Can't Text Me Love

Cell phone salespersons are the “used-car” salesmen of the technology age. Why is it that every time I speak with one of them they spend 1% of their time actually listening to me and 99% of their time trying to convince me how much I need the latest, greatest device? I went into the store the other day and said straight out, “All I want is a cell phone for making calls (there’s a novel idea!). I use it primarily for business. I don’t need a lot of extra minutes. I want as basic of a plan as possible at as low of a cost as possible.” So, the guy decided to totally ignore all of this information, and take me to the latest fancy all-in-one phone/internet device. He told me that we can package stuff together to get me a really good deal. He said that if we bundled certain things with my home phone and internet service, it would be equal to what I am currently paying. His sales pitch sounded pretty good and reasonable, but unfortunately he wasn’t listening to me and was trying to sell me a techno-lemon. After a few clarifying questions, I discovered that the only way the cost would balance out is if I dropped my home internet service in favor for the internet service on the phone. I then asked him, “So, what you’re telling me is that I would have to do all my internet work on this 3 inch screen and with this 3 inch keyboard?” He paused, silently, to consider my question. “Yeah, I suppose so,” he responded nervously as he realized he was losing the sale, “but if you add this thing and this other additional cost, you can hook your computer up to your phone, etc, etc….” I said, “Thanks for your time” and walked out of the store, never to return again.

Have you seen the latest cell phone commercials? AT&T is trying to convince us that we need their phone because we can talk on that phone while at the same time surfing the internet on the same phone, and apparently you can’t do this with Verizon. Is this a helpful tool? How many times are you on the phone making an appointment with someone thinking, “Man, I wish I could be watching a youtube video for the 45 seconds I’m spending scheduling this meeting.” But the guy at the store believes that my life is somehow incomplete or lacking without all the new bells and whistles that will be obsolete one year from now.

The Real God

Do I see God for who he truly is, or do I see God for how I would like him to be? Is God real; is he truly other, or do I worship a God who is shaped in my image, crafted in my head by all that I wish Him to be? Even when I pray and study Scripture, am I encountering the Living God, or am I simply attempting self-improvement through these rituals of discipline?

I have been thinking about God’s reality these past few days, which oddly enough, is something I don’t often think about. I’ve always believed in God. I’ve always known that He is real, at least theoretically. God is real, even more real than I am, but, while I know He is real, I do not always live with an awareness of His reality. Not that I deny His existence or doubt His truth, but I do tend to treat Him as if He is there in order to serve me or to fulfill my desires. Perhaps I have focus too much on God’s imminence and not enough on His otherness. I meditate on His love and compassion but much less on his Lordship and sovereignty.

God longs for and expects my devotion, yet I often get this turned around. Rather than submitting to the will of this very real King of Creation, I seek to bend His will to mine. I ask Him to serve me, to bless me, to transform me. He becomes the means to my ends. I treat Him as if He exists to fulfill my life. How egocentric! How corrupt is my thinking!

Today I recognize that God does not exist for my pleasure; I exist for His. I am created by Him and for Him. While He does desire union with me, He does not need me. I, on the other hand, would cease to exist if it were not for his constant, sustaining reality. All that I am rests completely on His Being. I am only because He Is.

Today I am thankful that God is a real and loving Father. He understands this perversion in my thinking, but He still calls me His son. I may often be the son who thinks His Father’s only purpose is to make his son happy, to give him his inheritance whenever he wishes to receive it. I may forget that I would not even be here if it weren’t for the will of my Father. Yet He still loves, as a patient Father loves his children. He is longsuffering with my self-centeredness. He blesses me even though I don’t deserve it. He gives grace, even to those who selfishly seek it.

Wedding Pics

Bleaker than Fiction

I lost a lot of sleep back in January because I picked up a book that I had a hard time putting down. I don't read a lot of fiction, but I would highly recommend "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy to anyone who is interested (it was recently made into a movie but I haven't seen it yet). I'd start reading in bed at 10pm, and would read well past midnight, which is much too late for me. Thankfully it's a short book, and I was able to quickly get back to my usual sleeping schedule.

"The Road" is the story of a father and son in a post-apocalyptic America, and despite the books devastatingly bleak picture of the future, it also gives glimpses of beauty and hope. I don't want to give too much away, so I'll just say that it's definitely worth your time.

Because I enjoyed "The Road" so much and because I was getting ready to head out on a trip to MN with about 1,800 miles of driving, I recently picked up and listened to McCarthy's "No Country for Old Men" on audio CD from our local library. It's another dark and deeply disturbing story. McCarthy personifies evil in a manner that is both fascinating and unsettling. Both books portray the battle between good and evil, but most of the time the evil is so horrendous that it far outweighs the good. Yet, in the most bleak circumstances, I found myself hoping against hope for the salvation of those who were good. In the darkest of stories, the small flicker of goodness, perhaps even grace, shines through.

Ready for March Madness

A Sign of Things to Come

Jill’s sister’s wedding was on Saturday, and she and Jovi were in the wedding. I couldn’t help but think while watching Jovi come down the center aisle that perhaps this is foreshadowing of some sad yet joyful day not so many years from now. Anyway, both my girls did great. Weddings are always fun. Here’s the quick video I took before grabbing Jovi as she made it up to me in the front of the church: