Last week I read this blog post by Tim Challies and was moved by the way he had enjoyed his vacation without any technology.  God had already been stirring in my heart about ways I could simplify things for this season of life and I felt a fast from technology would fit nicely in that.  Since we had our vacation to the Jersey Shore coming up, I figured it would line up quite nicely.  The house we go to there does not typically have wireless internet, so going without my computer would be easy.  So starting tomorrow until the next Saturday, I will be starting my technology fast.  This means I will not e-mail, use Facebook, blog or do any other random activities on the computer.  I will keep my cell phone with me for being in touch with Joe or for emergencies, but the wireless will be turned off.

I have thought about doing something along these lines for a time, but was a bit scared that I might like it too much.  I am almost a little frightened that I may enjoy it so much that when I come back to e-mail and blogs they might feel burdensome.  Hopefully I can look beyond the actual task and see the reason that I am doing those things (to keep in touch with and encourage others, to document my journey and to learn as I write) as valuable.  But I am hoping that this time away will encourage me to take times like this more often so I can really focus on the people who are right in front of me and pouring into them, instead of doing things with technology because I feel like I have to in order to keep up with everyone.

So until next week, have a great weekend and a blessed week with your loved ones.

As I mentioned earlier this summer, the transition to having 4 children hasn’t been as hard as some of the other transitions have been for me after having a baby.  But it has still been a transition.  Once again, I did not slow down after the birth as much as I should have.  After 4 children, it is the one lesson I have learned the slowest: just because you feel great two weeks after having a baby doesn’t mean you should go jump right back into everything again!  Thankfully God is patient with me.

In times of transition, I am often finding myself re-evaluating my priorities and where my time goes.  One of my biggest struggles is trying to “do it all” or “have it all together” and this often comes out after the birth of a baby.  I have to step back and really look at what I can handle in the season of life that I am in.  And often that means somethings need to be cut out, if only for a time, so that I can focus on what is really important.  I know for some people they can juggle a lot, keeping a lot of balls in the air and not minding if they aren’t all tossed up perfectly.  But if I am going to do something, I tend to want to do it 100%.  I know this is an area I need to grow in letting things slide a bit (like being able to have a Twitter account and not updating it for a month and being ok with that!), but on the other hand, I know that eliminating some things can also relieve some stress that I put on myself.

Right now I know my focus needs to be on my relationship with the Lord (private time int he morning and reading good books), my relationship with my husband, caring and enjoying my 4 children, tending to (cooking, cleaning, laundry) and paying bills for our two homes, investing into the 20 or so important friendships/relationships I feel God has called me to in this season of life, caring for myself physically, and finally keeping up with family pictures, videos and my 2 blogs (this blog and our family blog).  In light of those priorities, here are some ways I am simplifying in this time of life:

1. I shut down my Twitter account. I feel like I am on information overload right now, and this is one way I can simplify.

2. My Facebook page has been reduced. I am no longer going to keep pictures and videos on there.  I already do that with our family blog, so there is no reason for me to be doing it two places.  I know not every one of my Facebook friends reads our family blog, but you are invited to.  It is a password protected blog, so if you would like the information, please let me know.  I am hoping this is a way I will spend less time on Facebook.  I am not ready to completely shut it down (yet), but I do hope to keep in touch with people more through e-mail than through Facebook.

3. Clearing out my iPhone apps. I have been spending way too much time with my iPhone as of late, so I have taken a lot of apps off of there that would draw me to using my iPhone more.

4. Reading less blogs. I have once again cleared out my feed reader so that I am basically just reading friends’ personal blogs as of now as a way to keep up with them.  Other than that, I am not going to do a whole lot of blog reading.

5. Establishing a new e-mail. I am going to try and keep my e-mail address for this blog as used mostly for people who are contacting me through the site and establish a new e-mail for personal mail that I will try to attend to more quickly.

6. Preparing dinner ahead of time in the day. The evening time is crazy right now.  Nights like last night, I am barely holding it together trying to prepare dinner in the evening when Joe is gone with the 4 kids (most of whom are at a time of day when they tend to struggle and need more attention).  This may mean the dinner isn’t as fresh as I would like it to be, but I am ok with that for this season.

So just a few thoughts that I am hoping will make a bit of a difference.  Joe and I are discussing some even bigger ways we could simplify life, but for right now, I am going to be proactive with some little ways I can juggle less for this season of life.