On paying attention

Oh, wow.  So true.  I loved this:


In our amazing era of digital immediacy, I can tell the world where I am and what I’m doing while I’m doing it. I can present myself as a busy man living a rich and full life. I can take pictures of my meals, log my locations, snap photos of the people I’m with, and weigh in on what’s happening around the globe 140 characters at a time. But none of these things mean I’ve been paying attention.

-Russ Ramsey, in an article entitled The Courage to Put Away Our Cameras

***

( I want to pay attention, don't you?) 

I think about this a lot, actually.  I want to be present in each moment.  I truly want to pay attention.  But I don't just want to pay attention to whatever is in front of me. I want to be wise about what I choose to put in front of me.

The world offers MUCH in the way of distraction and I want to be faithful to what God has entrusted to me.  I want to be intentional to pay attention to those things.  (Specifically, those things are: my husband, our children (and their education) and our home. 

The other stuff?  It's all extra.  The extras often distract me from what God has clearly called me to.    I want to flourish here, in these relationships, with my wonderful man and my sweet children.  These are the ones God has given to me.  I choose to devote my time and attention to them.  They get my best.

There's not a right number of "extras", but I think we must be careful and selective.  The psalmist reminds us that our days are but a breath.  (So, then, let us be wise with the decisions we make with our time and attention.)

Obviously that's going to look differently for each individual.  For me:

It's one of the reasons why I deleted my Facebook account nearly a year ago.  (I don't miss it.)   

It's why I haven't joined Pinterest.  (Even though I bet it's right up my alley.  :))

It's why I don't have a fancy phone with internet/email access.

It's why I try to be careful about how many shows I watch.  (Just a few.)

It's one of the reasons why I struggle with the whole idea of blogging, and really try to limit my time on the computer.  (And I try to limit it to time when the kids are sleeping or during quiet times.)

***

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you.  1 Thess. 4:11

13 comments:

  1. All of this has been on my heart this year.... thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. And may I selfishly say thank you that you have continued to share your thoughts here. You are a real encouragement and example to me to be a faithful mother and wife. Thank you for your kindness on behalf of my Kate. I left my thanks to you on my blog, but I wanted to come here and say it again in case you missed it. Love you and your family!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is really great! Thinking a lot about this recently also. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Stacy (:
    Thank you for this wonderful reminder. I, too, pray daily that the Father will allow me to see... I don't want to miss a single thing He has set there in the days and moments.

    Love & hugs

    ReplyDelete
  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you for this. I've been thinking about this a lot lately.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you for giving your time to this blog. It blesses me very much! In an age of technology, this is a different kind of mentoring. You are being the Titus 2 women to those of us who read here! Thank you ;)

    ReplyDelete
  8. {thank you for your kind words, friends.}

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi, Stacy! I, too, struggle with these same issues. These are some of the same reasons I don't have a FB, Twitter, or Pinterest account. I have enjoyed blogging for years, but feel the pull of the busyness of life pulling me away; praying about what He would have me do. Thanks for your honest thoughts presented with grace and humility.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I struggle with all of it. daily. even just toting around my camera can distract me. I mostly feel all alone with a love/hate relationship with my blog ... but that's exactly what I have.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Love this, Stacy. I've had to make some big adjustments to the way I interact with social media as well. This post from Desiring God had some good thoughts along this same vein: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/fight-the-poverty-of-attention I want to save my best attention for God and his Word and the people he puts right in front of me!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jodi~ That was an excellent link; thank you. And- AMEN! God and His word are definitely at the top of my list, although I didn't mention it in this post, I don't think.

      Delete

Thank you for commenting! I love hearing from you, and I will do
my best to reply back to you in the comment section.