On Substack, Sabbaths, and Connection

Reflections on camaraderie and true rest in the digital age.

I could write an entire series on the benefits and pitfalls I’ve seen in my own life when it comes to technology and engaging with others online. Personally, I don’t believe I’m called to be a digital monk or to be chronically online, but some sort of healthy in between of those two extremes. I’m constantly trying to find the balance of how much to use my phone and the internet and how much to put it down and engage in my physical life in front of me. So today I want to share my reflections on Substack, my personal experience in implementing a sabbath practice, and the importance of connection (in person and online).

Photo by Merve Kalafat Yılmaz on Unsplash

On Substack

I discovered Substack in the summer of 2024 and it quickly felt like the happiest corner of the internet. As an introvert this space feels like it attracts many others with similar personality traits, those looking for a quieter way of connection. It feels much less stimulating than the high octane, video heavy platforms from meta or TikTok. It feels like walking into a library or coffee shop to read, think, and write. Then you look over and find a kindred spirit, another person who is cut from the same cloth. You share your thoughts with each other and they resonate deeply. You spur each other on and say “You need to write that series! Your work is so important. I can’t wait to hear more of what you have to say!”

Substack is my favorite platform to engage and create on. I’ve cried listening to the pain or grief of your experiences, laughed at your stories of children and life, and received wise advice from those of you who are more seasoned than I am. Some of you have become friends who have the understanding of living through some of the same rare and traumatic experiences I’ve faced. The grace of God in technology and the beauty of Substack is utilizing these things to find meaningful connection with others, even if they are across the world.

So whether you’re a subscriber, fellow writer, or just someone stopping in today, thank you for being here and making this space what it is. It’s not about Substack, it’s about the real people behind the words on this platform. You reading, commenting, and sharing work with others is what allows more of us to find deep fellowship with each other. It allows us all to feel heard and understood and like our thoughts matter enough to write them down and share them.

On Sabbaths

I recently implemented a Sabbath¹ practice. I have a full life with two toddlers, a husband who works full time and ministers in church leadership, my own ministry responsibilities in our local body, and family, friends, and neighbors who need me to connect and do life with them.

As I have become more disciplined in spending intentional time with the Lord each day, I’ve felt a tug on my heart to rest and feel renewed through worship and spiritual reflection. So I began taking a sabbath every week: on Saturday evening my phone turns to downtime mode; I can receive texts or phone calls, I can access my notes and any apps that are part of my spiritual disciplines (Bible apps, commentaries, music) but everything else is blocked off. For the next 40 hours instead engaging on social media or with other distracting technology, I pray, I study my Bible or other godly resources, I rest and engage with my family. I go to church and worship alongside my spiritual family and connect with friends in person.

Our habits are hard to break and when I started this intentional practice it felt awkward. There are still times at the beginning of my sabbath that I feel the tension of desire to see what’s happening in the digital world, fear of missing out, and the discomfort of boredom. Instead of giving up and quitting this practice, I push through and pray for the Lord to give me peace, contentment, and discipline to pursue Him and these other things He has called me to. Slowly, as the hours pass, the tension fades: my heart, soul, and mind feel rested and my cup is full.

Most Monday mornings before my sabbath comes to an end, I find myself clinging to the minutes as they slip through my fingers. Lord, I don’t want to leave this quiet space of communion. I want to wrap my little family in the beauty of this rest and never stir from it. But I know You have purposes, commands, and a commission for us to fulfill. I know You need me to leave this quiet and enter the bustling world of digital engagement to encourage and strengthen others with Your love and grace. You have work for me to do, help me to put my hand to the plow and do it well.

As I wrestle with longing to stay in quiet communion with the Lord, I wonder if this is how Jesus felt as he was pulled from quiet places of prayer to minister to the crowds and complete His ministry on earth. I wonder if that’s the point of a sabbath altogether, to long for more of the Lord, Christ’s return, and our heavenly home. But it also leaves me refreshed and ready to engage once again, hopefully in a loving and encouraging way that benefits others more than myself.

On Connection: in person and online

We are meant to live in community and deep connection with one another. We need other people to encourage us, love us, teach us, spur us on, and lovingly correct us. We are blessed to live in the digital age where some of this community and connection can take place online. With the touch of a few buttons we can interact with people across the world. This is a gift from God and should be stewarded well. Often, my online interactions and discussions spur on conversations and actions in my physical life. The friendships I have online help me become a better communicator, more thoughtful in what I say, and more intentional in how I listen. My encouragement for you is to use technology and the internet to connect with others in a way that is uplifting and edifying.

It would be remiss of me not to take this moment to also emphasize the importance of physical connection. The digital age has so many exciting and beneficial advances, but one of its downfalls can be our tendency to overlook that we are physical beings. We are real people who need connection not only through words and screens but through being face to face with others.

I can encourage you with my words, but I can’t make eye contact with you and have you sit on my couch while you cry about your problems. I can’t physically wrap my arms around you or hand deliver you a meal when you’re sick. So maybe the encouragement you need to hear is don’t neglect your neighbor across the street or your local body of believers. You need those people to pour into your life and walk alongside you, and they need you to do that for them as well.

One of my favorite book recommendations is 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You by Tony Reinke. It has so much research and ultimately left me with a better game plan of how to best use my phone and the internet to benefit myself and others.

“While some writers claim our phones are making us cognitively sharper and relationally deeper,” others warn that our phones are making us shallow, dumb, and less competent in the real world. Both arguments ring true at times, but “social media are largely what we make of them— escapist or transforming depending on what we expect from them and how we use them. “The question of this book is simple: What is the best use of my smartphone in the flourishing of my life?

To that end, my aim is to avoid both extremes: the utopian optimism of the technophiliac and the dystopian pessimism of the technophobe. O’Donovan is exactly right when he says that our temptation is to watch someone doing something and then merely to copy the behavior and lose sight of our personal callings and life goals. In other words, we must ask ourselves: What technologies serve my aims? And what are my goals in the first place?”

Tony Reinke 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You

I’ll leave you with these words because who could say it better than the Lord Himself?

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:17

If you’re reading this, I’ve prayed for you.

For His glory,

Amy

1. A Sabbath is a designated day of rest and spiritual focus, originating from the biblical account of God resting on the seventh day of creation, meaning “to cease” or “rest” in Hebrew. It involves abstaining from secular work, engaging in worship, spiritual reflection, and renewal.