Today I want all of you to benefit right along with me from this testimony of one of my friends. She is serious about making sure that her desires for personal fulfillment don’t distract her from her most important calling. May we all seek to emulate her example:
There are a thousand things warring for my attention throughout the day... as if the necessities of cooking, cleaning, and child care were not enough... I have the internet... blogging, reading blogs, flickr, and the endless supply of information available at my fingertips...
I have always struggled with diligence in discipline (don't we all!), and the internet has certainly not encouraged growth in that area. Maybe for you, it's relationships, or house decorating, or reading, or shopping, or even keeping a clean house. Whatever the issue, it's inevitable... we have much vying for our attention.
Oh, how I've had to wrestle through this... I've been living with the mindset that as long as I maintain my life, home and family, I am free to pursue what I enjoy: namely decorating, design, and photography. Not that any of that is wrong... not that it can't be pursued. But for me, what a preoccupation it can be! And, it's not just a matter of how much time is actually invested in these activities, it's my thoughts. It's how distracted I can be throughout the day by thinking about these pursuits.
I have been helped by the "evaluation" standard of: IF my relationship with the Lord, loving my husband and training my children is my highest calling, THEN how (and when) does [......] fit in? At this point, I don’t plan to cease my blog, checking in on other blogs, taking pictures, decorating my house, or using the internet... but I do know, that the amount of time I invest in those things is going to be considerably less.
