I Will Follow the Prophet: Part Two

This past week of fasting from social media gave me some wonderful opportunities. I considered the content of what I share and why I share it along with the content that I view and how it effects me. In some ways it was hard to be away from social media especially since I live so far away from family and many friends. It's the easiest way to keep up with what's going on in their lives.

President Nelson invited the youth to do these 5 things
and I accepted the challenge as well.

I started this blog because I loved reading other people's blogs and felt like I had something to share too. I feel like this has become our family journal. I've used it to keep track of the things we do beyond our normal everyday life. There have been times where I share more and others where I take big long breaks. Sometimes it's because I don't feel like anything is really going on, but sometimes it's because life has gotten a little too crazy for me to handle. (Like when Jonathan lost his job back in January.) I am planning on continuing with blogging especially now that we live even further away from family and friends. I want to be more genuine with what I share on all social media platforms.

I noticed awhile ago that I don't always read the caption to what people post on Instagram. I didn't like it, but I didn't do anything to change that behavior either. Now that I'm coming back after a week long break, I plan on taking the time to read what is shared . I will also be going through the long list of accounts that I follow and be more intentional with who I let in. Sometimes I binge on looking at stranger's pregnancy announcements or newborn photos. I almost never feel uplifted because I am feeding jealous feelings and my fears that none of our children will stay with us for very long. It's not healthy for me and it doesn't help me trust Heavenly Father's plan for our family whatever it may be. I don't need to worry about what blessings I don't have. Instead, I can be grateful for all the blessing we have received.

During my break from social media, I paid extra attention to how I was spending my time and how I could improve. I didn't start out perfect or suddenly start using my time perfectly by the end of the week, but I was more considerate and work on better prioritizing my day.

Overall, I want to be more intentional with what I post, who I follow, and what I comment on. I want to get away from just hitting like and scrolling along without reading what was shared. I want my digital persona match my real-life persona. I am grateful that I took a week off so I could reevaluate the pros and cons of social media and I hope to make it more uplifting both for me and others.