link. That leads you to another link, and another, until suddenly you realize that an hour has gone by and you've gotten totally sidetracked from your original purpose for being on the internet.
If you visit my blog regularly, you've probably noticed that I did not post at all last week. I was on the internet some, but never really had time to post. My priorities are shifting from inside the house (the winter mode) to outside the house (the spring clean-up-the-yard mode). I am also determined to finish school ON TIME this year! So I decided to limit my computer time to 15 minutes a day. The rest of the day is filled with normal every day stuff (laundry, dishes, cooking, etc.), home school, and spring cleaning. Also, it's that time of year again when I go through everybody's clothes and list what we need to buy/sew before summer. Oh, and let's not forget all the time it takes to nurse a hungry newborn!
On that note, I leave you with this verse, that states what our very first priority should be:
"As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious." --1 Peter 2:2
Are there better things to do with my time than being on the computer? That depends on the time of day. I have chosen to allot a certain time each day to be on the computer, rather than being on randomly throughout the day. This way my computer time does not interfere with what I should be doing in my home or with my family.
This specifically regards internet use, since that is where I tend to spend a lot of time. You probably know how it goes: you're looking something up for some specific purpose. Maybe you need a recipe, or you're doing some type of research, or you're ordering something from an online company. Somewhere in the process something catches your eye and you click on a link. That leads you to another link, and another, until suddenly you realize that an hour has gone by and you've gotten totally sidetracked from your original purpose for being on the internet.
If you visit my blog regularly, you've probably noticed that I did not post at all last week. I was on the internet some, but never really had time to post. My priorities are shifting from inside the house (the winter mode) to outside the house (the spring clean-up-the-yard mode). I am also determined to finish school ON TIME this year! So I decided to limit my computer time to 15 minutes a day. The rest of the day is filled with normal every day stuff (laundry, dishes, cooking, etc.), home school, and spring cleaning. Also, it's that time of year again when I go through everybody's clothes and list what we need to buy/sew before summer. Oh, and let's not forget all the time it takes to nurse a hungry newborn!
On that note, I leave you with this verse, that states what our very first priority should be:
"As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious." --1 Peter 2:2
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Time with computers
Well, I definitely was surprised...my last post generated more comments than I've ever gotten for one post before. And the hit count for my blog jumped. Did I hit a nerve? Or did I just happen to hit on a hot topic?
Several thoughts come to mind, which I'd like to think about more in future posts.
1. Are there better things to do with my time than being on the computer? That depends on the time of day. I have chosen to allot a certain time each day to be on the computer, rather than being on randomly throughout the day. This way my computer time does not interfere with what I should be doing in my home or with my family. (Note to other bloggers: if my IP address shows up on your visitor stats more than once or twice a day, kindly remember that other people in my family use my computer for internet use. :) )
2. Does visiting other blogs and/or websites count as "wandering about from house to house" as described in 1 Timothy 5:13? I'm going to suggest that depends on what your purpose is in visiting all those sites. It also depends on what you could (or perhaps should) be doing instead, as mentioned above. And I think we need to consider the particular women who were doing the wandering, and why they had that opportunity to wander, whom Paul was addressing. In other words, we need to look at 1 Timothy 5:13 in its context.
3. Is this an area that requires "balance" and "self-control" or is it an area that should be completely cut out? I think we'd all agree that each person needs to answer that for herself. Personally, I find it much easier to be an "all or nothing" kind of person (either feast to the max or fast totally) than to exercise self-control (eating neither too much nor too little). Yet self-control is what I need most to practice.
These are thoughts I plan to explore in future posts. I am not sure which I will tackle first. Stay tuned, if you wish.
Several thoughts come to mind, which I'd like to think about more in future posts.
1. Are there better things to do with my time than being on the computer? That depends on the time of day. I have chosen to allot a certain time each day to be on the computer, rather than being on randomly throughout the day. This way my computer time does not interfere with what I should be doing in my home or with my family. (Note to other bloggers: if my IP address shows up on your visitor stats more than once or twice a day, kindly remember that other people in my family use my computer for internet use. :) )
2. Does visiting other blogs and/or websites count as "wandering about from house to house" as described in 1 Timothy 5:13? I'm going to suggest that depends on what your purpose is in visiting all those sites. It also depends on what you could (or perhaps should) be doing instead, as mentioned above. And I think we need to consider the particular women who were doing the wandering, and why they had that opportunity to wander, whom Paul was addressing. In other words, we need to look at 1 Timothy 5:13 in its context.
3. Is this an area that requires "balance" and "self-control" or is it an area that should be completely cut out? I think we'd all agree that each person needs to answer that for herself. Personally, I find it much easier to be an "all or nothing" kind of person (either feast to the max or fast totally) than to exercise self-control (eating neither too much nor too little). Yet self-control is what I need most to practice.
These are thoughts I plan to explore in future posts. I am not sure which I will tackle first. Stay tuned, if you wish.
Friday, April 04, 2008
Life with computers
Did you ever time yourself on the computer? I am going to do that for one week. For me, that includes everything done online, all DVDs watched, some CDs listened to, as well as all offline computer work. The DVD player is attached to our computer because we don't have a TV. I know I spent more time on the computer during the last three months or so than I usually do. I chalk this up to not following a regular routine due to sickness and childbirth.
Have computers changed the way we communicate? If so, is this good or bad? Here are a couple of observations:
Recently my good friend Twinklemoose gave me something else to think about. Like a lot of women, I have a list of blogs I visit regularly. If you're like me, here's a question to think about:
Could wandering around the internet count as "wandering about from house to house" as mentioned in 1 Timothy 5:13? More about that in a later post.
Have computers changed the way we communicate? If so, is this good or bad? Here are a couple of observations:
- I don't get very many snail-mail letters anymore. I don't send very many, either, since usually it's all old news by the time the letter gets there.
- Certain children I know don't bother much with learning to spell since either they use spell check, or they figure everybody knows what they mean anyway.
- I asked God to help me communicate better with my oldest daughter. We started exchanging thoughts and observations and even a few apologies via blog-land. This proved to be a good stepping stone, and now we communicate face to face very well (in my opinion).
Recently my good friend Twinklemoose gave me something else to think about. Like a lot of women, I have a list of blogs I visit regularly. If you're like me, here's a question to think about:
Could wandering around the internet count as "wandering about from house to house" as mentioned in 1 Timothy 5:13? More about that in a later post.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
