Tuning Out and Tuning In

Yesterday a neighbor reminded me of an important lesson: to hear the voice of God we have to get very quiet and very alone.

It has not been that way for me lately. I am an information junkie. With my lap top computer connected wirelessly to the internet I can receive and send information all day any day. It is convenient.

Perhaps that convenience is part of my current problem. You see, there is a lot going on right now and I should be really focused on discerning how to accomplish the things ahead. Most days I find myself overwhelmed. So, when overwhelmed I escape. And with my computer and the world wide web at my finger tips I can lose myself in a game, book, videos, or countless other distractions right there. After these distractions I rarely find myself fulfilled. Rather, I am more often disappointed that I am even further behind.

Here is the place for discipline. Francis Bacon said

If money be not thy servant,
it will be thy master

For me, my computer, TV or just mindless conversation can take over and monopolize my time. Even if I know there is something pressing I ought to do and really desire to do it, I often slip into time-wasting habits. Discipline -- teaching my self to do the right thing -- is so very important. When I get ready to go to a time-waster is when I am going to go to something that helps me tune in to that voice these distractions often tune out. Some things that help me tune in are

• taking a stroll
• writing notes
• prayer and meditation
• exercise
• power nap

I'm not giving up my computer. No, it is the primary tool for me to get work done! But when I am drawn to use it for distractions rather than production it becomes my "master". So, I am tuning out the distractions of instant information and entertainment and tuning in to those practices that get me closer to the answers I need in this time of transition.

Notes: spirituality of the cell phone

What does a Porsche salesman turned Mennonite pastor have to say about media and culture?

These are my notes from a relevant and important message from Shane Hipps at Mars Hill in Detroit.

Shane authored the book The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture: How Media Shapes Faith, the Gospel, and Church

buy the book at Amazon.com

shane hipps

mars hill church

2008/03/29

spirituality of the cell phone

http://marshill.org/teaching/index.php

the medium is the message.

it is how they are used that counts.

the content of any medium is the juicy piece of meat carried by the burgular to distract the watchdog of the mind

regardless of the content, the medium changes us

everything around us is media

electronic age: disorienting blindness in which it is increasingly difficult to discern reflection from reality

we are growing increasingly incapable of sustained face to face communication

hidden biases

the immense power of presence

how can you just be there in an email ? (ex. kathy)

location (being there) is anything but trivial

'the word became flesh' emmanuel

you are the message of the gospel

we are the body of christ

we are his media

This entry is part of Water Cooler Wednesday at randyelrod.typepad.com

My Grammatical Annoyances

Beginning a sentence with, "So"

Some people throw in the word so like it's a punctuation mark. Even on a news program I heard a PhD responding to questions and each response began with "so". Why throw in the extra word anway?

"Stress" versus "Emphasize"

I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to consider the words you use. When we feel stress in ackward situations we become uncomfortable. Have I made my point clearly?

"Eager" vesus "Anxious"

I am eager for you to understand the concept and use these points in your own communication. But don't become anxious if you are one of the folks who do these things that I'll get onto you.

Speaking in the second person

If you are telling a story about yourself then please use the words "I" and "my". People who share their personal story and say "you" this or "your" that they may be trying to relate, but why water down your unique story?