**This post was originally written a few weeks before the covid-19 pandemic. Crazy how now we are really depending on technology to work, homeschool, connect with friends and family, and even hear our church sermons. I do want to remain sensitive to this “new, temporary normal” but also want to emphasize how important it is to disconnect from phones and social media and be present– especially now. Check in on your people. Keep encouraging one another. Get outside whenever you can. And keep your eyes focused on God. He is still in control!**

I’m young enough to keep up with the pace of social media but old enough to remember life without any of it. And I truly believe that is an incredible blessing. My childhood memories are filled with things like pretending to be spies, building fairy houses, making home movies, tasting mulberries from the tree in the backyard. It was magical and fun and life-giving. That is what I want my children to experience too.

I remember sitting on the couch one night a few weeks ago and Bradley walking into the kitchen to get a drink. He returned with my phone in hand and said, “Here mom, you forgot this on the counter.” Such an innocent gesture but one that absolutely ripped through my heart.

Do I really spend so much time on my phone that me being without it is abnormal to my kids? Ouch.

I want my kids to remember me playing games with them, reading from an actual book, being ok with the quiet and simply relaxing on the couch. I want them to learn that while yes, social media is amazing and technology can help to improve our lives—those things are not my life. Trust me, it is not your life either.

Real life happens outside the confines of that tiny screen. The experiences you have, the places you travel to, the people you build relationship with. It is within these moments where the richest blessings God can give, are found. Learn a new hobby, read that book you’ve been “meaning to get to”, go build a lego tower with your kids (or by yourself, no judgement). Instead of mindlessly scrolling, put down your phone and go do whatever you have put off because you feel like there’s not enough time.

In a world that is obsessed and run by social media and new technology, I am choosing to forget my phone more often and experience life again. All the boring, mundane, crazy, chaotic and beautiful parts of it. Will you join me?