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Adulting, Book Recommendations, Life, Pilgrimage, Reading Journey

Book Review: 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You by Tony Reinke

As this year is ending, I have been striving to complete my reading challenge for this year. Every year I set a goal for myself of how many books I would like to read; this year’s goal was 16. As of today, I am 13 books in and have 3 to go. I am super excited, it has been a few years since I fully completed my goal. 

The reason I am writing this post is because I want to share one of my current reads with you. This book is titled 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You by Tony Reinke. I had mentioned it in a previous post for which books I intended to read over the summer. I must admit, I only made it half-way through that list but that is better than nothing.

Anyway, this book caught my attention a few years back when it was released. I always see how we are all, and I am including myself, sucked into our phones whenever we get the chance. We walk, we sit, we wait, we linger about all while holding our phones in our hands and scrolling through an infinite feed of new posts. I agree with the author that phones are not evil in and of themselves, but rather the way that we use our phone is what could be a problem here.

I noticed in myself, that whenever I was waiting around or in an awkward situation, I immediately reach for my phone. I know I am not the only one. I see it all the time. Mr. Reinke goes on to explain some of the reasoning as to why we behave this way.

I will talk about a few of the points he makes in the book but not too many as I would rather you check it out for yourself. Here are a few ways he mentions our phone is changing us:

1. We Are Addicted To Distraction

Remember how I just mentioned reaching for my phone while waiting, yup, I can honestly say I prefer to be distracted from the waiting so much that I reach for my phone the moment I notice there is something I need to wait for. What this does is help me lose track of time until the thing I am waiting for happens, be it waiting for the train, or waiting in line to order some food.

Sometimes to stop myself from reaching for my phone I remember a scene from one of my favorite books The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. In this book the main character finds himself in a town where the inhabitants are seen rushing back and forth through an invisible building, the explanation for this being, they were so busy looking and down and walking fast that no one stopped to admire the building and so they disappeared.

Of course, this is fiction and many loopholes can be found, but I tell myself that I must stop and look at my surroundings before they disappear. Now, of course, they will not turn invisible but with all the construction going on, it could be a familiar location that can be quickly replaced because I even take a moment to look up and see what is going on because I will rather be distracted by my phone. 

2. We Become Like What We Like

This I can also personally attest to. I love books and follow many bookstagrams. I just love to see piles of books, shelves of books, all neatly organized and picture-perfect, it is one of my little pleasures. But this can also take another turn, what if we begin to follow celebrities, we like their post, laugh at their jokes and next thing you know we find ourselves relating to them more than before.

I wrote a prior post briefly touching on this. The issue with this is we can become influenced by what we are seeing and liking that we will neglect our own views and where we stand.

As Christians, we are called to be transformed by the renewal of our minds. Are we doing this often? How does who we follow affect this? Mr. Reinke also went into a similar topic in this book. 

3. We Neglect Our Flesh and Blood

I love the way Tony Reinke began this chapter, he does a good job of illustrating just how detached we can be from other humans when we have arguments on the internet. It’s like that other person is less than human because we do not see their actual flesh and blood through a screen.

Isn’t it almost crazy that a took we claim to use to draw closer to family members actually does the total opposite? We tend to have a conversation online but when it comes to being in person we are distant and awkward.

The fact that we put on a persona for our friends and then find ourselves unmasked in person we feel defenseless, it is so much easier to hide when we are not in the same room. Imagine how this can affect social interactions. We would much rather hold conversations online rather that meet up in person, this is definitely a way our phone if changing us.  

Overall, I highly recommend this book, I will not give more details about it because I would really like you to read it on your own and come to your own conclusions. This book helped me see some of the unhealthy ways I was using my phone, it is a real eye-opener. We should keep in mind who our Savior is and how we can live our lives to honor Him. If our phone usage does not draw glory to Christ, we may need to reconsider how we use this technology He has given us.

I hope you enjoyed this brief review and really encourage you to check out this book, you can find a link in this post to purchase the book on Amazon. *I am an Amazon affiliate so I may get a small fee for any purchase you may make but this will be of no effect to the price you pay.* Thank you so much for checking out this post, see you next time.

SDG – “Soli Deo Gloria”

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November 11, 2019 by
Book Recommendations, Fitness Journey, Life, Reading Journey

Book Review: Fit For Life

Today I bring you a post that fits into two of my categories: health and books. This will be a review of a health book I recently read and also the results of trying out some of the suggestions in it. 

