A few weeks ago, my family and I moved into our new house. Before the big move, my mom called the internet company to have our phone and internet services moved over to our new house. Apparently, there was some kind of strike going on at the phone and internet company, so they could not move our services over until about a week after we moved in.

Now, here's some background: I do not have a smartphone. No one in my family does. We have iPod touches and tablets to Snapchat, surf the web, use Instagram, Netflix, Facebook, Twitter and email. My dad doesn't even own a cell phone. Between my college campus and home, it's rare that I don't have wi-fi access.

But for about a week after we moved, I didn't have access to my email, Snapchat, Facebook, Spotify, iTunes, twitter, Instagram, iMessage or even Google. During the week, I felt like my right hand was cut off. I couldn't Snapchat my best friend. I couldn't waste time on Facebook. I couldn't tweet about what I was feeling.

After thinking those thoughts, I thought to myself, Wow. You need a week without internet to change your thought life.

Instead of wasting all my time on the internet, I spent time with my family. We all helped each other unpack all the boxes, move furniture and swam in our new pool. The whole week I was on edge, and I felt like my crutch was missing. If I was bored -- I actually had to find something to do. I couldn't just go online. I caught up on some books that I had been wanting to read and shuffled through the music library I have on my iPod. We didn't have our cable hooked up yet, either, so that wasn't even an option, not that I usually watch too much TV anyway.

Finally, the day came when the internet was going to be turned on. The employee came out, fiddled around outside and -- boom, we had wi-fi. As soon as I saw the 30 notifications from Facebook and Instagram and over 100 emails, I wished for my internet to be gone again.

We're constantly pounded by things online that overwhelm our minds and distract us from what truly matters in life: God, family and friends. I definitely spend less time online and more time enjoying nature and the people around me instead of with things that aren't actually present.

I challenge you to pretend you don't have internet access for a week -- or actually shut it off! I promise that you'll be richly rewarded.

If you're interested in learning more about the media and how social media specifically affects us, read the book, "#Struggles" by Craig Groeschel.