Finding Balance

Balancing life.

It's like learning to walk on a ship at sea. 

I think.  After all, I don't really know. I get seasick.
Maybe that's a bad analogy, but you get the idea.

Throw in hobbies like blogging or social media, and things can really get topsy turvy.

Over the past twelve months I have read of women struggling to find balance.  Looking at their online persona, one would have never guessed it. 

They looked like they had it all together just like these frames I recently retired.

Turn over the frames, and a whole new picture emerges.

One is taped so the picture wouldn't slide out.  Another was supported with duct tape, and would stand no longer, the tape wore out.  Without these patch jobs, the very pictures of life would fall over or out completely.  Not a pretty sight.

Is that how it is when we spend too much time online?  Is there a patch job holding us together in real life, but no one sees it, because we only present the picture in the frame?

These thoughts and questions have permeated my mind for some time. 

Though in this season of my life, I strictly limit how much time I spend online, I felt like there was a warning to be read.  The women who wrote from their hearts and shared a piece of their struggles were honestly sharing for their readers' benefit.  As I read, I knew I needed to carefully consider the warning.  I didn't want to become a frame with no support.  Or worse a frame with no real life to capture because I spent too much time online.

Then, recently, I found two ebooks that centered on this very topic! 

I bought and read them both in one night.

The first, Simple Blogging: Less Computer Time, Better Blogging, by Rachel Meeks focuses on finding your own rhythm and defining your personal success according to your own purposes and reasons for being online.  She urges you not to become captive to trends and to have a life outside of the computer.  Each chapter ends with some reflection questions to apply to your own computer usage.  Personally, I appreciated the practical real life applications.

The other ebook I read was Blogger Behave: Make Your Blog Benefit Your Life, so You Can Love Both, by Laura Booz.  Filled with God honoring wisdom related to blogging, this book is a fabulous resource.  Reading through each page, I felt like I was sitting down at her kitchen table, gleaning wisdom and advice from a friend who had my best interests at heart.

Even if you feel like you don't spend too much time with social media or blogging, I still recommend each of these ebooks.  There is a plethora of wisdom in both.  If you are one of the women who shared her heart and struggles, I thank you for your honesty and the warnings. 
~ Dorie