Titus Two Friends: My Times Are In Your Hands

This past spring, I started this series with good intentions and then a BUNCH of life intervened. We bought a house, and I’ve been a bit busy since then.


Evidence!

At this point, I have (had) the perfect opportunity to “claim” I was ever-so-busy each and every minute all summer long. After all there was ALL that packing and unpacking and organizing and de-cluttering to do. There were two houses to clean. All the painting in the living and dining rooms, sewing room, family room, a guest room and a hallway. Uffdah! Did I mention scrubbing a huge deck and cleaning the pool and some yardwork? And I worked for two or three hours a day in my "virtual admin assistant" job.

Honestly that was a LOT of work, a lot of sweat, and a lot of household juggling, and there's still a ton more to do. BUT every single day--right up to this very moment--I still manage(d) to waste an incredible amount of time dinking around on Facebook!!!

This one is MY biggest time-waster. How about you?

Disclaimer: This is NOT a case of the pot calling the kettle black. I struggle. You struggle. We're in this together.

Time Waster #1: The Computer & Social Networking

Consider your use of the computer and social networks like Facebook, MySpace, GooglePlus, etc. How much time are you wasting by reading posts and typing responses? Especially all the "fan pages" and political groups? What else could (or should) you be doing instead? Who would benefit if you re-arranged your priorities?

Are you spending an equal amount of time socializing with your Heavenly Father as you do with your social network of friends? Which one will give you eternal satisfaction? Can you figure out a way to do both and still get some work done around home?

How many blogs are you following that are really just meaningless drivel (of course TTF isn't drivel! <wink!>) or someone re-hashing her own daily life? If Jesus was sitting next to you at the keyboard, would you be “following” some of these pages or people?

What about playing games and gossiping? Is this the best use of your time? Is this a God-pleasing use of your time, talents, and treasure? What kind of example are you setting for your children? Is your home in disarray because you spend MORE time on gossip & games than you do making your home sparkle?

What to do Instead?

If you can’t resist checking in on Facebook or your favorite blogs, reward yourself by only going on AFTER your daily Bible-reading and household chores are completed or while the children are napping.

Set a timer. Use an on-line timer

to block yourself or get a friend or spouse to set it up for you for, say, a week. Then go do something else--productive, useful, uplifting, inspiring.

Usage Re-Defined: Use Facebook for sharing your own uplifting messages. Post Bible passages from your daily reading. Encourage others to higher values and thoughtful ideas. Try some of these suggestions; tailor them to your specific needs or talents.

Alternatives: Follow blogs that encourage you to higher standards of Christian living as a wife and mother. De-clutter your Facebook fan-pages by un-liking those that leave you feeling angry or manipulated. Share the Gospel message on each post!