My husband recommended this book to me after seeing how much I was struggling to lose weight. At the time, I had a few factors stacked against me. I sprained my ankle about a year before, the pain had gone away when the sprain healed but returned after I began doing HIIT workouts. Shortly after the pain came back, I began physical therapy and was unable to exercise the way I was used to. 

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October 28, 2019 by
Adulting, Life, Pilgrimage

Celebrities and Politics: Why They Shouldn’t Always Mix

I recently came across a photograph of a rather well-known celebrity. Although relatively new to fame, she has a tremendous influence on many young people. In this photo, she was endorsing a certain candidate for the upcoming 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. 

My initial thought was, who would take this seriously? However, I soon came to the realization that, in all honesty, many would. Many would gladly, perhaps even blindly, support someone as significant as a presidential candidate simply because one of their favorite celebrities (sometimes “celebs”) suggested that they should.

Why is this? Well, for one, and a relatively recent factor in terms of our modern election cycles, is the reality and influence of social media. Prior to the advent of social media platforms, we did not have very direct and personal access to our favorite stars. We instead, relied on television, tabloids, and radio to find out what they were up to. But not anymore. Today, because of social media, we can see what our favorite celebrities had for dinner, where they got their hair done and what kind of exercise they do at the gym.

It seems almost as if they are our friends. We feel a sort of closeness to them, even to the point where we esteem their opinions as highly, if not higher, than our very own.

Now, I am not resolved to conclude that it is inherently wrong to follow celebs on social media. In fact, if I were to say that, I would be no more than a hypocrite, as I too follow a few of my favorite actors and singers on platforms such as Twitter and Instagram. Rather, what I would like to persuade you to do, is to engage in a close examination the following points, particularly with regard to politics, voting, and celebrities.

1. We Are Not The Same

Celebrities, although they may seem to share much in common with us, at the end of the day, are not like us. Why? For one, they are wealthier than us. That fact inevitably plays a role in all of this. In my case, the income differences between the celebs I follow and myself are on completely different levels, in fact, hardly the same spectrum. But why is this important? Well, when it comes down to celebs and who they may choose to help, rich people often tend to look out for themselves and their own interests. Sure, they may say that they are looking out for minorities and the disadvantaged, but do you really think a commercial artist, who brags about making my year’s salary in a week, genuinely cares about me? I would say no. Many celebs would stop at little to preserve, maintain and perpetuate their social status. In today’s especially polarized political climate, this often translates to endorsing politicians who suit their needs. These politicians are even regarded as a means to their ends and visa-versa. I’m not going to presume that all celebs engage in this or that their motives are completely devoid of sincerity. However, in cases where celebrities advocate for a specific politician, we should take care do our own research and thus intelligently determine whether or not our values and beliefs line up with theirs. We should do this before being wooed by the shout-outs and photo-ops or merely because of the fact that our favorite artist likes them. Some celebrities have impressive business sense and are very credible but we may never know whether or not they have a hidden agenda.

2. Celebrities Can Be Bought

Coming from a Dominican background, and understanding how corrupt a country’s politics can be, I am no less convinced that here in America we are equally as susceptible. And this will tie in with my last point concerning our ability to discern a celebrity’s motives, or any public figure for that matter. We need to seek out the truth and be wary of the possibility of being swayed in any given direction. Odds are, the person advocating for that cause is being paid to get you to conform to their ideology and hop on to their political bandwagon. Don’t give in to the hype based on what you see at first glance. Do yourself a favor and some conduct some research so as not to be deceived. 

“Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips and harbors deceit in his heart; when he speaks graciously, believe him not, for there are seven abominations in his heart; though his hatred be covered with deception, his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.”

Proverbs 26:24-26 ESV

3. We Need To Follow Our Own Convictions and Follow Christ

This ties in with doing our research. When thinking about making a decision as momentous as who to vote for, we ought to ask ourselves whether or not this person, party or idea should receive my vote and, essentially, my allegiance in the first place. Do they agree with what I stand for? Will they have my interest(s) in mind? Will they make a positive impact in areas of great challenge? Are they honest? Do I think they will stand firm for what they are advocating, even amidst fierce opposition, or simply bend under pressure? Does their record and conduct support any of this? These are all things we need to keep in mind when considering our future leaders. It can be so easy to support a candidate plainly because many people we like and admire are speaking well of them. But at the end of the day, we need to find out if they will truly be a good candidate given our standards. Not only that, if we are Christians, saved by grace and set apart to live for Christ, promoting His righteousness here on earth, we will line up with anything that the scriptures inform us to stand for.

