Things I've learned from my Social Media Cleanse

Recently, I took a three weeks hiatus from social media. I felt I needed it not only because I was constantly on my phone but also to get more connected with God.

I started off the night before the cleanse by deleting all the apps from my phone so that I would be tempted/by habit go to them. As soon as I did this I felt an instant feeling of relief. Below I will highlight what I'v learned and discovered.

1. Social Media CAN have a positive influence

    - I follow a lot of inspirational people on Instagram and Facebook and I didn't realize how big of an influence they had on my life. I follow fitness pages, spiritual pages, and just friends that are super motivating to me. I like to hear and see the positive aspects of people's lives and get inspired by how people are growing and improving. The catch 22 to this is that, people only post the positive aspects of there lives and rarely do you see the negative things that are going on. This can make you feel horrible about yourself because you only see everyone at their best and you wonder what you are doing wrong but, it is all just an illusion and we have to remember that no one is perfect. Sinse getting back on the social media scene it has reignited my motivation in many areas of my life.

2. I read 10 books!

    - Since I was not constantly on my phone, I always had a book in my hand. I was able to read 10 books in 3 weeks! I also have been studying for my board exam so I can't imagine if I didn't have to study, how many books I would have read. 

3. Social Media CAN keep me spiritually grounded

    - I know that statement sounds funny but, I follow a lot of spiritual, godly pages, and of course churches that I attend or have attended. By seeing the exciting things happening at Cascade Hills everyday from the salvations to baptisms, it ignites my spirit and keeps me spiritually grounded. It reminds me to pray, read my bible, and just spend time alone with God.

4. My anxiety decreased
    - I have a problem with anxiety and yes I know it is not godly to have anxiety. By being off social media and living in the present moment and actually connecting with people I am with, my anxiety decreased! I was not constantly comparing myself to others.

5. My phone battery last way longer!!

Final Thought:
   - Social media can be a good thing if used in moderation. Since I have been back on social media my book reading has decreased significantly but I am also closer to taking my boards. I have become inspired again for fitness and to me following a lot of spiritual pages keeps me grounded. I don't think I'll stop using social media but I would like to decrease my usage. I would recommend a social media cleanse to anyone, its just good to see how much more you can accomplish and see without constantly being connected.

-Jenn😘

"Ain't nothing sweeter than a Georgia peach."

Georgia...the land of peaches as my sister would say.

  This past week I have spend my time in Georgia/Alabama. What an incredible week I have had! I came down to Georgia for several reasons but primarily I came down to visit my best friend, Liv Lawnick. Liv and I met about 5 years ago at Newberry College in South Carolina. She was one of my athletes and I her athletic trainer. Liv and I did not become close until we both ended up moving to Columbus, GA in 2013. Now, if you would have asked me to chose one person from Newberry to bring with me to GA, it would not have been Liv. Liv and I were friends but not close and not someone I typically would call up to hang out with. We were in different stages of life. When I moved down to Columbus, GA, Liv was the only person I knew and she invited me over for dinner. Sense then our friendship has grown tremendously and we both have been through so much. She is my best friend. She is the person I can call up in the middle of the night and cry to. She is the person I can FaceTime 10x a day and not get bored. She is "my person." 

  I went on my first job interview for a physical therapist assistant position. The interview went great and I am eager to get started working wherever God leads me. I am not praying specifically for a position but just praying for God's guidance. 

   I turned 28 down here. Liv and I carried on our birthday tradition of thrift store book shopping! We both LOVE to read and kind of have an addiction to buying used books. After our binge shopping of books we went to get Mexican food at my favorite restaurant down here, El Carrizo. We topped off the night by going to Bruster's Ice Cream. Some may think, "What a boring birthday", but to me I enjoyed ever minute of it. 

   While I was down here, I also had a great opportunity to attend the Global Leadership Summit. I got to hear from some great speakers such as, Bill Hybels, Sheryl Sandberg, and Gary Haugen, to name a few. I will do another post on my experience at the summit later and go into more detail. I highly recommend the summit to anyone, even if you do not consider yourself a leader because everyone is a leader in some way.

   Another huge reason I came down to Georgia is to attend Cascade Hills Church. I talk about this church a lot because it has had a huge impact on my life and it is why I have a desire to be back down in this area. This church is AMAZING and I recommend it to anyone and everyone. This church gives you the opportunity to get plugged in as little or as much as you would like. Their is literally a bible study, small group, or church service you can attend and be a part of every day of the week. They do a really good job incorporating all ages as well. Living in so many places I have come to realize that my age group often times gets neglected and it's really frustrating, so I took advantage of the opportunities while I was here. On Saturday, I attended the Women's Fitness Group and got to meet a handful of ladies to workout with and fellowship with. Saturday night I attended the Young Professionals bible study. Following bible study I attended church service where I got to worship and here a great message from Pastor Bill Purvis. Following service Liv and I got to have a great conversation with Pastor. On top of all of that, we got to have shaved ice after church! Now, if you know me you know how much I LOVE shaved ice!!! 

   Today was the best of all the days here! I got to baptize Liv! What a great experience and opportunity! I am so happyy for her and I can't wait to see her life continue to flourish. 

   I have one more day down here and although it will be sad to leave my best friend and the church I love, I know that I will be back soon. I may even move back here if it is where God guides me. 

