Twitter: a social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users' updates, which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.
Twittatical: any extended period of leave from Twitter, esp. for rest, etc.
I have decided to take a Twittatical (sabbatical from Twitter) during this time known as Lent. For the next 40 days (or until Easter), I will not be Twittering. I might check the updates of people I am following every once in a while, but for the most part I won't be an active member of my Twitter community.
There are a few reasons why I have decided to do this, but I must assure you that it is in no way to "jump on the bandwagon" with the other high-profile Twitterers who have done the same.
That is not to say it is for different reasons, because I think it is important for everybody to take breaks from their routines and evaluate what they do and why they do it. Stagnation = death. After this Twittatical I will decide whether or not I will continue Twittering. I hope that when this time is over I will have better clarity of mind and that I will be able to return to my Twitter family better than ever. Chances are I will be back. But who knows.
This season will be a great time and I encourage everyone to take a break from your routine and get with God to be reminded of the call that he has for you. You don't necessarily have to fast from anything, but maybe take a few minutes, hours, days to get away from the busyness and just listen.
We can all see that we live in perilous times, it is no time to mess around. The devil is on the prowl seeking, searching, hunting, pursuing people who he can devour, annihilate, destroy. I don't want to be one of those people and I refuse to go down without a fight. Life is too short to live safe and comfortable. I don't want to get to my old age only to tell my kids I lived a Nerf ball life. A sweet, little, Nerf-y life. Sittin' on my biscuit. Never havin' to risk it.
Now, I understand that not everybody recognizes this time known as Lent. I have never taken part and this isn't really about "Lent". For me, it just happens to be a convenient time to take this break and it also happens to be a simple, measurable amount of time. To be perfectly honest, I had to look up Lent in Wikipedia. So to appease your interests I have taken the liberty to tell you what Wikipedia says about Lent.
Lent, in some Christian denominations, is the forty-day-long liturgical season of fasting and prayer before Easter.[1] The forty days represent the time Jesus spent in the desert, where according to the Bible he endured temptation by Satan.[2] Different churches calculate the forty days differently.
The purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer—through prayer, penitence, almsgiving and self-denial—for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the events linked to the Passion of Christ and culminates in Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I might take this time to work on my photography business, I might blog a little more often, and I will probably try to read a few books. But I know I will spend some more time with my God, my wife, and my dogs. You will be missed and prayed for.
Sincerely,
- Malachi
So what was it like going without Twitter for 40 days?
I think some days would be harder for me than others but I'm thinking I could do it. I had really wanted to give it up this year for Lent but didn't. Next year I'm planning on going without blogging/Twitter.