Unplug from Technology

My favorite quiet place - no television, telephone or internet

This Sunday sermon message has been floating through my head all week: 

"If you can't unplug from your technology then that is the kingdom you serve."  

Ouch.  

Montpelier, Vermont - a lovely, quiet town

It's time for a break from technology.  On Sundays, for example, how about unplugging the cell phone or opting not to check email?  Reading only the printed news and not the babble online?  Ignoring the telephone and letting voice mail handle it?  

Great Falls - a good afternoon getaway

I  am going to try it next Sunday.  So don't call or email or text.  In the afternoon,  I will go out for a long walk instead of going to the gym where everything is electronic and I have a tendency to plug into a mindless television show while I work out.  I can do it.  Can you?

Maine - listen to the waves and not the ring tones

My goal for this year is to have at least one electronic-free day each month.  I can do this.  I am excited already about all the time it will save and how much quiet time I can enjoy.  

City of smart phone obsession

Signs of Dependency on Electronic Devices

• Can't get to sleep because your brain is still playing games on your iPhone (the one on the night stand, still warm from the last game).
• Check email more than 5 times per day when away from work.
• Can't set aside quiet time for prayer or thoughtful reflection.
• Prioritize incoming email or cell phone calls over other activities.
• Leave the house with the cell phone but wearing mismatched shoes.
• Talk on the phone when you are in the restroom.
• Spend more than an hour surfing the web and forget why you were surfing in the first place.
• Read the Best Buy ads before the news in the Sunday paper.
• Don't read the paper because you skim the news online between emails.
• Try to board the wrong airplane while texting.
• Can't turn off your smart phone, cell phone, laptop, desktop, television...
• Can't concentrate because it is too quiet.
• Own more than two cell phone chargers.
• Think disaster has struck when the electricity goes out for an hour.
• Walk into a restroom for the wrong gender while checking email. 
• End a cell phone call while while you are stopped at a red light.  Without thinking, assume that means the light is green and step on the gas - causing an accident and ruining someone's day. 
• Use annoying ring tones that alert everyone when you have an incoming call.
• Dream about a vacation where the cell phone doesn't work but never take one.
• Pick up your phone to make a call every time you get in your car.
• Ignore your body's cries for exercise and stay in front of your computer.
• Check your email on your smart phone before you get out of bed in the morning or if you wake up in the middle of the night.
• Stub your toe while walking and typing on your smart phone.
• Fall off the curb at an intersection while typing on your smart phone.
• Walk into a street sign while typing on your smart phone.
• Send a text to avoid making a phone call.
• Check email at restaurants or when you are with a friend or loved one.
• Email your regrets to avoid making a phone call.
• Talk on the phone when you are spending "quality" time with your children.
• Email or talk on the phone when you are out in nature and could be enjoying its beauty.

Visit a museum - the National Gallery of Art's Arcimboldo exhibit

How many of these are you guilty of?   I am guilty of all of them except the annoying ring tones (it is just one of my pet peeves). 

Frog-watching is far better than email

Now I have realized my addiction and I plan to set that iPhone and MacBook aside more often.  I hope you can, too.  Just maybe you will find a little more time for prayer or meditation or both.  Good luck and God Bless!