Changes

Only ONE more day until we MOVE! I can't even begin to express how excited we are to get settled in our new home. It will be so nice to be able to do simple things like prepare a meal with more than one pan and paper plates. :)
This past Sunday we were getting ready for church and we both were looking for various clothing items. We each had one church outfit left unpacked however, when I went to fix my hair I realized that I couldn't find my straightener. So off I went to church with a ponytail... :)
 I am finding it very hard to be organized while moving.

Recently, Daniel and I decided to make some changes with regards to social media. We were discussing how crazy it is that one can have hundreds of individuals on FB, Instagram, etc., but not very many real friends. Maybe we are just a bit old-fashioned, but we would much rather hang out with people face-to-face than have them "like" the things we share on the internet. We are thankful for the way that technology enables us to connect with people that live far away, but at the same time, we hate how much interaction and socialization is through text messaging and online forums.

Also, earlier this year I had several incidents where I was criticized for articles that I chose to share. Personally, when I come across something I don't agree with I simply scroll past it. I realize that for now, we live in a free country and as long as what we share doesn't harm someone else we have the right to share/write whatever we want to on the internet. I am thankful my parents taught me that just because you don't agree with someone it doesn't mean that they themselves don't have a right to their opinions/beliefs.
After one particular long FB debate my husband really encouraged me to remove people that really didn't know me or have a relationship with me from my FaceBook. Honestly, there were a lot of people on there that I had no interaction with.

I found the following article very interesting...

"The Facebook obsession of amassing 'friends' creates the impression that some users are wildly more sociable than others. 
But while we may be able to count 5,000 friends on the online social networking site, scientists have shown that humans' brains are capable of managing a maximum of just 150 friendships.
Oxford University Professor Robin Dunbar has conducted a study of social groupings throughout the centuries, from neolithic villages to modern office environments.
His findings, based on his theory 'Dunbar's number', developed in the 1990s, asserts that size of the part of the brain used for conscious thought and language, the neocortex, limits us to managing 150 friends, no matter how sociable we are."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1245684/5-000-friends-Facebook-Scientists-prove-150-cope-with.html#ixzz3dLH1Prb8
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Together my husband and I are attempting to pursue real, genuine, relationships with our friends and family. I don't want to waste anymore time sharing moments of my life with people who don't even know me. It is not that I don't want to meet new people...I DO! But, at the same time I don't want to become in bondage to putting my life on display for the "masses".

 Right before I deleted my Instagram account I scrolled through the hundreds of images that I have shared over the last couple of years. They represented so much time. Time spent trying to capture a moment that was meant for me to enjoy. Moments that God gave me...not other people. There is nothing inherently wrong with sharing moments of you life with others, but when that is all you think about while you are out living life, to me, that is wrong. 

When we were headed out for our honeymoon Daniel told me that I could take pictures with my camera but not with my phone. He wasn't trying to keep me off of Instagram but rather he wanted me to soak up our time together without feeling like I had to capture it for the rest of the "world" to see. 

Am I ever going to have an Instagram again...I don't know. I do know however that these last few days have taught me a lot. I don't share this to convince you that you should only have 150 friends max on FaceBook or that you should delete any of your social media accounts. Rather I want to be transparent about my own failures to live my life intentionally for Jesus Christ. 

My prayer is that I can redeem the time that I wasted and learn more about building real, lasting, Biblical, relationships with those God has placed in my life.

I suppose I better wrap this post up so that the computer can be loaded onto the moving truck. The next time I post I will be in my new home!

Much love to you all.

-mckenzie gentry