The Streak

Phones.  They are not what they used to be. In fact, when I was a young girl cell phones were a figment of our imagination, and my home phone was connected to the wall with a long cord that stretched all the way from the kitchen to the living room.  My brother and I were so excited when our parents bought a new phone and a chalkboard was attached.  So cool! I could draw on the chalkboard while talking to my friends.  How genius was that back in the 70's?!!

Now I am a mom in the 21st century with two teenagers and a tween who have grown up in a very different culture than I did.  The cell phone has gone from a special want to a perceived "need".  What started as a means to talk to people while mobile, we now hold small computers in our hands.

Cell phones have become one of the greatest challenges for me when it comes to parenting, and I'm continually seeking wisdom and discernment on how to parent in the midst of the ever-changing culture of technology.

Streaks. A streak is how many days in a row you and another person have snap chatted.  This is a regular routine in our house, keeping those streaks alive.  When I asked more details about these streaks, my daughters were sure to tell me how important it is to keep a streak going with their friends.  I then asked, "What would happen if you missed one day and ended the streak?"  They replied, "You just don't end a streak, Mom!"  Again it was important to them, and they were committed to keeping the streak alive.  

I didn't understand, but I wanted to.  I wanted to see what was so enticing about a streak, but I didn't have nor want a snapchat account. 

 (I also wondered how I could get them to be that committed to a streak with their chores.)

So I decided to make my own "snap chat" to see what all the hype was about and why it was so important to my daughters and their friends.  So last December, I took a 20 second video of myself, telling my best friend in Georgia that I would be texting a short video of myself to her every day for the month of December.  And she agreed to do the same! This would be the beginning of MY version of a snap chat streak. Perhaps then I would understand and not be so critical about it.  

That's exactly what happened.  I quickly understood.  To connect with my friend each day, seeing her face and hearing her encouraging words, gave me a little bit of joy each day.  I began to look for new ways to share my life with her and found myself looking forward to receiving her video in return.  We felt like we were journeying life together again even though we were 2500 miles apart. My girls were even excited to see what my friend, Frances, had sent me each day.

 I got it. It's their way of connecting with friends. I remember my mom not understanding why I would talk for hours on the phone with my friend whom I had just spent the whole day with at school.  What did we have to talk about? I don't know.  It's just what we did to connect. 

At the end of the month, I decided to continue this streak thing, seeing that it could be a good thing for me.  I'm not talking about one continuous streak...but I thought I'd experiment with a new streak each month.  Whatever God lays on my heart. 

So for the month of January my streak involved sending my girls a text each day.  I had been asking God, "How can I continue to nurture my girls spiritually without coming across as lecturing/preaching in their teenage years?" This was it!  I began sharing encouraging words with them, then sharing what God was teaching me, and before I knew it we were reading the book of Ephesians together and texting our thoughts and questions to one another and even inviting friends to join in.  I saw new things in my girls I had not seen before.

Other streaks involved words of respect and endearment to my hubby, implementing exercise disciplines, and creating time with God.

Each month's streak has helped me be intentional about areas in my life I want to grow in. Taking the values I hold and the things I "injoy" and be deliberate about applying them in my life.  

So it is now May.  A new month.  A new streak is before me.  I love to write, but I have recently been struggling to do it.  There are many reasons for that, but one is time.  Life is full....full of moments I am treasuring yet there often is not much space in my day to write. So I'm going to challenge myself in one of the most busy months of the year...and that is to write.  It may only be a few thoughts about a phrase that spoke to me or a quote I've kept over the years or a scripture verse that has new meaning or even a question to throw out.

Forgive me if you have subscribed to my blog and weren't expecting me to write 4 or 5 days of the week.  If I get a little annoying, feel free to unsubscribe, but again this will only be for the month of May, I think. I'm putting myself out there because I often think I have nothing to say that others would care to hear.  But this is where I have to lay that fear into God's hands and push myself out of my comfort and see what God is doing in me that I'm unaware of and what He wants to teach me out of this.

I'm praying that whatever God puts on my heart and mind throughout the month of May that you, the reader, will view it as a short devotional or word of encouragement you can take with you throughout the day, allowing God to minister, strengthen, challenge, and speak to you in your journey.

While phones and technology are often times a source of contention in our home, I'm learning to find ways to gain insight from it and use it in a way that adds value to my life and to my daughters who are watching.