The Contentment Project: Week 2.

I don't know about you, but the events of the past week have made me long for contentment even more! When situations are chaotic and people disagree, I think it points even more clearly to our need for God. He is in control, He always has been and He always will be. This is reason to have joy! I hope this month-long challenge is going well for you so far! Hopefully you have decided upon your spending-free categories and have been able to replace some of the desire for stuff with a greater desire for Jesus. Have you been able to start each day with the Lord, before time in the mirror, social media or email? Keep giving your first and your best time to the One who created time, and holds all time in His hands.

Here's what's up for week #2!

Scripture Memory:

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you"  Hebrews 13:5 NIV

Challenge:
Pick one, or both! I'm going to do both, because I need to do both. Maybe you've already mastered one of these, and if so, you're awesome and I want to be like you!

1) Only one social media check per day. This means a limited amount of time spent on each of your social media accounts, only once per day. If you spend a lot of time on your e-mail, for non-work-related purposes, then you can include e-mail too. I've chosen to do 10 minutes on Facebook and 10 minutes on Instagram, which means I've already used my allotment for today. I'm looking forward to real-life conversations, more book-reading, eye contact and being present with those who are in the same room! I anticipate this will also reduce discontentment and comparison as I will be forced to look around at all that I do have and be thankful for it!

2) Cell phone-->Home phone. Remember those phones that had cords and were attached to the wall? Those phones were just phones, not minicomputers with addictive qualities. My cell phone typically moves from room to room with me and is either in my hand, in my purse or sitting beside me on the table, couch, etc. It is distracting and gets my attention sometimes more than the human beings in the room. (This is sad!!) What really alarmed me the other day was when I noticed that I was looking at my phone while Lucy was looking up at at me smiling, and I was missing it! (Really sad!!) I do not want her to grow up consistently receiving half of my attention, especially in the young, formative years.  I want to give my full attention to those around me- this is respectful and loving. I don't want to miss out on things right in front of me. I do not need my phone for work, so you may need to modify this if you do. However, I think most everyone can agree that having a cell phone within arms reach does not make us a better wife, mother, friend, customer, employee, etc. to whomever we are with in the moment! Don't get me wrong- I really appreciate technology and don't wish for a life without it. However, I want to be better at managing my use of it, rather than it managing me. In summary, the challenge is to treat your phone like a "home phone" when you are at home. Pick a location in your house, maybe beside your actual landline phone if you have one, and park your phone there. Turn the volume up and walk away! If it rings, you will be able to hear it. If you miss a call, you can just call the person back. And if you miss a text, it probably wasn't that urgent. ;) ***Bonus! If you plug your phone while it's sitting there, the battery will actually be charged when you need it to be! This is great news for my ailing battery.

Encouragement:

As I've mentioned, the month of November is "Money Month" at our church. Yesterday our pastor said something that really stuck with me. "The people who are truly rich are those who look around at what they already have, and are content with it." Let's look up from our phones, tablets, and computers, and look away from the mirror, the media and the negativity in the world, and see all that the Lord has already given us. It's beyond anything that we deserve, and it's more than enough.

Artwork from Pinterest.