Why I Took Socials Off My Phone: AGAIN

I’ve decided to make a little change in my everyday life: I’m taking social media apps off my phone.

Now, before anyone thinks I’m leaving social media completely—I’m not! 😂 I still enjoy sharing things online, posting updates, talking about my faith, books, writing, and other things going on in my life. I still plan to post and interact with people.

I’m just changing how I do it.

Instead of having social media available on my phone all day long, I want to mainly use it from my computer. When I actually want to post something or spend some time online, I can sit down at my computer, do what I came there to do, and then log off.

I think that will help social media become something I intentionally choose to use instead of something I automatically open because my phone happens to be in my hand.

I Want More Time for the Things I Love

One reason I’m doing this is because there are so many other things I genuinely enjoy doing.

I love reading my Bible and spending time learning more about God's Word. I love reading books on my Kindle. I love writing stories and working on my characters. I enjoy creating videos and podcasts, working on different projects, and simply having time to think and be creative.

And sometimes I think our phones can quietly take little pieces of that time away from us.

Five minutes of scrolling can easily become much longer than we intended. Before we know it, the time we could have spent reading, writing, praying, creating, or enjoying something around us is gone.

I don't think social media itself has to be a bad thing. It can actually be a wonderful tool. I've been able to share my faith, my creative projects, things I'm reading, and pieces of my everyday life with other people.

But I also don't want it to have too much control over my attention.

I Still Want to Share—Just More Intentionally

You'll still see posts from me!

I'll still share things I'm reading, updates about my writing, faith-related posts, videos, and little pieces of my life. The difference is that I want to sit down and intentionally decide, “Okay, I'm going to work on social media for a little while.”

Then when I'm finished, I can close the computer and go do something else.

I actually think this might make social media more enjoyable for me because I won't feel like I need to constantly check it throughout the day.

Making Room for Quieter Things

I've been enjoying slowing down and making more room for reading lately. My Kindle has become one of my favorite things, and I love being able to sit somewhere quietly and get into a good book. 📖🤎

I want more moments like that.

I want more time in God's Word.

More time writing.

More time creating.

More time enjoying hobbies.

More time talking with the people around me.

And even more time just being still without feeling like I need to pick up my phone and see what's happening online.

I'm sure I won't do this perfectly, and I'm not trying to make some huge rule for myself or tell anyone else what they should do. This is simply something I think will be good for me personally.

Social media can still have a place in my life—I just don't think that place needs to be in my pocket every minute of the day. 🤎

I'm excited to see how this little change goes!

I’ve done this before, but this time I really want to stick with it and keep social media off my phone.

I know the temptation to download the apps again will probably come, but I’m hoping I can stay committed and remind myself why I made this decision in the first place. 🤎📱✨

Have you ever deleted social media apps from your phone while still using social media on your computer? Did you notice a difference in how much time you spent online? Let me know in the comments...

A Living Blessing

A Living Blessing: The Light of Christ in Olivia Health 

By Breana Pope

Her name was Olivia Health, but to all who knew her, she was simply called A Living Blessing. From the very beginning, it seemed the Lord Himself had formed her with holy care, stitching kindness and compassion into every part of her soul. Born in the spring of 1903, Olivia wasn’t just a child—she was an answered prayer, a living testimony to the faithfulness of God.

Mr. and Mrs. Health had longed for a child for many years...  They trusted the Lord, holding to His promises, believing in His power. 

The Lord had remembered them.

From her very first breath, Olivia brought light and peace, like a candle lit straight from heaven. But even the purest joys on earth are touched by sorrow. When Olivia was only three, her mother, Kathrine Health, fell sick with a strange and sudden fever. No physician could heal her, and within days, she was gone. But before she passed, she told her daughter, “Jesus is with thee, always. Never forget.”

Mr. Health, though brokenhearted, raised Olivia with courage and faith. He read the Bible aloud each evening, taught her to pray when fears came, and reminded her always that her hope was in Christ alone.

Allow me to pause—I am Amanda Frankford, and I have the honor of telling this story. I first met Olivia in 1919, when she was sixteen. I had just arrived in town, and before I heard of the mayor or the schoolmaster, I heard of a young girl who rose before dawn to bake bread—not for herself, but for the poor.

Each morning, Olivia would knead dough by the flickering light of an oil lamp, humming hymns softly. Once the bread cooled, she wrapped each loaf in cloth, prayed over them, and delivered them to the widow on Fifth Street, the sickly boy by the river, and others whom only God had placed on her heart.

She never wanted praise. “It’s not my name I wish them to remember,” she once said to me, “but His.”

She spent her afternoons in the old schoolhouse, which also served as our little church. There she tutored younger children in reading, numbers, and truth from God’s Word. She often began lessons with the Psalms and reminded each child that they were , “...fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14b, KJV). 

Behind the church, she planted a garden—beans, carrots, squash—all freely given. She said she thought often of the parable of the sower. “We sow more than seeds in the ground,” she said. “We sow love. We sow faith.”

When not teaching or baking, she visited the elderly and forgotten. She’d read from the Scriptures, sung softly, and sat quietly listening.

Over the years, Olivia’s quiet deeds became known beyond the town—not because she sought it, but because “a city that is set on an hill cannot be hid” (Matthew 5:14, KJV).

The last time I saw her was in the bitter winter of 1931. The snow was thick, the wind sharp, but there she was—walking door to door, arms filled with warm loaves and a heart full of love.

Today, I sit by the same window in that same town, and I see children running past the old church-schoolhouse. But more than that, I see those that were taught by her grown up living a blessing as well.

 I see young girls with baskets of bread. I see boys sowing seeds in the garden. I see teens reading from worn Bibles beside the elderly.

They are not merely kind—they are Christlike. And that, dear reader, is what Olivia taught us.

She didn’t just bless us—she discipled us. She taught us how to live for Jesus by living like Jesus.

Her life was guided by the holy words:

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16, KJV).

Though she still walks among us, the love of Christ she carried now flows through many hearts and hands.

The light she bore was never hers alone.

It was His.

She simply let it shine.

She lit the town on fire for God.

And many of us carry that flame.

Read River's short stories on our website. Click Here!

Follow me on my reading journey

 This year, I’ve set a personal goal to “read” 20 books—5 in print and 15 audiobooks.

I’m kicking things off with my first audiobook 

of the year: Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery.

As a child, I read Anne of Green Gables multiple times, but I never completed the full series. I’ve always loved Anne—her imagination, resilience, and charm make her one of the most compelling female characters in literature.

Now, I’m excited to experience the rest of her journey as an adult, starting with this next book in the series.

Have you read the Anne series?

Which book is your favorite?

Share yours in the comments—I’ll be sure to share mine once I’ve finished them all! 📚

I'll be sharing my reading progress in my Instagram stories... 😊📚📖

#AnneOfAvonlea #LucyMaudMontgomery #ReadingGoals #audiobookjourney