A few weeks ago I felt a prompting in my Spirit to cut back on social media. It sort of came out of no where, especially since the Lord had dropped in my Spirit that it would be a busy season for me. Nevertheless, I agreed to cut back and go back to what I was doing at first. Foolishly, I believed this would be simple because I somehow duped myself into thinking that I wasn’t really on social media very much.
A Shocking Reality
It wasn’t long after (maybe a couple of days) that I got a new kind of notification on my iPhone. Maybe it has always been there, but it was definitely something new for me, as I had never seen it before. It’s called “Screen Time”. When I opened the notification it preceded to list how many hours I had committed to my phone the previous week…gulp.
It wasn’t pretty friends.
In fact, it was downright sad.
Here I was thinking that I maybe dedicated an hour or two a day to social media, when in fact it was more like 3-4 hours…yikes. There’s nothing like statistics straight from your phone to give you a reality check.
Sure, it is true that as a Blogger social media comes with the territory. You have to share, interact, and publish so that your content can be seen. However, what the Lord was showing me was that I was using up far too much of my time on social media and neglecting the more important things. He wants me to go back to what I was doing at first.
Do the Works you Did at First
Does that statement ring a bell?
It should.
It’s from the warning the Lord gives the Church of Ephesus in Revelation:
” But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t
repent, I will come and remove your lamp stand from it’s place among the churches.”
Revelation 2:4-6 NLT
It’s pretty jarring isn’t it?
In fact, this snapped me back into reality rather quickly as I prayed for repentance. I have not only been wasting my time, but His.
How you ask? It’s simple.
At first, blogging was a way for me to share about the transformation within my life and how I’m growing closer to Jesus. My passion was about getting it all down in blog posts and hitting publish. I realized that it has become less about me doing the work I first did and more about sharing on social media. It has become more about promotion then it is about writing, and that is a sad reality for many of us as writers.
Not only that, but I’ve been distracted by all the things I have been told that I should be doing instead of doing what matters. I have been making social media a priority without even realizing it.
What Matters First
That raises the question of what truly matters and what I should be prioritizing?
My time with God – Instead of reading the Word for a few minutes and checking it off my to-do list, it needs to be time studying and digging deeper. It needs to be time fully set apart to pray and listen to His Spirit.
My time with Family – Instead of wasting time scrolling through countless posts and feeds, I can intentionally carve out time in my day to interact with each of my children one on one. I can put more thought into how we interact as a family such as studies and family outings.
Writing for the Lord – Instead of my blogging being an after thought, or something that I might be able to fit in, It should become the main part of my ministry. I need to remember that it is what God called me to do. He did not call me to promote, monetize, or strategize. The Lord simply called me to write and He will do the rest.
Sure, I can argue that I already do the things that are listed above, but how effective am I being if I’m distracted on a daily basis by hours of social media. If I’m willing to be honest with myself, not very effective at all.
May the overflow of my heart be evidence that I'm attached to the Vine, not the world. #SaltandLightLinkup Share on X
Going Back to What I did At First
So, here I am, making the better choice.
I changed the settings on my phone and placed restrictions that will help me to stay disciplined. God knows what is best for me and my family and I’m convinced that I’m taking an act toward obedience.
I’m also challenging you today as a mother, wife, and maybe even as a writer to take an honest assessment of yourself. Are you doing what you were doing at first?
Today I’m featuring Stacey Pardoe because of her brilliant post called “When Building Your Ministry Hinders the Growth That Matters Most” where she dives into the ways that we are not only letting ourselves become distracted, but how we can go back to what really matters.
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Yep, love this. Just what my heart needed as I’m starting to think about gift guides and holiday traffic. I’m not sure what the balance should be as I would like to monetise my blog eventually so that I can make a decent chunk of income when I decide to be a stay at home mum one day. But as always I love that this community just GETS it. Thank you for sharing 🙂
It certainly is a healthy balance and I’d be lying if I said I have it figured out. Monetizing can easily distract us from the message we are supposed to write. Instead of us writing about a testimony it can be tempting to write an article that draws in an audience instead. I believe God wants His message to be the priority.
Oh yikes, I know all about that screen time information. I, too got it few weeks back. The Lord had told me to cut down screen time this summer but I didn’t get to blog as much either.
I need to get back to what matters the most though and it is my Lord and my family.
Thank you for this simple yet honest message.
Much love my dear friend
Much love to you too my friend : )
Social Media has become a big part of our every day lives. It’s best that I create some boundaries sooner than later. So glad this spoke to you!
What you write here, Natalie, is what I’m sure so many christian bloggers struggle with. I recently wrote in my devotional journal this (not a great piece of writing, but the substance is there!): “Write for God, not to grow my blog. Growing my blog is MY ambition, but I don’t know if it is God’s ambition for me. When God tells me to do something, I should just do it with no thought to the outcome.” Blogging has been such a blessing to me so far and my relationship with Christ has grown so much as I’ve watched the struggles and successes of other christian bloggers. Thank you for sharing and I’ll be praying for you! Love Stacey’s posts, by the way 😉
Gosh, so much encouragement here. Can’t imagine what the link will have. Off to read it now. Thanks for sharing, Natalie.
Natalie, this is what we all need to hear! It is so hard not to get caught up in the strategy and promotion because we all would love to succeed! In prayer many months back, I was seeking the Lord about which direction to take. He spoke very similar words to me: Do what I called you to do and write. I will take care of the rest. And while I do love to socialize with other wonderful bloggers and readers, I try to make sure I know where my time is being spent. At times, this can be a hard balance! Thank you so much for this beautiful post. It definitely spoke to me.
LaDonna | Faith Family and Miracles
Natalie this was so humbling and beautifully written. Thanks for the gentle reminder to do what we are called to do, and to trust the Lord to do the rest. Blessings to you:)
Wow…. this is such an inspiring post. You know, I’ve had to deal with this recently. And I can’t help but notice that God made me go through my old emails and see this post. I need to go back to the start point with God rather than make things up along the way.
I absolutely love that Ola! He does that to me as well so you aren’t alone there. He’s so good to us!