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Micah‬ ‭6:8‬ ‭ESV

‬‬ 

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” ‬‬

Philippians‬ ‭4:8-9‬ ‭ESV

For the Christian, let us always remember that God is Sovereign. Despite these days seeming more daunting than any before us, and the forces of evil prevailing day-in and day-out, God is sovereign. By the look of it, any Christian challenging the culture,  speaking out against homosexuality and abortion is immediately marginalized as a bigot, a radical and ignorant individual. It may very well be that one day Christians in this land will be silenced by the law. As time progresses we may no longer be able to speak freely of our Lord and Savior, but take heart brethren, for He has overcome the world! This place is not our home and God is sovereign even in the darkest of times -just as history has clearly showcased time and time again. His justice will prevail over all the earth and if we find ourselves worried, let us cast our burdens on Him. 

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” ‭

Psalms‬ ‭55:22‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“and we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Romans 8:28 ESV

“The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.”

Proverbs 21:1

As long as we are here, let us stand for Christ even if it means going against popular beliefs. Let us not fear sharing the gospel, it is good news. It may not be the most popular message out there today but it is certainly the most important and the most beautiful. Let us remember what we have been saved from and share this great news whenever we get a chance and never let yourself be governed by the fear of man or by the sensationalism of celebrities. 

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

Romans 1:16

And at the end of the day, may everything we do be done to the glory of God.

SDG – “Soli Deo Gloria”

September 18, 2019 by
Adulting, Blogging Journey, Blogging Life, Life, Pilgrimage, Reading Journey

It’s my Blogiversary!

Today my blog is a full year old! Yes, it has been a year already. It’s almost hard to believe. Just a year ago I decided to start this journey. It was definitely not an overnight thing. I gave it a lot of thought before actually going for it.

I spoke to my husband a couple of times and spent months (I kid you not) months picking out a name. I kept trying to sort out what my purpose would be and honestly, I am still figuring that out.

I started this blog mainly to share what I have learned and am still learning with you guys so we can all grow together. I also wanted to glorify God in my writing. To Him be the glory always! I am so grateful for everything He has done for me and want to honor Him at all times.

I am so happy that you have stuck around with me and I will continue to post more content I think you’ll enjoy.

Here is a little fun fact, my blog was almost named Life by Ang. That was my husband’s initial suggestion. I liked it but I wanted it to be something more. I didn’t desire merely to ramble on about the day-to-day minutiae of my life in particular but, rather, to share my thoughts and worldview as they relate to a variety of different subjects. I also wanted I wanted to create a space where you can all kinda grow with me too. So I switched the words Life By to Journey With.

The word journey, brings a pilgrimage to mind. As a Christian that is exactly what our life is. This world is not our home, we are just passing by.

I hope I am able to make you guys feel welcome here at Journey With Ang. If there is anything you’d like to hear my opinion about, feel free to message me. Although I do not give my two cents on everything, (ie; I cannot speak on motherhood, as I am not a mother) but I will do my best to answer any questions I receive.

I want to thank you again for sticking around and I look forward to continuing this journey with you.

SDG – “Soli Deo Gloria”

August 28, 2019 by
Pilgrimage

3 Reasons Everyone Should Keep a Prayer Journal

Over the years I began keeping a prayer journal. It actually started shortly before a period of time where I was sick. My intent was to write down petitions both mine and for close friends. Why? Two reasons: as a form of prayer and a way to look back and see when prayers were answered.

I will admit, I am not super consistent with my prayer entries but I always enjoy looking back at all the answered prayers. I find my prayer journal pretty encouraging and wanted to give you guys three reasons as to why you should keep one too.

1. More Prayer Time

I used to set aside a few minutes before I went to sleep to write in my prayer journal. Sometimes I would write for five minutes and sometimes more. Regardless of the amount of time o spent writing, I considered it all tome I spent talking to God and honestly, is there such thing as talking to God too much? I think not! The closer we get to God the more we grow spiritually.

2. Seeing Answered Prayers

I am always encouraged and overjoyed when I look back on past journal entries and am able to see that God has answered a prayer. It motivates me to keep it up. It’s almost like keeping a log of answered prayers.

3. History

In addition to keeping track of answered prayers. I hope that one day, Lord willing, my husband and I are able to have children, my children will read it (after I have gone home, preferably) and see their mother was a woman of faith and that God was with her. It sounds a bit sappy but this is definitely one of the bigger reasons as to why I keep my prayer journal

Bonus Reason

It can help release stress. I find that pouring out my feelings into paper helps me feel better and by the time I am done writing my entry, I have been reminded of an Attribute of God, be if his sovereignty or his unconditional love, I alway feel better in the end.

