Our day. And some thoughts on Facebook.

It's been a wonderfully productive day, and I am thankful.  Mark recently announced a new summertime assignment: each of the boys is to do one hour of outside work each day.  (He gave some suggestions for these first few days: clean the chicken coop, weed the garden or flower beds, dig up an unwanted stump in the garden, dig up some ivy roots along the fence.)  Ella immediately said she wanted to do it, too, so three hours of outside work was done today, in addition to whatever I accomplished.  The chicken coop was cleaned, the stump is almost out, some ivy was pulled and some weeding was done.  I was thankful.  I concluded that I have two very hard workers and one very good chatter who needed to be reminded several times to stay on task.  :)  I love them, every one.  My chatty child will learn, and this is good training ground. 

I weeded for much of the morning as well as helped the younger girls- mostly Audra- with various requests, and did things like:  find a container to be a home for Audra's new inchworm, then I looked at the inchworm- many times.  I heard all about the inchworm and what it was doing, several times.  I fixed the lid on the inchworm's new home- twice.   I filled the swimming pool for Adelia.  I showed her- again- how to pull weeds, and spent time pointing out what was NOT a weed, and then what was~ all to watch her pull one weed and then abruptly leave the garden.  *smile*  Another year. 

After the older kids were done with their hour, I told them they could have popsicles, and they were all soon a delighted, sticky mess. 

It's been a good day. 

To completely change the subject: I've been spending a lot of time thinking about my time spent online.  It's something I want to be intentional about, always- and mainly: to keep it in moderation.  Last year I deleted my Facebook account and I really didn't miss it.  I honestly didn't think I'd ever be on Facebook again.  There are a lot of things I liked about not being on Facebook, and I was truly reluctant to get back on, but recently- after 8 months away from it- I did.  (The main reason for me doing so is that- like it or not, friends of mine DO communicate on Facebook-- and they will continue to-- and I was missing announcements and new baby pictures and invitations.) 

I am much more fond of reading blogs than checking Facebook.  I have been encouraged so many times through different bloggers over the years- especially in regards to homeschooling.  I have read the blogs of some women since 2006, and by now they feel like friends.  Some of them are friends.  There are about 40 blogs I regularly subscribe to.  While that may sound like a lot- of those 40, only around 10 (I just counted) post on a daily or weekly basis.  (The others are less frequent or rarely ever post, but if they should choose to post again, I want to know when they do and I want it to show up on my blog reader.)  Reading blogs is less noisy for me, somehow- it's like picking up a magazine and reading an article and then closing it.  But it's the article a friend wrote, and it's a source of encouragement to me and I get to comment on that article.

Facebook- it's just noisier.  I don't know why, but it seems to crowd my brain more than reading blogs.  Most of what is posted is snippets of information, and for whatever reason it feels like noisy interruptions to me.  I don't really need or want to know what anyone is thinking or doing every half-hour.  (Trust me, I get regular, minute-by-minute updates of what is going on with my five children.  I cannot handle more.)  But Facebook lures you in, doesn't it?  And if you're like me, you read something and want to respond.  And then before you know it you're ten minutes in and clicking through someone's photo album from three years ago and you barely even know that someone and this is certainly not why you got on the computer in the first place, so what in the world just happened?  Sheesh.

I still don't really like it, but I am adjusting.  A few things I'm doing differently, this time around: 

-I rarely post updates, therefore there is less communication coming my way.  And I'm not adding (much) to the noise.
-I have it set up so that I'm not getting email updates anytime someone likes or comments on something I've liked or commented on.  Gracious.  (See?  NOISY for my brain.)
-I have fewer friends.  I am not friends with every single person I have ever met since I was born.  I am mostly friends with people I regularly see and communicate with in real life (or wish I could- if they lived closer).  So Facebook is a means for me to connect with those friends or family members that already exist OUTSIDE of Facebook.
-I am only on Facebook twice a week.   I am limiting myself to checking Facebook once on Tuesdays and Fridays.  (This is a new one for me, and I'm super thankful to have landed here.)

Anyway- those are my thoughts.  I'm sharing them here because it's something I have to keep re-evaluating.  I want to be intentional with my time, and not fritter it away online.  I want to give my best time to those right here in front of me.  I want to use the computer only as a tool, not turn to it in boredom or as a friend. I want to crowd my mind with words of LIFE- with His Words-- and not clutter it too much with words of others. 


One last thing: this is me.  I am different than you.  This is not a prescription for what you ought to do.   This is not a judgement upon you if your choices are different.   If you have 700 Facebook friends, great!  Have at it.  If you read 400 blogs, more power to ya.  :)