Why I'm taking a break from my screens

How many screens do you have? How many times to you look at them each day? Is it a laptop? TV? Tablet? Smartphone? EReader? Lately I've been convicted about my attachment to all these devices. For some reason I feel I have to be connected at all times to the entire world or I might miss something. Whenever my phone or computer beeps it's like a Pavlovian response goes off in my brain. I subconsciously go to the inbox or check my facebook. I have to know why I was alerted. What happened!? Did someone just have a baby? Is my child sick? Did the Cubs win? Oh, one of my friends just posted a video of himself petting a dog. I'm glad I didn't miss that.

My screens are like little windows into other worlds. I can see what's happening in real time all over the place. The problem is, these little windows distract me from what is going on right in front of me. Lately, it seems like these distractions are growing. Thankfully, there are some good things on these screens, like some articles about this very topic. A fellow blogger, Kevin DeYoung, posted about the problem of screen strangulation (read them here--> Part 1 / Part 2). I really resonated with this and decided it was time to take some action. So, in the pattern of Jonathan Edwards, here is my resolution.

Resolved: To not let my screens control my life, but to use them in a healthy way for the furtherance of my relationships with my family, my church, and my God. To accomplish this I will take a break for 7 hours each Thursday.
       -From 9:30 CST until 4:30 CST I will communicate with the outside world the old fashioned way, with a phone call.
       -During this same time I will not go online, but will instead devote myself to reading and study

Maybe 7 hours doesn't seem like a lot. After all, it isn't a full day. But, let me ask you this those of you in love with your screens. When's the last time you went 7 hours away from them? Away from facebook? Away from email or TV? It's been too long for me.

So, that's my goal. If you need to get in touch with me on Thursday, I'd encourage you to give me a call. Otherwise, just leave your emails or facebook messages after the beep.

*BEEP*

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