Thursday, December 31, 2015

New Year's Renewal

A few months ago, I downloaded an app called Moment. This app tracks the amount of time you spend on your phone every day. I had been feeling bogged down by the amount of time I was spending staring at a screen and thought it would be a neat experiment to track just how much time I was wasting. So I downloaded it, saw that I was spending at least an hour and a half on my phone every day and didn't do a single thing to change it. 
Side note: An hour and half might not seem like that much, but that is strictly data from my phone (it's worth mentioning that I spend very little time actually talking) and does not include time spent on my laptop or ipad. 


social media fast 
                                            
(my most impressive day)

Flash forward to New Year's Eve, and it is obvious that God had a plan when I downloaded that app. Instead of dreaming of how this time next year I will be 20 pounds lighter, debt free and happier than ever, I find myself preparing for a social media fast. 

A few days ago, my pastor called our church to a 21 day fast. I'll admit when I initially saw his video message, my inner teenager groaned a little, rolled her eyes and thought "I'll sit this one out." However, in the days following, I felt God tugging at my heart to give up, not just social media, but the internet in general, to put down my phone so I can actually hear His voice. 

The internet is such a distraction from my relationship with God. I find myself so thirsty to connect with Him on a deeper level, but instead of using my free time to talk to Him or read His word, I find myself spending countless minutes reading articles like "what the position you sleep in says about you" or taking quizzes to find out which character from Friends I am most like. 

WHO CARES?!?

The Bible says that it is through the renewing of our minds that we are able to discern God's will. But, God cannot renew our minds if our minds are too busy scrolling through our Facebook feeds and He cannot reveal His plans to us if we are distracted making our own plans on Pinterest. So as of midnight, I plan to disconnect from the world so I can reconnect with the Lord. I plan to spend these next 21 days allowing God to truly renew my spirit and my mind. My prayer is to come out of this fast with a fresh fire and a deeper level of intimacy with my Lord and Savior. 

I am so excited to see what God is going to do through this fast. I hope will you will consider doing one of your own. Think about the thing in your life that most hinders your relationship with God and remove it for 21 days. You will be surprised by what God can do in your life when you simply allow Him to move. If you do decide to participate, I would love to hear about your experience! 


Watch Jason's message here!




  
"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is- His good, pleasing and perfect will." 
Romans 12:2


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