Social Media Detox: What I Noticed About My Faith

I'm six days into my detox...and guess what happened? Well, not a whole lot quite yet. Would you like me to be honest or write about a bunch of things you already know like, "Guys, it's the craziest thing! I feel way less distracted and I have ROOM to breathe. Here's a nine step guide to get the results I did!" I know most of us have taken a step back from social media before. I'm pretty certain that I don't need to convince you that it's refreshing either. 

A fraction of you may be thinking, "So am I gonna learn anything here?" Well, let me rewind a bit. I have plenty of notes and comments. I have reflective questions that may come in handy and keywords that'll help simplify what I'm trying to say. However, since I made no social media a rule for Sundays, the past couple days haven't felt a whole lot different. Although, when I come to think of it...I've been longing to feel normalcy without  social media and I think I've finally got here. That being said, let's dive into a few key things I dug up about my faith this week. 
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the cleanse-

First, let me clarify what I consider social media, so we're all on the same page. This week I logged out of Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, and I rarely use Snapchat. One difference between this week and a normal Sunday is, I had to continue working. I help a friend with online marketing, so being on social media for this job is mandatory. It was a little tricky navigating Facebook without reading my own notifications, but I got the hang of it. 
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the challenge-

Without social media, I don't have many outlets for marketing my blog. In this case, I had to sit back and pray God would keep this thing growing. I kept a close eye on my numbers this week and there was no dramatic dip. In fact, I've had the highest number of page views I've had in months. So, for all my bloggers out there, you can take a break girl. Your website can survive a week off.
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the learning-

• Remember that project I talked about on Instagram? The one I thought may not see the light of day? With my extra time, things felt more possible. What would I lose by trying one more time? I took a second look, and although I couldn't find exactly what I wanted, I found something that could work. After staring for a couple minutes, I quickly grew super fond of this new makeshift idea. (that I will hopefully be announcing soon!)
• Most of my weekly blogging tasks revolve around social media. This week, I got excited about back burner things I saved for a rainy day. God wanted me to feel things for these tiny tasks. He wanted me to enjoy doing things off the grid and know that I can trust Him with my site. 

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• Keeping up with social media can sometimes feel like you're writing this never-ending story for the online world. I feel this pressure to capture what I eat, learn, and love doing. At times it can be super fun, but all of the sudden you catch yourself posting on autopilot, and think, "How did it get this bad?" Why do I write this story and do I do it because I like it better than God's narrative? 
• I don't believe in reincarnation, but I've thought about that concept a lot this week. Often, I felt as if I had been reborn into a family who hadn't any access to social media. I think this feeling can heavily relate to the transformation of a new Christian. I've experienced constant renewal, space to create, and inspiration to craft a vision that matters to me.

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• I lose track of time during devos. On a regular day, I'm so excited after an hour to jump on insta and check my texts. This week, I had time and space to remember things. My opinions and beliefs felt clear-cut and simple. This morning, my devos took far past an hour. I processed three past situations and God pointed out important details to me. Along with that, I noticed myself asking how I should spend most of my free time.

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the work-

1. If logging out for a day or a week scares you, try a challenge that focuses on logging out for a specific meal or time of day. Jessica Walker created a super cool challenge and you can find that here. It includes 30 days of challenges like turning off post notifications, no Facebook until 12pm, first hour of day phone free, and Insta free day!

2. If you're ready to block out a day for jumping offline, take a look at my Nine Habits I Like to Practice on the Sabbath post. I go over my Sunday rules and not getting on social media, is one of them. It's pretty manageable and sometimes I look forward to my one day without it!

3. If you've tried a mix of these, maybe it's time to go off grid for a week, month, or shut it down altogether. This is where the real magic happens. Revelations, perspective, and change of heart. I'd love to delete everything one day, but as a blogger, I see such potential marketing with these platforms, that I can't. For now, a week break is perfect to get my heart pumping again. 

My face feels scratchy, like I've been picking at a sunburn all day. Writing this wasn't easy. My last three blog posts tumbled onto the page and I assumed it would be the same with this one. I was on a roll. Although, about halfway through I felt my-usual-writing-joy leave my body and be replaced with tingling panic. "Is this even helpful? People won't read this. Why do I blog? I'm a terrible writer." 

Um Lo', weren't you just writing about anxiety a few weeks ago? I definitely was, but we all know anxiety is much like a war, not a fix-it ticket. It takes strategy, discipline, and the energy we don't have. What I'm trying to say is- doing what you love will take weird and wild turns. Believe me, I took a nap, watched a tidying up episode, soaked in the bath, and listened to worship music, before I could even force myself to work on this again. Leave it and come back- LOL do that with social media too. :)
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​Thanks for reading guys! I hope this helps you find a break that feels right for you. Who knows, maybe you've got this thing DOWN and you don't ever need to log out. I wish I could feel that! 

If you found this post helpful- pin it and save it for later!

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