Three More Reasons I am Glad I Ditched Facebook

Three More Facebook

On Wednesday I told two reasons I am glad of the decision to quit Facebook. Today I will roll out the last three reasons why I think this was a good decision for me.

1. Judgmental reactions are avoided. 

Many times a person would post a picture on Facebook and I would immediately send out my judgmental antennae labeling exhibit A as too revealing, infomercial material, or fake to the hilt. Judgmentalism is a subtle sin that Christians can overlook easily in light of the  more offensive,  in your face sins like swearing or underage drinking or the like. However, judgmental and pious attitudes are equally sinful as the aforementioned.  Cutting out Facebook equated cutting down on judgmental attitudes that held everyone around me to my own and often unobtainable standards.

2. Freedom to live without constant need for affirmation.

Often times, I would post a picture, statement, article, or blog post and have no response from friends. When this happened I would worry that I had said or done something wrong, that people were tired of listening to my voice, or that I wasn’t accepted or liked. Without putting myself out there for the friend world to respond to I feel freedom to be myself and invest my voice into the people within my sphere of influence in face to face relationships and within this community at This Temporary Home. You show up to read my writing without any sense of compulsion other than because you want to. Thank you is not enough, but all that I have to offer. So…thank you!

3. Regaining a measure of privacy. 

It is my experience in our world of social media and the blogosphere that people can know very much about you without ever talking with you. I am really not sure how comfortable I am with that. On the one hand it is great to share in what God is teaching me or what adorable thing my children are doing at their current age, but on the other hand, I loose sight of who in fact is reading that information when I share it with over one-thousand friends. In ditching Facebook, I have regained a sense of my children’s privacy and my own. Not everyone needs to know what I am doing or thinking or struggling with on a daily, or update-by-update basis.

Regaining private moments and marking them as private makes them more special and gives me stories to tell and share as I recall them. I have no idea how putting our kids out there for so many people to see will affect them in the long run. I want to guard these precious children I have been entrusted with and for me that started with Facebook and has lead to cutting down significantly even with pictures I post on This Temporary Home.

What about you? Have you considered dropping one form of social media? Have you already done so? What are some of the benefits or lessons that you have learned? 

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We Have Been Published!

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Five years ago, Ron took our first group of students to Student Leadership University (SLU). This fabulous leadership program for today’s youth is headed and founded by Dr. Jay Strack.  Dr. Jay has been a youth evangelist for over 30 years. I had the privilege of hearing him myself as a youth growing up in the 90’s. His experience and expertise in the youth industry is in a league of its very own.

SLU has proven to be a wonderful tool to train young people to be the godly leaders with integrity that our country desperately needs today. Back in the fall of 2012, Ron received an e-mail from Dr. Jay asking him to be a contributor for his newest book, #CriticalIssues #AbsoluteAnswers. Ron was delighted with the offer and made one additional request…”Can my wife write two chapters as well?”

Think of the humility and the selflessness of my husband! How many people, either male or female, would put the heart’s desires of their spouse for publication equal to their own? Not many I would sadly say, but that is the level of servant leadership which Ron possesses. Praise be to God!

Dr. Jay agreed to having both the Cooney’s as contributors and, with thrilled hearts, we set to writing our respective chapters.

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After months of editing and ordering the chapters written by contributors such as Dr. Jay Strack, Chuck Allen, Dr. Danny Akin, Brent Crowe, and Dave Edwards; Jack Countryman and the team at Thomas Nelson have packaged a wonderful resource for youth, parents, and youth workers to benefit from. #CriticalIssues #AbsoluteAnswers tackles 70 issues that teens face and the questions concerning them. This book provides Bible-based answers to such questions surrounding identity, self-esteem, leadership, missions, faith, pain, sex, divorce, homosexuality, and discipleship, plus much much more.


It is with humbled and excited hearts that we are proud to share this wonderful, newly published resource with you. Our teens are bombarded with the pull of the world and it is our hearts desire that they acquire biblical answers and direction to choose the narrow path towards Christ-likeness and ultimately home.

You can purchase a copy by clicking the link below. Ron and I would love to send this wonderful resource to you! If you would like to make a bulk order for your youth-group or for graduation gifts, please e-mail me at Brooke.Cooney.1@gmail.com and we would love to make that happen for you.



 

God bless you and the lives of the youth that you influence! For His Kingdom’s glory!

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