Posts Tagged "Go Dark"

Dark Week Recap

Posted by Wayne on Aug 27, 2010 in Personal | Comments Off on Dark Week Recap

So last week this time, I was in the final day of my seven day Go Dark week in which I turned off all electronics for the week other than some predefined exceptions (at work, etc.). This is the second summer that I did “Go Dark” week and the experience, though similar in many respects, also was markedly different.  I suppose first though I should start by confessing my shortcomings.

• Late Saturday Night my wife needed help with work she does for the High School Sports program.  They were having a meeting Sunday afternoon, and she needed the accounts reconciled before then.  I had planned for everything I needed to do, but I didn’t plan for what my wife needed.  I had to turn my computer on for about a hour to help her with that.
• There was one day where I was expecting a personal e-mail, and I ended up checking my e-mail more often than I had laid out in my original plan.
• I didn’t remember what I said in my rules about text messaging, and frankly I haven’t gone back and looked.  I did send a handful of messages to my wife by text message during the week.

There, I feel better now having admitted that.  So, what did I do with my Dark Week?  I read! I read a lot.  Just for fun, here are the books I read:

Listen to the Silence

Posted by Wayne on Aug 17, 2010 in Personal | Comments Off on Listen to the Silence

When I was growing up, I liked to listen to Simon and Garfunkel.  And, no I’m not that old.  They were already past their prime years of musical production by the time I started to listen, but I did enjoy their musical stylings.  At one point, I counted the song, “Sounds of Silence” as one of my favorite songs.  Why am I telling you all this?  Because, this week, I am smack dabbed in the middle of my second annual Go Dark week.  If it has a CRT or speakers, its off this week, and even though I am actually writing this post about 50 hours before the week officially begins, I am comfortable enough with predicting the future to say that I am having a great time.

I plan on writing more about my observations next week when I turn the computer back on.  Last year I posted a single post the Friday before Go Dark week and left up all week.  This year, I had some article I wanted to share, so I went ahead and wrote them ahead of time and scheduled them for this week.  Plus, Friday marks my 500th blog post here on Dad in the Middle, and that just seemed like something I should acknowledge.  That means that, even though you’re seeing new content each day, I actually haven’t visited this site in several days by the time you read this.  And, check back Friday for a very special episode of Blossom…errr Dad in the Middle.

So, in the words of Simon and Garfunkel:

It’s Time Again – Announcing The 2nd Annual “Go Dark” Challenge

Posted by Wayne on Jun 30, 2010 in Personal | 2 comments

I am happy to announce the dates for the second annual Go Dark Challenge.  This year, the challenge will begin at:

12:00 A.M. Saturday, August 14, 2010 through 11:59 P.M. the following Friday, August 20, 2010.

I hope you will join me in what has now become an annual event.  So, what is the Go Dark challenge you ask?  I’m glad you asked. 🙂  I started the Go Dark challenge last year as a kind of fast/break from the electronics which pervade our daily lives.  As I wrote last year,

I started to reflect on all the electronic gadgets that we fill our time up with every day.  We have TVs in every room, DVD players, IPods, Computers, the Internet, Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Newsreaders, Radios.  The list goes on and on.

Now, I am not opposed to technology.  I rather enjoy it!  Sometime though, I wonder if I am letting it consume me to the detriment of other more important things in my life.  To me, those things that may be suffering are my relationship and quiet time with God including time in his word, my relationship with my wife, my relationship with my kids, and my other reading.

Dad in the Middle…Monthly Round Up (July 2009)

Posted by Wayne on Aug 6, 2009 in Monthly Wrap Up | Comments Off on Dad in the Middle…Monthly Round Up (July 2009)

Here is the Monthly Round Up of the posts to Dad in the Middle for July 2009. You will note that there were a greatly reduced number of posts this month. This was due to my Go Dark week during which I did not use any technology. I also only posted one article prior to that week announcing my plans to God Dark. So, here is a very brief Monthly Round Up:

The “Go Dark” Challenge

• I’m Going Dark! (Join the Challenge!) [07/13/2009]
• Going Dark – The Recap! [07/26/2009]

O Come Ye’ Children Synopsis

• Feed My Lambs (Synopsis of Come Ye’ Children – Chapter 1) [07/10/2009]
• Do Not Hinder the Children (Synopsis of Come Ye’ Children – Chapter 2) [07/31/2009]

Children’s Ministry / Kid’s Stuff

• My 30 Favorite Children’s Ministry Blogs (Presented by The Blog Patrol) [07/02/2009]
• Best Devotional Book for Kids [07/03/2009]
• Do You Know Whether Your Child is Saved? [07/07/2009]
• The Ultimate Goal in Children’s Ministry [07/08/2009]

Children’s Ministry Moments

• Children’s Ministry Moment #1 – Outdoor Guy [07/09/2009]
• Little Mouth…Deep Truth (Children’s Ministry Moment #2) [07/28/2009]

Going Dark – The Recap!

Posted by Wayne on Jul 25, 2009 in Personal | Comments Off on Going Dark – The Recap!

So, I’m done with my “Go Dark” week.  “It’s finally over,” or “is it over already?”  I guess it depends on your perspective.  Either way, I’m all plugged back in now. I’ve been through about 300 e-mails, and I’ve caught back up on facebook and twitter. It’s amazing how little time it actually took to check in on the important things. It makes me wonder why I waste so much time on it. I did notice tonight that I have so many articles waiting in Google Reader that it doesn’t give me the actual number – just says 1000+. My best estimate is around 1,500. I’m thinking I may need to reduce the number of my subscriptions.

In case you didn’t read my article (Http://waynestocks.com/2009/07/13/im-going-dark-join-the-challenge/), I decided to turn off all my electronic gadgets for a week (except during work and for work).  I started last Saturday at midnight and finished this morning at midnight.

As I said in my original article, I am not adverse to technology.  It is a wonderful tool and offers limitless possibility.  The problem seems to be when, instead of using technology, we allow it to master us.   When technology starts to dictate that which I do and that which I do not do, that’s a problem.  When technology robs me of time with my God and with my family, that’s a problem.  When checking facebook or looking at the stats for my blog becomes an obsession, that’s a problem!  I’m not sure I was at that point, but I decided to do this little experiment to make sure that I was still in control rather than the technology being in control.  So, the plan was it would all go off for a week, and we would see what happened.