Last year, I compiled a list of books to read for Lent as my way to meditate on the season and prepare for Easter. I never did read Iscariot by Tosca Lee, so perhaps I'll get to it this year. In addition, I found No Wonder They Call Him the Savior by Max Lucado at one of the book sales I scoured last fall and plan to read it in the coming weeks.
Besides reading Lenten-themed books, I have also decided to limit my internet usage in order to make time for more meditative and healthy practices. Staring at a screen tends to have mind-numbing and depressive affects, and I spend far too much time with my laptop open. Jenna from Cold Antler Farm wrote an inspiring post the other day about unhealthy internet usage and what positive things we can do offline instead of the constant, if subconscious, comparisons that often occur during social media perusals.
Three hours per week should allow for 30 minutes each day, not counting Sundays, which I plan to keep unplugged. The extra time not spent on the computer can then be used for Bible reading, yoga, guitar playing, experimenting with new healthy recipes (instead of the usual "ooh look, chocolate!") and who knows, maybe even some poetry writing. And soon will come time for gardening!
Are you doing anything for Lent this year? How do you balance internet and offline time?
I like your list of Lenten devotions!
ReplyDeleteBalancing internet time is a tricky one for me, so this year I'm forgoing videos for Lent. So that means less time on the internet watching videos, I'm just now realizing how much time I spent on that.
I always spend too much time reading blogs and checking facebook--and if I run out of blog posts to read, I search for new blogs, which can just go on forever! Of course, there's always goodreads and pinterest to eat up hours, too.
DeleteI'm glad you liked the devotional list!
The internet is such a paradox, isn't it? So good and yet it's also the biggest source of time wasting, I've been trying to think more about how much time I'm spending on the internet and what I'm doing. I'd ideally like to spend more time off the internet, but even just with blogging, writing and study, I spend more hours than I probably should. It could be time for me to think about trying to cut back a bit more. For my lent I'm trying to make evenings technology free and spend more time with my family, which is actually good fun. It's definitely good to get away from the virtual world for a while and just exist in real time.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm beginning to realize that most of my 30 minutes each day are going to be spent blogging, with very little time left over for email. It's so hard to cut back! Keeping evenings technology free sounds like a good option.
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