LaRosa Johnson {dot} com

Ever since I first logged onto the Internet back in the mid 90′s, I never really thought about how much it affected my life and the lives of those around me. I never sat back and took the time to really take a look at the amount of time I spend on the computer and the things that I actually do on the computer. It all started off rather innocently, I would log on in the mornings before school so that I could check out nba.com to see who had won the previous night’s games (because we didn’t have cable @ the time) and that was pretty much the extent of it. I’d occasionally chat with a few online buddies, but nothing too extensive.
The summer before my senior year of high school (1999), I took the time to teach myself HTML (by hand, none of that WYSIWYG stuff) and that was the beginning of a whole new Internet world to me. I started with a simple site on geocities dedicated to Tim Duncan, which was pretty crappy (but not bad considering it was my first website). From there, I moved on to really get started in Internet “ministry” by starting Jesus4Life (take a look @ the very first site… yikes!). It was from there that I got more involved in Internet chat rooms & instant messenger. I had found an Internet “church” that met weekly on Mondays to have an Internet church service. Those times were great and very fruitful in my spiritual development, but all the more adding to my time spent on the Internet.
From there, the rest seems like a blur. My buddy list grew longer and my list of favorites was expanding; I was finding more things to interest me and it was like a new world had been opened up to me! I got involved in Christian hip-hop, fantasy sports, Internet ministry, and so much more! Before I knew it, the Internet had practically become my life. If I wasn’t going to school or doing homework, I would be in front of the computer screen spending countless hours on the Internet; a trend which has continued until this day.
I’m ashamed to say it, but I’m addicted to the Internet!
It wasn’t until my wife, Robin, brought it up to me recently that I really began to sit down and take an inventory of the time I spend on the computer & the Internet. When I look @ it, a lot of the time is very idley spent and it’s very far from productive. For the few weeks that I’ve been unemployed, you could say that I’m in front of the computer from 8am until very late in the evening (11pm-12am???), only taking the occasional restroom break, eating and spending a little bit of time with family. The more I think about it, I’m highly disappointed in myself and I need to make a change. Why? Because out of those endless hours I spend on the computer during the day, maybe an hour or less of that time is actually spent doing something productive (meaning working on Jesus4Life, writing here, or doing a CD review for Sphere).
With that in mind, I’m going to turn over a new leaf. I’m going to do make a serious effort to spend as little time as possible on the Internet, even setting aside at least one day per week (Sunday) to not even turn the computer on unless absolutely necessary. I’m going to make an effort to make 100% of my computer time productive. If I don’t have a specific purpose to be on the computer, then I’m going to turn it off. No more idle chatting with friends for hours on end. I’ll get on to check my email & reply to the ones that need to be, write for websites, and things like that.
When I’m not online, I’m going to try to spend more time reading, getting some fresh air (read: excercising), and spending time with my family. It’s something that needs to be done so that I can better my relationship with my wife & be a better father to my children. I need to quit being selfish and give of myself to them, as well as the tangible world around me. Yes, I can still have a successful Internet ministry, but I can have a physical one as well!
Well, enough rambling… I’m going to make it happen!