10 Days Of Detox

If you look hard you’ll notice the slight tan (it looks like an off white) I acquired these last ten days.  I usually don’t tan, I’m more of a burner, so I’ll take the light cream skin I’m now sporting.  Just in case you missed it, I was away on vacation with family and decided to take on the challenge of omitting as much technology as possible.  I was rather successful, but in no way was it easy.  Below I want to share with you two thoughts that came to my mind over the last week and a half:

• I Have An Emotional Attachment To Social Media – I missed blogging because I enjoy to share with you all my musings.  For me it’s a way of just pouring into you what I’ve learned.  I missed the quick conversations on Twitter and Facebook.  With email it was all anxiety because I felt by not checking I was falling behind and out of touch.  While technology is just a thing, it’s amazing how much of it we let into our lives.  Don’t believe me, just try shutting it out for an entire weekend.
• Acceleration (Good or Bad) Can Wear You Out – Jim Collin’s Good to Great points out that technology will either accelerate you to success or doom.  While I knew this before vacation I never realized that I just needed a break from accelerating.  While training for a marathon (or any big race) it’s important to lessen your miles as you approach race day.  Even if you are on a roll it’s important to maintain a pace and take pauses (life a vacation or a morning off) to regroup by slowing down.  Even though things are going great in youth ministry, I still needed a break. 

What Does This Mean For Student Ministry?
There were many thoughts that emerged during this time away and I hope to share many more of them with you in the near future.  And, now that I’m back I look forward to posting more about maintaining balance and overcoming obstacles so that we can continue to do ministry for the long haul. 

During my 10 days of detox from technology I found myself witnessing God, family and the world around me in a new light.  I found myself thinking abstractly that put my mind, body and soul at rest.  But in the end it’s good to be back. 

Have you ever fasted from technology?  What did you learn?