Calm, Cool, and Connected: 5 Digital Habits For A More Balanced Life

By Arlene Pellicane

I was gifted the opportunity to be a part of the book launch team for Arlene Pellicane’s new book, Calm, Cool, and Connected: 5 Digital Habits For A More Balanced Life. 

I met Arlene at the Proverbs 31 She Speaks conference back in 2017 while attending her workshop about how to blog with kids at home. She was adorably charming and her wisdom on parenting modern Christian children in a secular culture was both encouraging and inspiring. When she introduced the topic of her latest book [the adult-version of Growing Up Social: Raising Relational Kids in a Screen-Driven World, which she co-wrote with Dr. Gary Chapman], I was immediately intrigued.

Full-disclosure: I do NOT consider myself a “techie” person.

In fact, I can barely manage my own blog and have no clue how to keep up with website updates and technical maintenance! Likewise, I prefer pen and paper instead of typing (even though my handwriting is practically illegible), I’d rather read newsletters, notes, articles, books, etc on paper versus going paperless, and I absolutely loathe what Facebook (and the like) have done to our culture (though I most certainly appreciate the opportunity to connect with you!!!). As well, I do not have any attachment to my phone or other tech devices and could go days without accessing social media.

Seriously.

With that out there, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and gained both knowledge and wisdom from reading it! With a 134 pages of content written in a rather large-size font, this book was a breeze to read not only because it was “short” but also because it was extremely relevant and beneficial to everyday life. I was actually able to read this book in two days flat (without ignoring my young, active children or cutting into our family time)!

The book began with a self-evaluation to rate an individual’s personal technology use as a means to gauge how the different variables outlined [throughout the book] would directly affect them and in what capacity. I found this to be quite beneficial.

In addition to the test and a variety of statistics and studies pertaining to tech-use, there was a plethora of scripture weaved into each chapter. I loved how the modern-day book concept was applicable to biblical truth written centuries prior to any sort of what we would consider a modern-day “advancement.”

Perhaps one of the greatest features of this book, besides the content itself, is how easily relatable Arlene is to her reader. As a work-at-home mom of three kids, she did not condemn using technology but rather introduced some practical habits to help readers live a more balanced, purposeful life. The five habits are very practical but most importantly, doable.

With several nuggets to remember like, “People first, phones second,” “It’s more desirable to be wi-fi poor but soul-rich,” and “Notice others in a selfie world,” it is easy to walk away with motivation to consider using (and viewing) your technology differently. 

If you own a phone, you need to read this book!

*I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review