Media Development in Family

This weekend one of my closest friends came into town after living in a different country for the last year. He surprised us all and it was awesome. He came back with his XBOX might I add. I personally do not play video games often if at all. Before this friend left a year ago I started to play more with them because they liked to do it and I mean I was already there. Playing was better than watching. I participated in some puzzle games, some challenge games, and occasionally a round of Call of Duty. This past weekend we got back into gear and I started playing some Zombies again. Another friend and I started playing before everyone was over cause we were the only girls and knew once the boys got there it would not be as welcome for us to join. We knew we were trash but wanted to have fun. Also, it was Halloweekend and we figured a round or two of zombies would get us into the spirit. It was actually super fun but I could see how it could negatively impact someone. I think because of h...

Day One: Sunday. I did good. I was able to focus at church and wasn't on my phone. I still colored on my coloring app like I do most of the time. It helps me focus on the speakers. Rest of the day I was able to spend more time with those I love and be engaged. I got to talk to my boyfriend about some pre-engagement questions about how our life would/will be when we're married. We played some chess and got to chill. Going to bed without scrolling was different, so I played chess online for 10 minutes and then went to bed. I fell asleep much faster than usual. Day Two: Monday. Much worse. I can't actually delete Instagram off my phone because I run an Instagram account for a club I'm in. I accidentally opened it a few times then realized I could remove it from my home screen so I do see it. (I deleted the other apps off my phone). Just scrolled a little then got off. I have a one-minute time limit set as well so I couldn't stay on that long. Also almost went on social...

This past weekend my boyfriend was playing a game that I had not seen in years. The game is called Ballz and consists of shooting balls toward blocks and each time it touches them the number goes down until it is gone (0). Once I saw him playing I knew I needed to play again. I used to love that game so much and I was super good at it. I re-downloaded the game and immediately got sucked back into it. I played for the next three hours straight while we were relaxing and watching TV. Once he was getting ready to go home for the night and I put my phone down I realized how I was feeling. I was an anxious mess. I had let this game take over my life in such a short time. I deleted the game but the anxious feelings stayed. Since I played this game years ago I have discovered that for me I need to play games with levels. The infinite nature of games does not work for me, I get too invested and I lose myself. I only play games on my phone to get my mind off of things for a little bit. I want t...

 This week I was listening to a General Conference talk from President Nelson from October 2018. It is called "Sisters' Participation in the Gathering of Israel." In this talk, he gave four invitations. One of them was to do a 10-day social media fast. The second invitation was to read the Book of Mormon between now and the end of the year. I want to combine those two together and try to increase my spirituality. I plan to start my social media fast tomorrow and put the time I would spend on social media into reading the Book of Mormon instead. On average I spend between 1-2 hours on social media each day. Although not all of that time will be put toward reading the Book of Mormon, I want a majority of it to go that way. Other ideas of things to do instead of social media time are to read, meditate/ pray, call family, bake or cook, and clean. I invite you to join me :) Let me know how it goes!

This past weekend was the semi-annual general conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of which I am a member. These two weekends a year we get to hear from our church leaders who give us guidance and hope and share the love of the Lord, Jesus Christ. These weekends are always my favorite each fall and spring. I start thinking about questions I have about life and making predictions on where temples will be announced. My friends and I create a menu of snacks and meals to keep us awake and nourished. However, at the end of the weekend, despite the spiritual high of the messages given, I often feel like blehhh. This weekend was one where I felt even more of a bleh feeling. After sitting on the couch for 10 hours watching a conference over the weekend, I just felt bad. (The candy and soda I was consuming the whole weekend might have contributed.) I received answers to prayers, guidance on my career, and hope for my future but still came away from the weekend feeling ...