Canvas Moments…Disconnect to Reconnect!

Day 90 of 100 Days Creating with God!

Watercolor sketch by Kellyn

Do you know how much time you spend with your face down on an electronic device? Recently, out of curiosity, I wanted to see the most time I’ve spent on any one of my devices and I was astonished. Just this past week on one given day, I spent close to 15 hours on screen time. This is between all of my devices, whether it’s my iPhone, iPad or Mac. Wow! On average I pickup my iPhone about 60 times throughout the day. Now, I know that these numbers are much higher for some of you and perhaps significantly less. If you are in the “less screen time” club, I applaud you.

One Saturday morning, I happen to wake up at 4:30am to see my husband off as he was leaving to go sea fishing. Instead of heading right back to bed, I thought to lay on the sofa with my cat. I picked up my iPhone, opened up my Instagram page and the first thing that popped up was a Podcast. You will never guess what this Podcast was about. Yep, it was about Fasting from Social Media. No coincidence, only God. I listened to it and sure enough I was beginning to feel convicted. My heart sank. It was the first thing I grabbed before falling back to sleep. Now, don’t get me wrong here. I do not sleep with my iPhone next to my bed. It stays in my studio on my desk every night.

All morning, God was revealing truth to me of my time spent daily. A book was recommended to read in this podcast and I immediately purchased it with anticipation to begin reading it. I would highly recommend this book called Exchange Your Online Distractions for Real-Life Devotion, The 40 Day Social Media Fast by Wendy Speake.

Being connected to my devices devoured my time. It was a time waster and wrecker. Most of us are held bond to our electronic devices and the forces of technology. It’s the way of our world as we see it today. I found myself purposely picking up my devices to find something to occupy my mind and time. Checking my emails, posting and sharing photos, quotes, etc. on Facebook or Instagram. Looking to see if I received any text messages. Setting my iPhone right next to me, just in case. Wow God, this was an eye opener!

(Colossians 3: 2 AMP) “Set your mind and keep focused habitually on the things above, the heavenly things, not on things that are on the earth, which have only temporal value”

I pray that this will encourage you to ask Holy Spirit if you are wasting face time on the screen. Who is right in front of you? Are you forgetting to smell the flowers or are you rushing to take a photo so that you can write a post? Is that thing you are holding in your hand, keeping you from the One who holds you in His hand?

John Piper wrote: “True Freedom from the bondage of technology comes not mainly from throwing away the smart phone, but from filling the void with the glories of Jesus that you are trying to fill with the pleasure of the device.”

Hurts, doesn’t it? Immediately, I took a moment to remove the apps from my iPhone that held me bondage to screen time. It hasn’t been easy but every day I am not feeling the desire to pick it up. As a matter of fact, I went out to a night of fellowship with my friends without my iPhone. I would say that is definitely progress.

What is the worst that can happen? You miss an email, a text, a phone call, a like, or any other notification. There is nothing that is so urgent on our devices that cannot wait. Imagine what might happen if we reach out with a touch to our families or friends, as many times as we reach out to touch our electronic devices.

(Matthew 22: 36-39 NLT) “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” “Jesus replied, you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.” “This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important, Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Let’s be intentional to pay attention with our faces up! Make small changes, remove some apps, schedule your screen time, or just put your devices down. Disconnect to reconnect to the One and to the people right in front of you, today!

If you need prayer, accountability or encouragement, reach out to me directly. I’d be happy to offer my intentional time with you. I look forward to meeting you in the comments.