To connect or not to connect.....

To connect or not to connect? That is the question I asked myself the evening of March 8th, the evening before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten season. Up until that night, I hadn’t even thought about giving up anything for Lent, but Maddy's teacher decided that she was going to give up Facebook and that inspired me. I too would give up Facebook for Lent and disconnect.



So what led me to disconnect?


Well, I had recently become frustrated with Facebook. I was frustrated that people posted insensitive comments or status updates without regard to others’ feelings or circumstances. I was frustrated with “friends”that would post vague status updates, yet when privately asked what was going on they didn’t want to talk. And, I was frustrated that I was occasionally guilty of the same stuff! In short, Facebook started to seem like a clique. Facebook had also become an obsession. I would constantly check it on my phone and could easily waste hours “stalking” friends.


So, on March 9th... I went AWOL on Facebook.


At first, the hardest part was not checking it on my phone, but after a few days I didn’t even think about Facebook. I would occasionally ask someone if I had missed any big announcements but, generally, I didn’t miss Facebook. I began to think “you know, I could live without Facebook forever.”But then I noticed something. Most of my blog audience came from Facebook. And despite a promise to myself that I would call or email people more during Lent, I didn’t. So I began to feel too disconnected, even from the very part of Facebook that made me want to disconnect in the first place. Funny how that happens.


So, on April 16th... I went back to Facebook.

I know… I only had one week left! How could I give up so close to Easter? To some, I’m sure that it seems like a complete failure and waste of time. To others, you may not have noticed that I was even gone. Ha. But for me, it was 5 “intentional” weeks that allowed me to focus on two important things.

The first thing was finding a church. I am excited to say that David and I finally found a church to call home. It only took us 9 years, a lot of visiting, and some serious discussions, but we found a church that we both love and are excited about. On April 3rd, our family joined Northway Church in Macon.

The second thing I focused on was my God-given purpose… What I am supposed to be doing right now? I had an idea but I wasn’t sure how to put it into action. So, over the last 6 weeks I have been praying about and working on another blog. It’s called Beneficial Kitchen. It’s a blog about living more beneficial lives when it comes to food, the environment, and our relationship with God. If you are interested, then here is a link: http://www.beneficialkitchen.com/ .

It is my intention to keep this blog, Bury Cute, as my personal blog about the girls and our daily lives. It is my desire that the Beneficial Kitchen blog will take off and, God willing, bless a few people. In the end, my need to disconnect from Facebook turned into a desire to be more connected. I pray that this time I can stay away from the pettiness that unfortunately surrounds Facebook and use Facebook to share my passion and faith in Christ.