Too Much Information

Ah, the information age.  Sometimes I think it isn't all is cracked up to be. I will admit I can do internet research like nobody's business and I am pretty addicted to social media, but some days I think it isn't so much a blessing as a curse.

We can diagnose ourselves thanks to WebMd and pretty much always learn no matter what your ailment you are most likely dying.  We can look up any recipe we might ever want and if Google can't find it Pinterest will have 478 variations of it along with beautiful pictures my food will never measure up to. We can find ideas to throw the biggest, best party ever. We can find a review for any product we want to buy, at least you will be able to read the negative reviews; positive comments are harder to come by.  We can see what Urbanspoon says about a restaurant  we want to try and find out if it is worth our time.  There is marriage advice, parenting advice, friend advice, church advice, movie reviews.............
OH MY GOODNESS!

We have made it even easier to be ungrateful for where we are at or what we have by comparing ourselves to others based on the blips of info people put out on Facebook and Twitter.  We spend hours on Pinterest wishing and dreaming for the house, the wardrobe, the body, the cooking abilities, the party planning ability and budget.  I do say we because I am so very guilty.

What has gotten me thinking today, though, is all the advice blogs/articles/info out there.

Have you talked to your child about drugs, sex, porn, etc..  Have you blessed your husband, are you submitting, is he your #1 priority, 101 date ideas, etc..  Does your church do community work, do you have the right kind of music, does your church get involved with missions, etc.. Are you taking care of you, having a quiet time, organizing your home, preparing your meals, dressing well, etc.  Are you affirming your children, disciplining your children, giving your children boundaries, setting electronic time, getting them active, getting them in extracurricular stuff, don't put them in extracurricular stuff etc.  Do you eat organic, natural, palleo, Mcdonalds; do you vaccinate or not vaccinate.....and all the how's and why's you should AND should not being doing for all these things.

If you have posted and/or written a blog on any or all of these topics I am not judging or criticizing!  I think there is a ton of helpful advice out there.  However, for me, someone who is a worry wart it is TMI!
Forget it, worry wart is too gentle; for someone who has struggled with deep anxiety and who still struggles at times all this info can lead to worry and anxiety.  Did I hug my kids enough today?  When will I find time to have all these different talks with them?  What horrible things will happen to them if I DON'T have all these talks with them.  Does my husband know I love and appreciate him.  Am I doing enough at church?  Am I doing too much at church?  What is my motivation behind what I do at church?

All of a sudden I am not just comparing myself with others I am over-analyzing all I need to do with all that I am/am not doing.  Que the guilt and anxiety.

I know what you are thinking.  "No one is making you read those blogs, search for those articles, look at those recipes, peruse (for hours) Pinterest."  I say, "You are so right!!"  I am going to be much more selective about what I am reading, limiting how much "help" stuff I read in a day or even a week (or at all).  I am going to continue to have conversations with my kids and try to stay up on the social media stuff that they are into (which is little to none).  I am going to continue to pray over them, with them and for them.  I am going to talk to my husband about what our relationship needs.  I am going to continue to pray over, with and for him.   I am going to look to God and His word for where I should or should not be involved in our church and our community.  THEN, I am going to learn (from Him) to trust Him more.  To trust Him for the outcome, to trust Him to walk us through when the outcome isn't what we expected or wanted, to trust Him to guide us in our relationships.

I am going to do these things BEFORE I get info from the internet, regardless of how good the information  may be. I am just trying to put a filter on all the "stuff".  We   I can spend so much time reading about all the stuff I need to do or not do that I get overwhelmed and can get stuck in the pattern of "I'm not doing anything right."  Let's get real...most of these articles contradict each other at some point. The truth is I will never measure up to all that other's think I should be/say/do. Do I even want to? Do I even care what others think about how I measure up?  More than I should, less than I used to.

Oh, this information age.  Too much, too much.