I’ve known for awhile that Facebook and I needed to reevaluate our relationship. It was making me irritable, begging me to compare myself to others, and stealing valuable time (if even just ten minutes in a day). When I read that motivational writer Crystal Paine from moneysavingmom.com had deleted her personal account to make more time for her “best stuff,” I seriously considered it too. But after evaluating my own situation, I decided on a better solution that will help me engage with my own “best stuff”: family and writing.
In order to stay active on both fronts, I’ve decided to keep my personal page, and I’ve also decided to start a “professional” writing page (using that term very loosely!).
The personal page will keep me connected to loved ones who want baby and family updates (and whose updates I want to read, too)—especially now that I live far from friends and family. I haven’t been great at posting these types of things, but I am trying to do better, because I want to keep my loved ones involved—and Facebook is where a lot of them hang out! (Please note: Facebook has never been much of a temptation for me, so I’m pretty confident that logging in from time to time won’t derail into an addiction. Others who have a problem logging off, however, might benefit from a different strategy.)
My professional page, on the other hand, will serve a different purpose, and a different audience. It will be a better place to put my longish, thoughtful, and/or devotional posts, which never get near the traffic that a picture of baby Sam does on my personal site (hey, I get it!). It will be another good way to speak to an audience that may not have a personal stake in my life, but that wants to read what I have to write, and that takes an interest in my writing journey.
I anticipate spending much more time on the “professional” page, because “writing true stories for his glory,” “blogging lessons of daily life,” and talking with others about my passion (writing) is what energizes me and feeds my soul. And I think that, ultimately, this type of post is what feeds others’ souls too, more than a selfie, a picture of my lunch, or even the cutest picture of Sam. Not to say these are bad…just…I want to practice moderation, and keep first things first!
May God help us all to use Facebook to its fullest…whatever that means for you! Of course, I hope that means “liking” my new Facebook fan page! If you do, I promise I will try not to post time-wasting stuff, but only that which is helpful for the Christian walk and the writer’s life. Thanks in advance for the “like”!
Lindsey Gendke 