Day 2: Singing a Different Tune

What is it about facebook that is so addicting? It's like a cyber drug for our generation. In college, it was a major social climbing device. If you got tagged in lots of pictures or had more than a few wall posts in a day, you appeared a little more popular, even if only online. For me now, it's mostly a passifier of time. I get on several times a day just because I'm bored and I have easy access to it from my phone. I hardly ever get on from my home computer anymore, but it's conveniently right at my fingertips throughout the day when I need something to do.

The ironic thing is that I never feel like I have enough time. I work two jobs, and I do a lot of freelance writing too. I literally feel like I'm overbooked at every second of the day. On numerous occassions, I've fallen asleep before I thanked God for a day filled with little blessings. I've had lost people on my heart, and I haven't talked to them yet because I just "haven't gotten around to it." Still, somehow, I always manage to find time for facebook.

That's the awesome thing about doing the facebook fast. It has given me an opportunity to focus on other things that could be passifying my time. Facebook has become a habit, and when I completely removed the option of getting on every 5 minutes while I'm at work or sitting on the couch at home, I managed to let a lot of other thoughts sink it. I'm not saying I'll do this forever. Actually, I fully intend to log on at midnight if I'm still awake. I like social networking sites. I think it is an incredible way of having regular conversation with people we wouldn't normally stay in touch with. That in itself can be a blessing if we use it correctly.

Anyway, I had been praying that God would soften my heart so that I could have the compassion I needed to really dive into this and be a living example to those who needed one. He did that for me to today. He also opened my eyes to a lot of things that I knew in a technical sense, but had never really experienced for myself. In particular, I was reminded of how empty a life is without Him, regardless of our profession, relationship status, financial stability, etc. You can have the best of the best, but a life governed by people and wealth will always keep you chasing after more.

Day one of my fast is almost complete. I plan to transfer my focus to my "day two person" at midnight, and also my fast. That isn't to say I will not continue to pray for the others own my heart. I will just dedicate a day of sacrifice to this person. I have chosen not to add names for the sake of their privacy, but please join me in prayer anyway. I am sure there are people in your own life that you could be praying for as well.

Tomorrow, I will be "fasting" from secular music. I know there are a lot of different opinions about what music is or isn't acceptable to listen to. I enjoy a lot of Christian music, but I also enjoy a lot of non-worship music, and I think that's okay too (like I say about a lot of things, this is another issue for another blog!) This may be something easy for some people, but 24 hours without freedom to listen to any song on any station is complete torture for me! I live for good music!

I hope that by listening to nothing but Christian music tomorrow, I will be uplifted and encouraged. I also hope that it will help me remained focused on my goal, which is to bring people to God. Something about listening to music inspires me, and when I listen to good worship music, I just want to shout out for God!

Anyway, I'm tired, so I'm going to wrap it up for the night. For those of you who are keeping up with me faithfully during this "fasting week," thank you for being patient with me. I nearly always wait until I'm close to passing out from lack of sleep before I write. This can't make for artfully written things for any of you to read, but I am thankful for your encouraging and insightful comments, no less.

God bless, good night, and happy Tuesday! I pray that we'll all remember to live out tomorrow like it's on purpose, and remember that it is the day that The Lord has made!