Distraction and Procrastination

In his recent General Conference talk, "Be Faithful, Not Faithless," President Stephen W. Owen call Satan " the master of distraction and author of procrastination." President Owen also warned that "The adversary will try to persuade you that spiritual nourishment isn’t necessary or, more cunningly, that it can wait." As a person who tries to blog about something spiritual each day, I especially need to heed President Owen's warning.

I often find myself spending the whole day on everyday concerns and distractions, and I usually end up struggling to think of something to blog about each night because I neglected to nourish my spirit during the day. If only for my blog's sake, I should regularly devote some time to seeking inspiration, but I know that it's not only my blog and my sleep schedule that's important here.

I blog every day because I made a commitment to blog every day, but there's a deeper reason God asked me to make that commitment. I need to regularly nourish my spirit. The welfare of my soul depends on it. Maintaining my blog forces me to spend at least a few moments each day reflecting on something spiritual. Without that, I can easily imagine myself getting thoroughly caught up in the distractions of the day and up off my eternal, spiritual needs indefinitely. My blog is supposed to help me stay out of the trap that President Owen warned us about.

The thing is, it's only barely working. Yes, thanks to my blog, I reflect on something spiritual most nights, but that's not enough. For real spiritual nourishment, I need to do more than pull a quote out of a Conference talk at the last minute. I actually need to ponder spiritual matters throughout the day, not just touch on one of them at the end of the day. My blog prevents me from ignoring spiritual matters altogether, but I need to do more.

I shouldn't allow myself to become distracted like I often do, and I can't afford to keep procrastinating. My spiritual nourishment can't wait until the end of the day every day. For my soul's sake (and for my blog's sake), I should study the Gospel much earlier in the day as well.