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When you don’t have WiFi: Lessons I learned

Recently I shared that I lost my wedding ring. Thankfully, my husband Ray recently found it when he was sweeping the basement one day. My friends had been praying that I’d find it. I was like the woman who rejoiced with her friends when she found her lost silver coin. (Luke 15:8-10) God taught me many lessons when I lost it, including about my marriage, people who are lost without Christ, and losses in life such as at least 198 Ukrainian people dying from Putin’s invasion of their land.

In light of this horrific news, all else seems trivial. But we all deal with losses, big and small, and they can be stressful. 

This past week we lost our WiFi service! Ray tried to call our internet service provider numerous times, but his call kept getting disconnected. He also tried several times to chat with tech help online to no avail. This week another internet service repairman came. Things seem good for now. (Hold our breath!)

I hope you don’t experience this trouble. But here are lessons I learned when we went for over a week without reliable WiFi service. 

1. You can live without it. It is hard. Really hard. Definitely inconvenient.

“I only need 3 things in life: food, WiFi, and sleep.” (Anonymous)

What did people do before the net? They lived their normal lives! This reminds me of the movie The Net, starring Sandra Bullock. It’s one of my fave movies along with another movie she co-starred in with Keanu Reeves, Speed. In The Net, she’s laying on the beach in her bikini in Mexico, looking gorgeous as usual, with her laptop. This is extreme!

Sandra Bullock, The Net, Pinterest

Sandra Bullock, The Net, Pinterest

But I wouldn’t want to live without internet service. I’ve made some of the best friends of my life online. Originally, I got online (on Facebook) to keep up with my grown kids–our three beautiful daughters Heather, Eden, and Leah. Then they got OFF Facebook and Instagram. (Gen Z says Facebook is a boomer’s social network and made for old people. Many teens aren’t on it.  In a survey, 81% of teens use Instagram and 73% use TikTok.)

Our three beautiful daughters Eden, Leah, and Heather

Our three beautiful daughters Eden, Leah, and Heather

Our teen grandkids are on TikTok, Snapchat and Discord, which I’m not on. I now text our kids and our grandkids (I call them less frequently), and see them whenever we can do lunch or coffee together or I bring them gifts on holidays. (They work full-time and live very busy lives.)

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Blog, Books, Ebooks, Faith, Marriage, Parenting, prayer, Writing

My new fiction book is here! The Game Blocks of Life

The Game Blocks of Life Copyright 2021 Beth Jones Graphic Design Copyright 2021 Leah Jones

The Game Blocks of Life
Copyright 2021 Beth Jones
Graphic Design Copyright 2021 Leah Jones

I’m excited to announce that my new fiction book, The Game Blocks of Life, is now here!

It is a contemporary fiction book for women and is just $2.99 for sale at Amazon. 

If you’d like to check it out, you can learn more about it here at the link below at Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Game-Blocks-Life-Beth-Jones-ebook/dp/B09KQ6HH9D

I bought the image for the front cover at iStock, where I usually buy images for my book covers. Our talented daughter Leah, who is a graphic designer, designed the simple, clean, cute cover.

If you do buy the Kindle book, please leave a review at Amazon. (Reviews are like gold to authors. They help to build author credibility and to sell more books.)

Faith, Family, Marriage, Parenting, prayer

Don’t wallow

Yesterday my  husband Ray and I were having a conversation about a relative who has basically gone “no contact” with our entire family, out of hurt and offenses. Although we have done our best to make amends with this person, and to ask forgiveness for any wrongs committed, relationships remain strained. My fervent prayer (daily) is for reconciliation.

I was sharing with Ray how deeply hurt I am over the situation, and Ray’s frustrated response was, “I know it hurts. This hurts me, too. But we can’t wallow in the hurt, Beth! We can’t stay there for the rest of our lives. We need a future!”

hurting woman

hurting woman
Source: Psychology Today

I knew Ray was speaking the truth. His word wallow bothered me a lot. The definition of “wallow” is:

  • to roll oneself about in a lazy, relaxed manner (like a pig wallowing in the mud);
  • to take unrestrained pleasure in something (like silk sheets);
  • to become abundantly supplied (like a family wallowing in sudden wealth);
  • to indulge oneself immoderately (like wallowing in self-pity);
  • to become or remain helpless.

No, I don’t want to be a victim, wallowing in hurt, anger, and self-pity! I want to be free in Christ. Jesus died for this freedom and for me and those I love to have an abundant life!

rhinoceros wallowing in muddy waterhole

rhinoceros wallowing in muddy waterhole
Source: wildlife-pictures-online.com

Pigs, hippopotamuses, elephants, rhinoceroses, warthogs, and bison instinctively wallow in dirt, mud, snow, or water. They do this for temperature regulation, parasite removal, and sun protection (their skin can get sunburned). They may also rub their scent glands around wallowing areas, possibly to mark their territory.

But as humans, our protection is in God. We can’t control what other people do or don’t do. But we can be responsible for ourselves and our own growth. We don’t have to stay stuck in the devastating hurt, or anger, or confusion. We don’t need to wallow in anything. 

She did not do wallowing

The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” (Proverbs 18:10)

“For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper
And from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with His pinions,
And under His wings you may seek refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.

You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
Or of the arrow that flies by day;
Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.” (Psalm 91:3-6, NASB)

In the article, Sitting with your stuff vs. wallowing, Coach Kate Swoboda writes that “wallow” conjures up images of being stuck, hopeless, sad or defeated, and “perhaps even a little pissed,” yet being a total victim and doing very little about making any changes whatsoever.

It’s like you being seated on a plane to fly to your eagerly-anticipated vacation destination, but the plane is still sitting on the tarmac, going nowhere. Or you sitting on a train, yet the train is not moving on the rails.

It’s important not to avoid your “stuff,” since whatever you repress just gets stronger. But blowing up at whoever you’re upset with and telling him or her exactly what you think might not be wise, either.

My story

Kate says the difference between “sitting with your stuff” versus “wallowing” is in the Story. Some stories, like people are generally full of good intentions and do their best, serve you.

But a story that people are just mean and selfish doesn’t serve you well. In these situations where you believe that people are always mean, you might think, “Why does this always happen to me? My life feels like it will never change. It never works out.” You are, yes, wallowing!

In the first story, sitting with your stuff instead of wallowing, you might think, “I don’t like how this feels. I’m so sad. Yet this where I’m at right now. This really sucks. But it won’t last forever.”

Kate encourages us to make space for the parts that make us human (where we might be inclined to wallow, i.e., the emotional pain), but not let it define us. And as my husband Ray said, to not let it be our future.

I personally believe forgiveness is a large part of not letting hurts define us. Forgiveness takes time, God’s power, and our will. It is not an easy or quick fix, but necessary for spiritual growth and maturity.

Understanding our true identity in Christ also helps set us free. No one and nothing else defines who we are: a royal daughter (or son) of the King!

The future

Are you wallowing about anything right now? I encourage you to bring it to God and let Him help heal you so that you can move forward with your life and God-designed purpose. One day at a time.

*******

A good resource to help you with this issue is Coffee with God: Starting Your Day Right With Prayer & The Bible. You can get this encouraging eBook at Amazon here.

Coffee With God eBook