The Wired Soul has to be one of my favorite review texts from the past couple of months. It made me think very critically about the time I spend engaging in social media and how often I use my phone and computer. I changed a number of my habits– some were minor (like putting my phone on “Do Not Disturb” mode during certain portions of my day and others were more significant.  In fact, we’ve instituted a nightly reading habit where my husband and I read for at least an hour (Yes, think back to the D.E.A.R. program some of us participated in during grade school 🙂 ). Not digital books– physical, hard copy books.  Crazy right?  😀 It makes our evenings SO PEACEFUL. We’re still sharpening the habit, but I thoroughly look forward to it and I don’t miss watching TV. 

Working on a blog and “building a brand” can cause a person to become entirely TOO CONNECTED.  I know we all set our own boundaries, but for me, it started to become too much.  I needed time away from Facebook, Instagram, etc to just enjoy those that I can physically interact with.  One-on-one meetings and outings are SO IMPORTANT to me.  I miss being in a city with my closest friends and family, but I am enjoying making new acquaintances and I’m believing God for even greater connections in 2017!

Here’s a bit more about the book from the publisher.  You can also find it on Amazon. 

The Wired Soul by Tricia McCary Rhodes

If you had time to slow down, you’d notice: You’re more easily distracted lately. You forget the details of your life more often than you used to. You get easily agitated and have trouble resting, even though you’re more tired than you remember ever being. Even your spiritual life is not immune: You struggle to pray, to read the Scriptures, to be still and know that God is God. 

Welcome to now. Our technology has greatly improved much of our lives, but in the process our brains are being rewired on a daily basis, and our capacity to be centered in our souls, in our lives, is at risk. 

Brain scientists are aware of this unprecedented change, but the solutions aren’t found in science: They’re found in the ancient practices of the faith. Tricia McCary Rhodes reintroduces us to the classic disciplines of Scripture reading, meditation, prayer, and contemplation, not just as technologies to aid our faith but as tools to keep us focused and mindful in an increasingly disorienting digital age.