Do you keep a prayer journal? If so, what are your motives? Do you enjoy it? How has it helped your spiritual growth? Let me know in the comments.

If you don’t keep a prayer journal, I hope this post in some small way may have motivated you to do so.

SDG – “Soli Deo Gloria”

August 1, 2019 by
Adulting, Life, Thoughtfulness

Adulting: Owning Up to My Mistakes

I work full time as a paralegal for a busy personal injury law firm and this job comes with a great deal of responsibility and a need to be cautious and attentive to deadlines. In addition to looking out for deadlines, I need to make sure all the papers that will be served are properly organized and that the language contained therein is correct. A great deal of revision goes into my work and sometimes even with the revisions I can miss something. Not always in the document itself but in following specific legal procedures.

So with this said, there have been times I have missed a deadline, or forgot to file something which can be a bit of a problem but I have learned that instead of shying away from the problems and trying to find an excuse as to why, what ever it was, was not done, I admit I messed up and own up to my mistakes. Trust me it is not very easy and I think it takes quite a bit of humility but it is always worth it.

Why? Well you learn. I have learned so much during the times I have spent with others correcting a problem, even when I was the reason it came to be.

I enjoy solving puzzles and love finding the solution to things. In the case where I need to solve one of these complicated legal procedural puzzles at work, that is not fun, at all! In fact, these are probably the most stressful days at work for me. I always picture my life on the line and myself at risk on being let go. It really builds up my anxiety.

But, God has been very gracious to me. He has surrounded me with people who seem to favor me, for one reason or another, and are always willing to help.

Admitting I was wrong and taking charge of the situation, although stressful, has really grown me as an professional and as an adult. I definitely feel more competent, (it might sound weird to say I feel competent after endeavoring in a stressful adventure that I got myself in by making a mistake) but in the end the learning process in the challenge makes it all worth while.

I have never regretted admitting my wrongs because they have helped me grown and learn.

So if you are prone to make mistakes, hopefully not as many mistakes as me, feel encouraged. It is ok to admit you are wrong and when you admit it, you will learn something new. For me it some sort of legal procedure but the fact that I can admit I was wrong and I made a mistake I think makes me a stronger and more knowledgeable person overall. It has been one of the most important things I learned while “adulting”.

SDG – “Soli Deo Gloria”

July 16, 2019 by
Pilgrimage

Another Free Learning Resource for Christians: The Attributes of God

Have you been wanting to learn more about the Attributes of God? Well, you’re in luck. I just found out Ligonier Ministries is giving away a video series by Steven Lawson on The Attributes of God.
It is absolutely free, just fill out the form in the link here.

June 24, 2019 by
Pilgrimage

A Spirit-Filled Wife

If there is a misconception that makes me roll my eyes every time I hear it, it’s the one where people believe that when the Bible says a wife shall submit to her husband it means she must give up all will and obey her husband, as if he were some kind of tyrant and dictator. They believe she must completely disregard herself and her own opinions. I have heard so many people say they won’t marry because they will not obey any man, or be beneath any man. However, as Christians, the Bible calls wives to submit to their husband as the church submits to Christ.

“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.”
‬

‭‭Ephesians ‭5:22-24‬ ‭ESV

Sure, there have been very screwed up teachings in the past about this, but those teachings are not what is taught in the Bible. If someone is teaching that you must stay with your husband even is he is abusing you, that is not right.


Today I want to share a sermon my pastor preached this Sunday. It explains exactly what God meant in Ephesians 5:22-24. While I sat in church listening to this sermon I thought, I just had to share it. If you have never been taught what the Bible says about marriage and the wife’s role, I urge you to listen to the Sermon here or watch the sermon here on YouTube.

And even if you have been taught before, I still suggest you check this out just to refresh your memory and see God’s perfect plan for us explained.
I know you will be truly blessed and edified by it and you will learn what God truly meant when He asked the wife to submit to her husband.


SDG – “Soli Deo Gloria”

June 20, 2019 by
Book Recommendations, Reading Journey

My 5 Summer Reads

Over the years I have to realize I have a rather interesting reading habit; it’s either I read a book for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and finish it in less than a week or I snack on a book here and there and finish it after a few months. Never anything in between. Ever! I have no explanation for this.

However, this year I set a reading goal of 16 books (I know, seems small and achievable, but last year I didn’t complete it). So far I am seven books in and it is June. I think that is a decent place to be for the point in the year we are in. I think I can manage to catch up and actually complete my goal this year.

