Dear Facebook, I miss you

Dear Facebook, I miss you

When I decided I would give up Facebook for Lent, I was getting frustrated with that site and I thought a break would do me well. I also have never participated in the fasting from something aspect of Lent, and I was eager to try it once. Whoa, it has been harder than I expected!

Side note: I read a good article here about why Protestants give up things for Lent.

I need to remember that me fasting from something, withholding myself from something, is a reminder of what Jesus did for me on the cross. Of course His sacrifice was so much greater than my piddly giving-up-Facebook. I have tried to fill my time with some Scripture reading – I have been reading the Easter story (and all the surrounding events). Last night I read about the Last Supper and pondered a bit on communion and the seriousness of it.

I really do miss Facebook, though. I didn’t anticipate how cut off from friends I would be. I have compensated by becoming active in not one, but three different online forums. :-p I didn’t even realize I was doing it at the time. I also miss my friends knowing things about me. Let’s face it, no one comes to my blog anymore.

It’s also been interesting that forcing myself to stay off Facebook has another unintended consequence… It seriously is something I struggle with every day. Sometimes I am so tired and down I just want to give in. I know that sounds silly! But I am also struggling a LOT with my weight. I know what I need to be doing, it’s just a constant denying your body what you crave and forcing yourself to eat things you don’t want to eat. And it’s hard. And to be honest, after spending all day forcing myself to not be around my friends, I don’t have much energy to not give into my cravings. I have been doing terribly on my diet, and to be honest I just feel so discouraged.

Anyways, I am counting the days until Easter – 19 more days!! We’re less than 3 weeks now. I can do it, I can do it! I need to keep turning my thoughts back to Jesus and reminding myself why I’m doing this.

8 thoughts on “Dear Facebook, I miss you

  1. If you feel cut off from your friends, why not send them an e-mail? Or visit their blogs, if they have one? It’s kind of funny that you told me you didn’t want to have to be involved in one more online forum (when speaking of diaperswappers) – but here you are, a part of three! People need interaction with other people, so it’s not a surprise that you would feel that way and reach out to others. And I may be way off base, but if you’re struggling with all these things, maybe FB is a way of not dealing with them. I know I spend too much time procrastinating, wiling away the hours when I should be doing something more productive.

    Whenever I come here I see all sorts of comments on your blog! You can always send update e-mails to your friends with a snippet from your blog, and a link to that entry. Just a thought! I do all sorts of things to stay connected with friends and family – website, emails, picture site – but I rarely get blog comments, either. I write first for myself (it helps sort things out, get them out of my head), but still hope that some of what I have to say might help someone else.

    I relate to your struggles. Aside from the things I struggle with as a mother, oftentimes waking up not wanting to face my day, dealing with emotional stuff, I’ve always had a problem with my weight. Even though I’ve lost a bit, I’m now stagnant – I can’t seem to progress anymore, and I wish I could discipline myself, give up other vices, work on healthier habits. But some of the changes I’ve made have BECOME habits! It doesn’t happen overnight; you have to work at it. Unless you REALLY want something, nothing will change. If you’re not upset enough about your weight (or whatever), you won’t make those changes. Think of it as as a priority – when faced with the decision of losing weight/being healthy, and giving into your craving, the choice you make shows what you most care about in that moment. Until you put your health above that craving, you don’t want it badly enough.

    Start small, baby steps. What do you normally have for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks? Make small substitutions; you don’t have to go cold turkey giving up things you love. And there may be things you don’t normally have that you find you really like. One of my snacks is trail mix (almonds, pistachios, dried cranberries & raisins), and I mix in some coconut and mini semi-sweet chocolate chips. It has protein/fiber in the nuts, and the rest of the mix gives me the sweetness I crave w/o going overboard. Try healthy alternatives to the things you already make, instead of thinking of it as “denying your body what you crave and forcing yourself to eat things you don’t want to eat.”

    Good luck! I’ll be praying for you. I’m not perfect, and I have plenty of progess to make, but if I can help in any way let me know.

  2. I think you can make it! it’s hard to give up FB because no one else is really, and that’s like the main method of communication anymore it seems. Sure, there’s calling and emails and texts, but it does feel isolating to take a break.

    It was too much for me. I knew I was missing out on births, and I found out I missed out hearing about a death until a few days later…and yeah.

    I didn’t re-add the FB app to my ipod and I think that’s good. It keeps my time down.

  3. I think it is impressive you gave up FB for Lent! I couldn’t have done it and I don’t interact with a lot of people on there, but it at least makes me feel like I am keeping up with people I care about (and helps me not feel so lonely at home by myself). That really takes some strength. Keep it up!!!

    I am sorry you are having a hard time with your weight loss journey. I know how frustrating that can be. I have also been there with the struggle of fighting a hard battle in some other area of life and just let the weight loss slide to a distant 20th place. I know it is a hard journey, and I hope things get easier for you. If you ever want to talk about it let me know, I am here for you! I have tried every diet out there and every method known to man, so if you have questions about something I have probably tried it.

  4. I’ve thought about giving up facebook, either for a period of time, or permanently, but never have. It would be hard. It’s amazing how “connected” it makes me feel… and then “disconnected” when I’m absent for even a little time. I hope and pray you’re able to learn through it and somehow benefit from the experience.

    We’re looking forward to your re-entrance in not-too-long!

  5. I think giving up FB is admirable. I can’t/won’t do it because it is how we keep up with our youth group. They don’t email, and I don’t text, but we all use Facebook. I do miss seeing you there, though. You can do it!

    You’re not missing too much. I can tell you that my post today is just pregnancy griping. As in, I want people to call me by my name and not Mom, and I want people to stop telling me not to clean litterboxes because I KNOW THAT. See? Not missing much! :-)

  6. Anne Marie: I actually wondered the litter box thing when I was reading your blog post about Ninja’s… err, issue… Hehe goes to show that everyone knows one thing about you: you love (have) cats. ;-)

    Hannah: Are you going to be at Christos for Easter? Are you having fun in CT? We missed you at the prayer retreat!

  7. Yep, the plan is Christos for Easter! I’m signed up to bring food that day, so I better be there, I guess! =)
    Oh yes, we’re quite enjoying ourselves here! Susan and I are having fun creating in the kitchen and discussing digestive problems and the grandparents are in grandparent Heaven. :)
    I missed being at the prayer retreat. Next time! And I hope that this year’s could-have-been-better experience won’t keep you from going next time! It’ll just have to be camping weather.

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