Are you an "Innie?" Over the years, I have realized that I am much more of an introvert than an extrovert. As I have learned more about introverts, I realize that I too recharge in quiet. I am not anti social by any means, I love my friendships! But I tend to enjoy deeper talk, the one on one type. And I find that I have less social stamina than the extroverts I know. I need mental margin in order to be the creative person that God designed me to be.
Over the years people have contacted me asking for a list of blogs I would recommend for them to read. That is always a really hard question for me to answer because for myself it's quiet that I crave for inspiration. You would be far more likely to find me cuddled on a couch reading aloud to my kids than reading a blog. And yet I blog... is that a contradiction? Ha! Probably.
Even Facebook is too noisy for me most of the time. While I love to check in to see how I can be praying for or encouraging people, I find that I am more often met with too many posts that demonstrate how easily offended we Christians can be by an unbelieving world. I just don't have the emotional energy to be offended by red cups or the latest upset. As I remember the Lord's command in Proverbs 22:24: Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man. Do not associate with one easily angered. I find it is easier to simply log off and find quiet.
I will literally go weeks without even opening Facebook. Did you know that if you don't open Facebook for weeks, they will begin to send you emails to try to entice you back with all you might be missing? It's true! I get those emails all the time.
With a couple of my dearest friends on Instagram, I finally succumbed to joining them. I really did not want more noise in my life, but one of my friends who had left Facebook for Instagram convinced me it would be a good thing.
It's been about a year now and I realize that I really enjoy the quiet of Instagram. It's just photos. I don't follow people with loud political opinions or axes to grind. In fact, I don't follow many people at all and it's not personal because unlike Facebook that doesn't mean we are "friends" or not friends. We are just following or not. It's quiet allows me to share simple and creative moments that I would ordinarily tend to just keep to myself.
I enjoy looking back over the year and the thought that I can easily make a photo book from our little square photo moments at any time.
As 2015 winds down, I thought I would share some photos from this year's Instagram feed. No words, just moments for those of you who enjoy photos.
So, here's to finding quiet in a noisy world, my friends. May you be blessed. :)
Love,
"Aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one." - 1 Thessalonians 4:11
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Rebecca, I echo your sentiment. We deleted our facebook account many many years ago and that was the best decision ever. For the last few years we've been on Instagram with very low profile. Quiet is good.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lois. Love you guys. :)
DeleteI am very much an introvert. And I agree Facebook is too busy and loud. I frequent there less and less. Even with a very small restrict news feed I fend it surely doesn't feed me "well". I sore Instagram because I can pay all the memories I want and then with just a couple of clocks I print my memories into a book. My decade long stress over keeping up with family memories is over. Wahooooo! I do so enjoy your IG pics.
ReplyDeleteThanks Emily. Love the kindred spirits (like yours!) that God connects us with. You are a blessing. :)
DeleteHi Rebecca,
ReplyDeleteI rarely blog these days and have not added to my blog reading list, just kept the ones I discovered early on including yours that I thought of as 'kindred spirits' and a few that mainly inspire me visually in the homemaking arts. I'm very grateful to the small circle of friends I found in blogland and my daughter was able to stay with two of those families when she visited Canada and the US in May. One of my main motivations in beginning a blog was to have a family journal. There is already a wealth of homeschool advice, decorating and cooking blogs out there to help and inspire people and I found blogging was stealing my time as I tried to think of posts to write and I couldn't figure out how to blog from my phone and get the photos to display in the right order. I'm still on Facebook mainly to keep in touch with family and friends overseas and I enjoy the encouraging posts from ministries that I value such as Elizabeth George's but yes, I think you are right it is too noisy and for me it wearies my soul at times. Was useful for promoting the movie War Room though when it came to our local movie theatre. I also had a friend tell me Instagram was a much nicer place providing you are careful who you follow so recently I began using it a lot more. As a result, I connected with another Christian homeschool family who live a few hours away. Over the years people used to ask me if we knew this family as we had mutual friends but I have never met them until I realized the lady who I was following on Instagram who loved vintage style was the mom from this family! We wrote to each other and realized how much we had in common and we finally met for real a few months ago! I'm also enjoying just putting up moments from our days at home - the desserts my girls bake, the books we are reading, days at the beach, the birds in the garden and a few pictures that reflect our faith and aspirations which I hope will inspire others - a picture can say a thousand words! I would love to follow you on Instagram. Are you using the same name as your blog or your own name? I'll try and find you or email me and I'll let you know my account name.
Exactly, Ann. And that is why we keep Facebook also. I just can't spend a lot of time there. :) On Instagram, I am rkjphotography. Thanks for staying connected for all these years. It's great to hear from you!
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