So, in order to combat my usual inconsistent reading pattern, I have lined up the books I plan on reading ahead of time in order to give myself a time frame to complete them, thus, staying on track. I am in it to win it this year!

Without further adieu, here’s my upcoming reading list:

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

*Quick disclosure: The photos for the items below are each linked to Amazon.com. Should you choose to purchase from them, I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.*

Right now, I started a book my coworkers lent me. I just happened to walk by her desk and see this book, the cover caught my attention immediately. It was a beautiful blue (my favorite color) and has the image of a young girl with her back turned in a red blouse. It’s written by Erika L. Sanchez. I am only a few pages in and it seems promising.

It follows the story of a young Mexican girl who lost her older sister and how this shapes her life and relationship with her family. That is all I can say about it for now, and I would say anything else, even if I knew because I don’t like spoiling things.

Note: I have come across some explicit language, over the years and much ready I can gloss over the words as if they aren’t there. But, if strong language offends you, I’d say skip this one.

12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You

Written by Tony Reinke, this is a book I have been wanting to read for a long time, pretty much since it came out. Knowing I live in the day and age where we are all addicted to our phones, I must admit, I too can be a bit addicted to my phone and am fighting to stay off of it for as long as I can. I know that in the long run, the time spent on my phone is not necessarily fruitful.

I think this book can help give me the biblical perspective to help me overcome the need to constantly check my phone because deep down I know I can be using my time better and I can use my energy on many other things, fruitful things.

Competing Spectacles

This book is actually written by the same author as the previous book and it has a similar topic. You see, I really am trying to fight this constant need to be on my phone. Here he looks at how we are affected by social media. Social media is something I definitely see myself struggling with.

I see social media this alternative world where everyone feels the need to share everything and anything they agree with and this is great but I find myself being angry at people posting their arguments and completely disregarding what opinions others may have. I gave up arguing on the internet a long time ago (it most definitely it not fruitful).

Sometimes social media triggers my argumentative side and I want to stay away from that ugly side of me. Not only this but the image we portray on social media is nothing short of a facade. We only show what we want people to see and hide our true selves.

Why spend all this time on social media, if all we do is present an image of ourselves that isn’t even us? These are the thoughts I fight with when it comes to social media and I am curious to see what this book has to say.  

A Wedding in Haiti

Julia Alvarez is a Dominican-American author who I admire very much. She has written many works taking place in the Dominican Republic and reflecting what it was like to live in the Dominican Republic during the Trujillo era. If you do not know, Trujillo was a dictator in the Dominican Republic who ruled from the ’30s to the ’60s. He was eventually murdered and his reign of terror was officially over.

However, not every Dominican saw his time as a president as cruel and I think as a Dominican it is important to know our history and Julia does a great job of showing us a glimpse of what this time in the Dominican Republic was like.

In this book, she writes a story of her relationship with a friend of hers, a Haitian. Dominicans and Haitians are known for not getting along, so I look forward to reading about her relationship with a dear friend of hers, Piti.

Dreyer’s English

Because I can always use better grammar. I mean, come on, I run a blog! I need to have good grammar! I read my good reviews of this book and am looking forward to reading it. It is written by Benjamin Dreyer who is Random House’s copy chief, so he knows English grammar well. We can all improve our writing. And, I especially can if I plan on taking my writing to new levels.

I don’t think I mentioned it before in my blog, but I enjoy writing short stories and hope to one day be able to write a book of them, and if I intend to do this, I need to brush up on my grammar and work on my writing style. I think this book will be a great tool.

I hope you enjoyed this post and make some reading plans of your own. I definitely intend to make better use of my time, and planning out which books to read and putting my plan into action, I believe is one way to do it. Do you have any reading goals, any book recommendations? I would love the hear them, so feel free to comment below, and until next time…

SDG -“Soli Deo Gloria”

June 14, 2019 by
Pilgrimage

Free Learning Resource For Christians

I love learning. I always have and maybe it’s because I was placed in Pre-K at a young age and was basically in school for over two-thirds of my life but I just love to learn new things.

So in this post, I want to share a new resource I found out about recently, and by recently, I mean today. It’s provided by Reformed Baptist Seminary. I have learned that they have tons of FREE courses. These courses are prepared by various teachers and are absolutely FREE. If you were looking for a new way to learn more about God and His word, I urge you to check them out.

SDG – “Soli Deo Gloria”

June 3, 2019 by
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