Lessons From a Forced Facebook Break

On May 31, my Facebook account was disabled by FB for suspicious activity. I went through the appeals process thinking I'd have my account back in 48 hours, but no way! It took weeks of appeals and SEVEN weeks later, my account was enabled! The whole thing was crazy and out of my control! 

For as big as FB is, they could've easily reinstated my account! After a month of being disabled, it became obvious that this might not be a coincidence!! God knew I needed time to remember and reflect--to remember what life is all about when I'm not unconsciously numbing out scrolling through my news feed and liking posts and to reflect on what it means to live in the moment without distractions. 

So my observations after having FB back for less than 24 hours after having it disabled for 7 weeks: 

Being away from FB was wonderful! Soooo much got done. I suddenly had a lot of time to get together w/friends. Life was more fulfilling. I learned how to talk to God! And it took 2 weeks before I quit thinking like a status update! I had no idea how much time I spent on FB until I couldn't and nothing would work to get it back! 

My friends would tell me I'm not missing anything on FB and I felt like I was missing the world. But after looking at all the statuses, I wasn't missing much! FB is the same today as it was 7 weeks ago! It's more fun to get a text or a call or to see someone and stay in touch that way! 

It was telling as I went through my FB friends list and had to think twice about who someone was or to be like, "Oh, yeah! I forgot about this person!" It really opened my eyes to how rewarding and fulfilling relationships are in person and the value of building relationships apart from technology! 

I really enjoyed the anonymity of life...of just living and not posting everything! It's been years since I've had that. Those who really wanted to know what was going on texted, called, emailed or found us on other social media sites (Instagram and Twitter are much less time consuming than FB). There is something about sharing life in real life and I'm not ready to let that go! 

I don't want my relationships to settle back down into Facebook format. I don't want the mental drain of FB when I could be out doing something with my family or engaging in something productive or doing something that promotes self-care or cleaning my house (we've gotten rid of over 35 bags of stuff since May 31st because I've had time and energy to declutter instead of thumb through FB and have the night pass before I realized I didn't get anything done). I want to keep reading and learning through books and magazines and enjoy the richness of new discoveries and adventures that I didn't have the energy to have because I was using Facebook to escape the realities of my life. Relationships were mended. Problems were solved. Progress toward goals was being made. There was forward movement in every area of my life without Facebook being a part of it. There was room in my life for others and for God so much so that God was leading and empowering each step forward! 

So I'm at a crossroads today. As much as I have long-distance friends I want to stay in touch with and to have quick access to local weather as well as stay in touch with food allergy groups and local homeschool groups and our church on FB, is it worth keeping my Facebook account (especially when we can keep in touch in other ways)?! If life was so much better without it, why would I go back to it? I don't want to trade this new life of freedom and forward movement to risk getting sucked back to into mindless technology that doesn't offer the same vibrancy, depth, and richness that intentional living creates! Sure, I could keep my account and use it in moderation, but it's like giving Satan a keyhole to worm his way in to distract me from the life God has been bringing into existence for me and my family. 

I've been learning the past 7 weeks that different choices have to be made in order to have a different life. It requires courage and sacrifice and self-denial in unimaginable ways. Walking in the "different way" leads me to God and to freedom and to beautiful relationships but the work and consistent choices to walk in that way is the hardest thing I've ever done. Hardest but most rewarding...why would I choose to let anything get back in the way of that?! 

Queen of Quotes (#fmf)

“Just a minute! I ran across a neat quote that kind of applies to this!” or “Whoa! I’ve got to write that one down!” These words are forever coming out of my mouth during conversations or small groups/Bible studies or any time I read or hear a great quote or thought! I’ve always had a fascination for quotes because quotes have a concise way of delivering powerful truth. It’s been said that "a fine quotation is a diamond in the hand of a man of wit and a pebble in the hand of a fool." (Joseph Roux)

Quotes are memorable, relevant, and timeless! Quotes can be anything from something silly to something so serious that can alter the course of a person’s life. Quotes can remind us of our purpose and be a quick shot in the arm. And quotes can challenge our way of thinking in such a way to point out the absurdity of our thoughts and redirect us back to truth.

When I saw that this week’s FMF word is collect, I had to smile. I’ve had so many collections over my lifetime from plastic charms for the plastic chain necklace (think late 1980s) to foreign coins to pet rocks (that I painted and glued eyes on myself) to porcelain dolls to flute music to books (that is one collection that keeps growing over the years), but collecting quotes is something I’ve done for a lifetime!

About 10 years ago, I started the below journal and wrote down quotes that jumped out at me from books to conversations to sermons on every page. There’s something special about pulling out my quote book when I’m struggling with life and read the quotes that have so often encouraged me and pointed me back to God.

These are 2 of my favorite quote books. I had to laugh at my Forbes quote book because pieces of toilet paper flopped out of it as makeshift bookmarks! It reminded me of my early motherhood days when I escaped into the bathroom with this book to read something “scholarly” because it felt like my adult mind was being lost in feedings, diapers, and fabric one-word books!

I have running pages of quotes in my Notes app on my iPhone as well as screenshots of quotes that jumped out at me while on social media that I want to transfer to my quote book or to share with a friend who needs encouragement.

And I usually carry an old-fashioned pen and paper notebook in my purse to jot down quotes that are relevant to where I’m at today! This mini-notebook gives me something to read while waiting in lines, in the car, or the waiting room and helps me remember who I want to be and why!

There is just something simple and beautiful about collecting quotes! "She was fascinated with words. To her, words were things of beauty, each like a magical powder or potion that could be combined with other words to create powerful spells." Dean Koontz

Five Minute Friday (#FMFparty) gives writers a word prompt. We are encouraged to write whatever comes to mind about that word in just five minutes (although, I usually go longer bcs FMF helps fuel that spark in me to write).  No editing, no perfection, only writing from the heart.  To find out more, visit http://fiveminutefriday.com/.  This week's word is "COLLECT."