9 Comments

Great thoughts to consider! As someone who might long for a life similar to those mentioned in this article, God has taught me to be grateful for all he has given me, a true mindset change everything has been. On a sourdough note, I came across a book on Hoopla (Free through my library and maybe yours) "Simply Living Well" by Julia Watkins that started by bread making journey. She has a no-knead artisan bread recipe (includes yeast but ferments for 1-2 days) and it was a perfect primer for me into the more intense sough dough world. Very approachable, four ingredients, and fit my current season where money is tight. I hope the book blesses you. Also, congratulations on the baby.

Expand full comment

I enjoyed this article so much! You’ve put into words so many of my own struggles with social media. While there are many good, educating and edifying accounts, I always find myself deleting my apps and taking time off a few times a year. It always makes me wonder who would we all be if we weren’t absorbing all these perfectly curated moments from strangers lives all day long? How much less pressure would we be putting on ourselves to attain aesthetic homes, outfits and perfect gardens and figures? Another thing I feel convicted about sometimes is the motivation behind sharing moments from our lives - is it truly a candid moment you are excited to share with your family and friends? Or did you purposely create this moment under the guise of being a thoughtful homemaker, wife, mom, etc. to control the perspective others have of you?

So much food for thought! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this topic.

Expand full comment
author

Yes! I wonder that so often too! I have to check myself often when I want to buy or think I should do something - like do I truly want this or am I being influenced?

Expand full comment

Such good thoughts! Our son's first birthday is next week. I've been so tempted to focus on the aesthetics of things and trying to copy cute things I've seen on social media instead of thinking about how do we celebrate in a way that's meaningful for our family and within our means?

Unrelated, I am also a beginner sourdough bread maker. But I am obsessed with checking out cookbooks from the library. I checked out Bittman's Bread and made some of the whole wheat sourdough bread. I was shocked! It wasn't that hard and was great! You can make other whole wheat recipes with the starter too like pancakes and English muffins. It was so helpful!

Expand full comment
author

I had the same struggle with my son’s first birthday. Neither my husband or I are over the top themed party people - like we prefer simple fellowship, but the pressure to throw a first birthday party with all the works is real! We ended up doing a small cake, balloons and just us. It was perfect!

Thanks for the sourdough recommendation! I shall check it out!

Expand full comment

I’m not but I shared because this has so many good points!

Expand full comment
author

Thank you friend ❤️❤️

Expand full comment

So nicely said. And Christian influencers can also do more harm than good. I don't know where is the boundary in posting and "flaunting". What about a woman should be discreet?

My husband says that one of the greatest men of God remain unknown in a small village and I remember one village with an old pastor who didn't have a youtube channel and I only saw him once and impacted me more than some other "more known" pastors.

Let's flourish where we are, in the calling that we are no matter how humble and unknowing. And most importanly... May the Lord be seen in everything we do and not us. Have a nice day.

Expand full comment
author

Yes!!! I feel like so much of life nowadays is lived to be lived out online and it almost in a way feels like it demeans a quiet, private life - like if it wasn’t shared on social media, did it even happen? Seems crazy to phrase it that way but I know I’ve even had that thought! But agree - some of the people with the most impact are not influencers but the people living a quiet offline life!

Expand full comment