This morning I got up, went to the bathroom, grabbed my phone from the charger and laid back down in bed to scroll through my social media apps. My recent Facebook status had gotten "54 likes" (it was about my growing belly not fitting in a booth, people find self-deprecating humor funny), my latest Instagram, "22 likes" (that's a little disappointing, it was about VOTING people... come on now!) and "0" replies/retweets on Twitter (biggest disappoint of all, where's the tweet-love??)

All joking aside... there is some truth behind the value I place on myself because of social media.

While it may not be an outspoken thing, I believe many people are basing their worth on how many Facebook/Twitter/Instagram likes, follows and retweets they get. At the root of all people is the desire to be accepted. Growing up, we found our worth in who we were friends with or what boy/girl liked us that week. Times have changed, but the heart of it all is still the same. At least back then, I was the only person that knew how many people invited me to their birthday party or told me they liked my new hair cut. Now we have a device that measures the exact quantity for us. I read an article just this morning on "Why My Kids Won't Use Social Media Anytime Soon" and I completely agree (and kids or not, I highly encourage you to read it too!)

Now many of you may try and deny that social media has any real affect on you. And that's fine. But ask yourself this ONE thing, "Is checking Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram a part of my daily routine?" If the answer is yes, then it has affected you. In fact, dictionary.com claims that the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice is called an addiction. For me, personally, this addiction runs deep. I now check my phone before grabbing my Bible. Anything that we put before God, is an idol.

Now I will be the first to say that social media, in of itself, is not bad. In fact, I am a huge advocate of using it as a tool to further spread the Gospel and network with other people. I believe it can be used for so much good! Which is why this idol is so easily disguised and rationalized in my life. 

It disgusts me that I cannot find a healthy balance. But I am making progress.

Josh and I refuse to take out our phones when we're out to eat. The only exception is if we are taking a picture of each other (or of you know, our food, to Instagram later). And starting... today, tomorrow... I will be grabbing my Bible instead of reaching for my iPhone to check in the mornings.

Little steps. I may not be on the road to recovery yet, but I hope to be. And instead of going cold-turkey and deleting every social app I have, I find it healthier to repent and learn to walk in the truth that my value and worth is found only in my Savior.

Warning: There is no filter in this post. No proofreading. No spell check. Just my random thoughts on this random Tuesday night. Enjoy. Summer. It's a refreshing feeling. I'm so thankful for a job that allows me a two month hiatus. Teaching can be one of the most rewarding, but draining jobs. I thought I was a patient person until I became a teacher. But oh, the moments when I have a class that is attentive and quiet. I just love that feeling too.

I'm still working during the summer though. Odd jobs, really. I'm teaching swim lessons for the next couple weeks. Then I have the amazing opportunity to lead worship and sing for a few events. And most excitingly, I'll be back as a track leader at WIRED for my third summer here in Dothan. I'm really looking forward to it.

Costa Rica. My first overseas mission trip ever. Really? Yep. It is a blessing from the Lord (that came in the form of a sweet couple in our church) that made this financially possible. All things work together for the good...

Speaking of good. God is good. But He's more than that, He's loving when I'm unlovable. He's patient when I'm hesitant. He's forgiving when I'm embarrassing. It's good to remind myself of these things. Especially, when I start to think I'm never going to be good enough.

And while we're talking about things that aren't good. This world is not good. I see so much I wish I didn't see. Mostly on the internet. I'm not superstitious (more suspicious than anything), but one time my dad told me that if you add up the letters in "computer" based on an ancient Babylonian numbering system, they equal 666. The alleged "mark of the beast" symbol. There are only two other words that equal this number - kissinger (whatever that means) and witchcraft. Weird, I know.

Anyway, that's a whole lot of babble to say... I am supersti.., suspicious of how this world is operating. Of how I am operating. If I am being honest, I spend a great deal of my time interacting with technology. My phone and my computer are basically attached to my hip. I am dying for an iPad actually, because it is smaller and more compact than my laptop (imagine that... something more portable than a laptop!) But goodness... the time that is wasted by staring at a screen. Every time I think of deleting social networking from my life - I feel like I'm deleting 1400 facebook friends and 400 twitter followers. Plus the fact that I order pizza online. Pay bills online. Buy music online. Sell music online. Wow...

And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666. - Revelation 13:16-18

No one will buy or sell except the one who has the mark. Most everything nowadays is sold with a UPC code. Which is scanned onto a computer. And we are leaning more and more towards doing everything online. I don't know... "computer" adding up to 666 doesn't seem so crazy to me now, Dad.

So what does that leave me with? Not much, really. You won't see me throwing out my Droid anytime soon. But then again, I don't want to sit by and become ignorant of the blatant evil that is masquerading itself in the form of twitter statuses filled with gossip and hate; innocent "facebook chats" leading to adultery; google searching images that lead to pornography; building aquariums, farms and other games that waste our time; and probably the easiest to overlook and the most convicting of mine... constantly feeding our minds with what everyone else thinks and does.

I don't know how this post that began with a few babblings turned into my thoughts on the end times and the mark of the beast... but welcome to my mind. This is how I operate. I just decided to write it all out tonight instead of speaking it aloud. My husband says thank you. :)

... or any smart phone, really.

It's 2011, and cell phones are basically a necessity of life these days. I'm going to go even further and say that a smart phone will be a necessity by 2015. Maybe sooner.

I've had my Droid X for a week now and love it! I'm finding cool new functions every day. There are several reasons why I believe that having a smart phone is important (and helpful!) But I thought I would just pinpoint on why I love my Droid X. :)

1. Swype -  Making the leap to all touch screen was probably my biggest hesitancy in trading in my Motorola Droid for the Droid X. But after discovering this new, fantastic way of entering text... I couldn't be happier!

2. Social Network app - The built in social network apps are great! From my home screen, I can see the latest status update from my friends, update my twitter and/or facebook status, and post any photo without downloading an app.

3. Camera - With 8mpx and HD video, the camera on my phone is the perfect pocket camera for any event.

4. Large Display - Also a feature I wasn't sure I'd enjoy, but now am so thankful for! The large display makes it so easy to read text, operate the keypad and watch videos. It fits perfectly in my small hand.

5. Facebook Contact Integration - The other day I needed to get in touch with a friend, but I didn't have her number. Thanks to the FB integration, all I had to do was open up a text message, search for her name and there she was in my contacts - number and all. As long as they post their phone number on facebook, you have it. Scary? Only if you're not a friend. (I should also note: in the instance where a facebook friend doesn't have their number listed, you can send them a text via their email address. I did it yesterday, basically awesome).

6. Browser - This should have been first. You have the  whole world (wide web) at your fingertips. Literally. Need the number for a local store? Google is your friend.

7. GPS - Remember when paying $200 for a separate navigation device seemed like a good investment? Now it's standard on nearly every smart phone. No need to have several devices when your phone can handle it all.

8. Mp3 Player - Again, no need to have more than one device. With the standard 8 GB storage, and 16 GB micro SD card (and the ability to expand to a total of 40 GB of memory) you can store your entire music library on your Droid. Plug in some headphones or plug it in through a transmitter in your car, and you'll be wondering what to do with your iPod.

9. Apps - "There's an app for that." Get use to hearing those words. There is, honestly, an app for everything.

10. Mobility - Check your email, read the paper, watch tv, make a grocery list, chat with a friend, play scrabble (see Wordfeud, in the app market) all while your taking the bus to work. You can even blog! I wrote this entire post from my phone. :)