    After completing my 100 happy days and enjoying my trip down here, I will be taking some time away from social media and tuning in more to God. From August 16th - September 6th I will be fasting from social media. I need some time away from the distractions, the negativity, and I need to dedicate the time i spend on social media to God. I will still continue to blog as I feel more connected to God through my blogging and don't really consider a distraction but a channel for me to express my thoughts and spread God's word.

- Jenn 😘

   

Purpose Driven Life Day 32

Day 32, June 1st, "Using What God Gave You"

    - "What you are is God's gift to you; what you do with yourself is your gift to God." (Rick Warren).  God deserves our very best. He deserves 110%. We need to make the most of what God has given us. We should not worry about the abilities we don't have and focus on the abilities we do have. "When you attempt to serve God in ways you're not shaped to serve, it feels like forcing a square peg into a round hole." (Rick Warren). I experienced this when I was a teacher. Teaching is not what I am called to do, at least not at the high school level. I was forcing myself into a position that did not fit. We have to develop our shape to its full potential but first you have to understand what your shape is.

DISCOVER YOUR SHAPE
    - Ephesians 5:17 says, "Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do." Never accept a position without first praying to God about it. I have learned from experience on this and for my next job after I graduate, I will be praying and fasting for guidance from God. God will guide you and show you where he wants you.
*Begin by assessing your gifts and abilities*

     - Start by making a list of your abilities. Then ask other people what they think you are good at. Tell them to be honest with you and not try and tell you what you want to hear. "Spiritual gifts and natural abilities are always confirmed by others." (Rick Warren). Ask the people who are close to you what they think you are good at, they know you better than yourself sometimes. Look at areas of your life where you have been successful at in the past. The best way to discover your gifts and abilities is to experiment in different areas of service. What better way then to experiment then at your local church. You can discover what you like and do not like by serving in different areas of ministry around the church. We all have dozens of hidden abilities and gifts we haven't discovered because we haven't tried. It is important to volunteer in an area you are interested to understand if you enjoy that area or not. If it doesn't work out its not a failure, its an experiment. Just like with me and teaching. I now know I don't want to teach, its not a failure, it was an experiment. By teaching I discovered I wanted to be a physical therapist assistant.
*Consider your heart and your personality*
     - It is important to get feedback from those that know us best. Ask yourself, when do you feel fully alive? What do you enjoy doing? When does the time fly by? For me the time flies by at clinical's for physical therapy. I enjoy myself. Time flew by when I was with my ex. Time flew by when I hung out with his niece and nephew. What does this tell me, this tells me I will enjoy being a wife, I will enjoy having kids, and physical therapy is the career field I'm designed for.
*Examine your experiences and extract lessons you have learned*
     - "Forgotten experiences are worthless; that's a good reason to keep a spiritual journal." (Rick Warren). Having a spiritual journal has been so beneficial to me but I'm going to be honest I need to review it more so that I learn from my mistakes. We rarely see God's purpose in our pain. How often does this happen to you? I know for me it happens a lot. I rarely see God's purpose in my pain but I know there is a purpose. Pastor Brent Purvis at Cascade Hills Church in Columbus, GA said, the answer to prayer is often found in a problem. Often times the problem gets bigger but God is a never changing God. Somethings are answered differently, He may send us on a different route but we need to continue to ask God for what we want. His methods are not up to us. Sometimes God feeds us the same thing over and over until we are fully dependent on him. In my life I see this often. I have been praying for a spouse sense before I can remember. I'm almost 28 and have no one even on the horizon. I thought I was with the guy I was going to marry and then bam, God took him away from me. God answered my prayers with a problem but there is still a purpose in the pain. John 13:7 says, "Jesus replied, 'You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.'"

ACCEPTING AND ENJOYING YOUR SHAPE

   - We need to celebrate and accept the shape that God has given us. We also need to recognize our limitations. "When we try to overextend our ministry and reach beyond what God shaped us for, we experience stress." (Rick Warren). Teaching caused me the most stress I've ever had in my life. I had stress headaches constantly. Hebrews 12:1 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God set before us." Satan will try to steal the joy of service from us in two ways:
   1. By tempting you to compare your ministry with others
   2. By tempting you to conform your ministry to the expectations of others
It is so important that we not compare ourselves to others. It's so hard to accomplish this with social media. Galatians 6:4 says, "Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won't need to compare yourself to anyone else." When we compare ourselves to others we will always be able to find someone who seems to be doing a better job than us and we will become discouraged. We will so always be able to find someone who doesn't seem as effective as us and we will become full of pride. People who do not understand your shape will criticize you and try to get you to conform to what they think you should be doing. We need to avoid comparisons, resist exaggeration, and seek only God's commendation. If you are having trouble with comparing yourself to others, get off social media.

KEEP DEVELOPING YOUR SHAPE 
    - It is important that we cultivate our gifts and abilities, keep our heart aflame, grow our character and personality, and broaden our experiences so we our more effective in our service. If we don't use our skills we will lose them. We need to use the ability we have and God will continue to increase it. We need to stretch ourselves and learn all we can. We need to take advantage of every training opportunity. Go to that leadership conference. Volunteer at that soup kitchen. Read the personal growth books. Develop yourself to be the best shape God has given you.

Point to Ponder: God deserves my best.
Verse to Remember: "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15
Question to Consider: How can I make the best use of what God has given me?