Choosing the Good Portion Series - Part 5

It has been 3 weeks since we moved to the farm, The Faithful Homestead, and it has been everything I was praying for plus more. Yes, I’m exhausted and feel like an old woman from moving. Yes, my back hurts and I have allergies. Yes, I already killed some flowers. But, oh my goodness, this life…it is so sweet and slow and beautiful and simple.

Going from the hustle and bustle of three kids in school across town and another kiddo in tow everywhere I go, all their sports, Andrew’s crazy job, involvement in church, traveling to speak all over the country, showing up online all the time…it was a lot last year. Not just a lot but too much. I was telling Andrew that our lives were busy then but they weren’t full. We were more stressed than happy. More driven by schedules than the Spirit. More driving and keeping up rather than setting our own pace and cherishing the days.

Our lives are full now.

I’ll be honest: when our offer was accepted and I knew we were moving to the farm, I had a million Instagram Reel ideas in my head, music I saved, and videos I took. I had photos and creative content ready to share. I signed up for giveaways to grow, I boosted posts so more people could see, and I was so excited to share. But then we moved in… and while I know this is a full season getting settled (and getting animals!), my desires have completely switched.

The excitement to share has drifted away. I keep wondering if that feeling will sail back into my heart or if it’s a ship that has sailed over the horizon for good.

I have multiple conflicting thoughts in my head right now because so much is happening on a larger scale in the Church. Just this year, we’ve seen so many people in pastoral positions fall.

While this could be an entire blog series in and of itself, I can’t help but think a huge underlying issue is that we, as humans, were not meant to be famous and known. We were created to be faithful and make Him known.

And in that process, we lost Jesus while amplifying ourselves.

Our flesh craves notoriety, accolades, fame, money, attention…and if I’m supposed to put to death the flesh and walk in a new self, one guided by the Spirit, wouldn’t I turn away from those things and seek simplicity, contentment, gratitude and hidden faithfulness?

I understand what you might be thinking. Nicole, you were on TV and have a blue check mark on Instagram, why should I listen to you?

And that’s a great question. Because all I did for years was promote myself and my book because that’s what you have to do when you get a book deal. You have to sell books, which means selling yourself and your message.

But we have it all wrong.

That type of drive can only take you so far because the foundation that is laid is one based off of sales and growth, not faithfulness and contentment.  And we know good soil produces good fruit…

I want others to know Christ and I see how by God’s grace He has used my book to transform lives. I love how it pushes people to Jesus and how I’m able to share on social media about God. If you really think about it, that’s amazing! We can share our faith and encourage random people on the internet that we would have never met otherwise.

But…it comes with a cost. I know we’re not meant to have so many eyes on us. That’s why everyone falls! These pastors and authors and “famous” people in the Christian world got a taste of power and fame and money and prestige for too many years. It changes you. It becomes less about serving others and more about showing others how great you are.

Is there a balance? How does one “show up” on the internet without making it about themselves? I think we all force our fame in whatever capacity, however large or small our audience, because we just want to feel known and seen and desired and affirmed. Unfortunately, most of us think social media is the place to do it.

I get it. I really do. I have an entire book out in the world that has all the details of the worst things I’ve walked through and I want people to like it. No, I want people to love it and buy it and tell me about it so I know it was all worth it.

But why? Because we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We all want affirmation and we have to ask ourselves, is what Christ says and thinks not enough for me and you? Everything comes from Christ and He is the only one who can satisfy.

Which brings me back to the farm. My life is so peaceful and full right now that I have zero desire to post. I’ll post here and there when it takes me less than 5 minutes and I can actually find my phone. And let me be honest with you again: I reached 100K followers on Instagram and was pretty pumped about it at first. How exciting to have that many people follow me. I can talk about Jesus! I can share about my book! I can encourage!

Which is great…but people following others on social media? If you take a step back and think about it for a minute, isn’t that weird? How much we care about followers and likes and views and all of that? It’s weird. Why are we so obsessed with ourselves that we want “followers?” instead of just living our own lives? We need more people concerned about the faithfulness to their specific calling from the Lord than getting people to follow us. God is bigger than social media and we have to humble ourselves. Remember, He doesn’t need us in His grand plan…but He CHOOSES US! Over and over again to love us, lavish us with gifts, use us…all for His glory.

We’re so focused on everyone else that we’ve completely lost the idea and practice of humility and gratitude in our own lives. I was right there, too, and still have to check myself throughout the week.

I think the farm opened my eyes though to what truly matters and helped me to create a life where we thrive.

The truth is that those practices aren’t confined by location. With Christ leading you, you can choose to have a positive attitude no matter the circumstances and create a life where you thrive no matter where you are. I pray we are all so led by the Spirit that each season, whether hard or easy, feels like HOME because we have Christ in us, the Hope of glory!

Let’s continue to choose the good portion, Christ alone, everything for His glory.