Too Much Is Not Good

I have too much going on inside my head. I have such a desire to learn more and grow my relationship with the Lord that I find myself looking everywhere and reading this blog, that blog, several daily devotionals in a day. It is pure exhausting and I am not being fulfilled the way I should be. Instead I feel all over the place! I am running with my feet off the ground!

Now don’t get me wrong I read many wonderful blogs with biblical truths and insights, but I realized that that is my problem. It is information overload and I am not focusing, not soaking in His Word allowing it to seep into my soul and I am definitely not growing. Instead, I have many thoughts and ideas swirling around the hurricane I created in my head!

This past week at bible study a conversation developed and my pastor asked, “What does the Bible say about reading books?” My interest peaked not only because I love to read, but because of the way I have been drowning myself in too much information. I thought to myself what does the Bible say about that? My guess was probably to not read other books because the Bible should be our main source.

Our lifeline.

Our daily bread.

That night after I tucked the kids into bed, I grabbed my Bible to find that scripture. I found it in Ecclesiastes.

“Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.” Ecclesiastes 12:12 NIV

Now let’s look at it in context from The Message:

^“9-10 Besides being wise himself, the Quester also taught others knowledge. He weighed, examined, and arranged many proverbs. The Quester did his best to find the right words and write the plain truth. 

 ¹¹ The words of the wise prod us to live well. 
   They're like nails hammered home, holding life together. 
   They are given by God, the one Shepherd.

^12-13 But regarding anything beyond this, dear friend, go easy. There's no end to the publishing of books, and constant study wears you out so you're no good for anything else. The last and final word is this:
   Fear God.
   Do what he tells you.

¹⁴ And that's it. Eventually God will bring everything that we do out into the open and judge it according to its hidden intent, whether it's good or evil.”

So, there it is - the living truth.

See, every morning I get comfy on the couch with my coffee and my smart phone. First I read through my emails, the blog posts that I have subscribed to. Then I read the bible on my phone, particularly the several plans I signed up for. Some days I pray as soon as I get comfy on the couch before reading anything. Those are the days when I can sneak downstairs while the boys are still sleeping. Since my oldest son is ‘my rooster’ those days are few and far between.  So most days I snuggle on the couch with my oldest (he is watching some TV) and I am reading the before mentioned emails and devotionals. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see the bad habits I am creating not only for myself, but for my kids! We have definitely been not putting God first and foremost in our lives.

So, I created a new plan which begins today.

  

1. Start our day off spending time with God FIRST. What does this mean? Beginning our day in prayer. Whether I am up first or my boys are up with me we talk to God BEFORE TV, BEFORE emails, and yes, even BEFORE coffee. 
2. Reduce my daily devotionals from several to one or two. Let them speak to my heart, meditate on them, study them more.
3. I will continue to read blogs, hey, I’m a blogger too ;-) but, it will be AFTER I have been filled with God’s Word FIRST. 

How about you? Have you found yourself overwhelmed by too much information? Have you gotten lost on the information highway? I would love to hear how you stay grounded and focused.

Have a blessed day!