Unplug and engage...

Dear Friends-

Have you ever been so overwhelmed that you just stop moving? I have! My phone has been ringing off the hook and the emails are flooding my inbox to the point that I've just stop answering. As a result, four days went by and you didn't receive any messages. I apologize.

More important than the missed messages is the larger lesson about "unplugging". Extreme busyness is a major problem for some of us but others have a bigger problem because we keep going even when there's nothing on our schedules.

Here's what I mean... Can you have a conversation with someone and still type a message on your Blackberry? Do you answer your cell at dinner, no matter who's calling? Do you find yourself pressing "check mail" over and over to refresh your email instead of waiting to automatically receive a list of new messages every few minutes? Do you notice that everyone, including you, turns on their ringers and checks voicemail within minutes of church ending?

Dear friends, if you've answered yes to any of these questions, you need to unplug!

Today's message is simple and the implications are both spiritual and practical. The Lord is not going to compete for our attention and neither will our families. If we continue to spend more time interacting with technology than with each other, we'll lose the relationships right in front of us. We don't have time to do His work if we rush to answer every email that hits our Blackberries. Our children won't stop growing just because we have more emails to send. Our spouses will become tired of trying to catch our attention and find something else to focus on.

Let's spend time with the Lord and with each other. Speak, listen, and give your undivided attention. Focus on work during work time, carve out specific time for email, and allow your calls to go to voicemail when spending time with others. This goes beyond etiquette. Our inability to focus on each other is out of control and will impact our most intimate relationships.

Unplug and engage with the Lord (and each other).

Stay Blessed,

K.

At the Home of Martha and Mary

³⁸As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. ³⁹She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. ⁴⁰But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"

⁴¹"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴²but only one thing is needed.^[f] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."