A Mini Decision. A Massive Difference

Today, Friday August 2, 2024, is my last "free" day before I start back to work teaching middle school English/Language Arts at Holy Spirit Catholic School. I hope you have had a nice summer, filled with lots of relaxation and peace. I'm in the mood to reflect on this summer's growth, which happened because of...books. 

I kicked off my summer reading with The Relentless Elimination of Hurry. When I first began reading this book, I knew that I had a nice flowing rhythm in my day; I didn't hurry much at all. Well, John Mark Comer pretty much came in and wrecked all of my furniture. And to be honest, I was ready for his wrecking ball because I had been having some thoughts about my LIFE—I was getting lazy and living every day as a somewhat bored Christian, content with Jesus, but thinking that was all I needed, sort of like an entitled rich kid. I knew I was the Father's beloved one, and I was kicking back, eating, drinking, enjoying. But would anyone, looking deep into my life, even realize I was a Christian? What set me apart from anyone else? 
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I mean, surely a Christian should live in a way that was different than say, an atheist. 

​I think the Holy Spirit heard my heart, answering with John Mark Comer. This pastor from California challenged me on every page; turns out his book on hurry is more about being a true follower of Jesus Christ. He helped hold up a mirror to myself, which allowed me to clearly see the deep unrest I had been feeling and most importantly, do something about it.  

That book led to another, then another, then another. Books are how we grow—they are certainly not passive. When we read a well-written book, the author hands us a special sort of light, providing a way to peer inside the heart, illuminating new paths of understanding.

One massive area of concern for me has been the way our phones rule our lives. Now, I love my phone and don't intend to get rid of it, but with John Mark Comer's encouragement, I was able to turn it back into a phone when I removed all of my social media apps. (You can read about that here.)

In the past week another change occurred, quite by accident and it is this that I want to spend the rest of our time exploring.

Let me set the scene: my son Eric and his wife Jessica have a baby coming soon, perhaps very soon. Jessica's parents, amazing, kind, supportive and loving, live in Louisiana. So when baby boy Doerneman decides to make his entrance into the world, I'll get the call to go watch Eric and Jessica's one-year old, Danielle.

For the past week I've slept with my phone on my bedside table, awaiting the call. Now, because I didn't want to be awakened continually by various cell phone sounds, I went into my settings, opened my notifications and went down the list. Instead of "allow notification" on all the things, I said no, no, no, no, and no. 

My phone went silent. Literally.  ​

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I kept the same parameters on during the day and guess what? My days have been beautifully quiet. No pulse of emails. No ping of text messages. No trill of Group Me notifications. Nothing. Nada.

Now, of course, the world didn't go silent, the messages still come in, but I am not notified when they arrive. Every couple of hours I go to my trusty phone, which all of a sudden has become a fierce protector of my precious time (biggest surprise!), and I read through my texts and such. I respond. I don't go into a rabbit hole because, well, no social media. Then I put my phone down and walk away.

My ability to settle in and focus has vastly improved, which I know is happening because I am not being disrupted every five minutes throughout the day. I just finished the book Stolen Focus, where I found out that it takes almost twenty minutes to get into the flow state once we've been disrupted.

I am now in charge of my attention, and friends, this feels like a miracle. Not a "whoa, you just rose from the dead" type of miracle, but more like a "my little toe, which has been hurting for four years and is probably broken, just got fixed" type of miracle. And I will take it. I like brain space. 

Okay, one last thing. I am toying with the idea of offering a retreat on creating a more deliberate life, simply because I have gathered a bunch of material over the summer and as I am applying it to my life and to the lives of my people, it seems natural to share. 

Would you be interested in coming to a retreat where you:

• look at intentionally adding solitude into your days, making prayer time a priority
• look at creating several boundaries around your phone use (always up to you, no pressure)
• lean into making the Sabbath truly holy (this has been a radical change in our lives)
• meet new people, eat healthy snacks and have fun

Email me at [email protected] if this sounds like something you'd be interested in delving into. Thanks. Blessings. ​