Unplug and recharge

Unplug and recharge!

Thought- When did we decide that busyness, always being switched on, would some how make us content? It instead leaves us burned out.

Scripture– “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” – 1 Timothy 6:6

“In vain you rise early and stay up late,toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves.” Psalm 127:2

Insight: Everyone seems in such a rush, always staring at their electronic leashes, aka cell phones, and missing the life and failing to see the beauty that is going on all around them. We have become slaves to technology and it is leaving us burned out and empty. Who decided that busyness= contentment? In most cases, I see busyness=distracted=burned out=empty. You get through your days exhausted, having been beaten up by technology with the requirements of instantaneous responses and no down time. We seem to have less and less human interactions, and instead are becoming isolated by technology which is making our human interactions impersonal at best, and superficial at worst. Technology is replacing our human interactions and that is certainly not how God created us. He intended for us to work together to achieve his purposes of showing and sharing love with those He puts into our spheres of influence. God is all about the sum of the parts being greater than the whole.It takes a village!

So I have an idea of 10 things we can do as we seek to “unplug from the grid”, maybe slowly at first, in order to reclaim our lives from the technological crazed world we are living in and get it back into an equilibrium that leads to joy and contentment. Here they are:

1. Go 24 hours with no news at all, either television or social media. No clicking on any news stories. See how much freedom this gives you and the new space for your mind to just relax.
2.  Do a random act of kindness for a complete stranger. Just anything. Buy someone a coffee or help an elderly neighbor with a chore. The sky is the limit.It will make you feel good and bless someone else in the process.
3. Forgive someone who has hurt you. This will help you more than you can ever imagine while also helping them get over their guilty feelings for what they have done.
4. Tell someone you haven’t spoken to in a while that you love them. A distant relative or a long lost friend. They will appreciate you thinking of them!
5.  Appreciate something seemingly small that you haven’t noticed before and give thanks for it. It could be something simple like your coffee pot working in the morning, or the car running well on the way to work.
6. Be inspired by the beauty of nature all around you. If you are able, take a quiet walk and be in awe of what is all around you in Creation. If you live by the Ocean, watch the rhythm of the tides rolling in and out in perfect motion all day, every day.
7. Take 5 or 10 minutes to be thankful for the things in your life you take for granted like your health, if you are lucky enough to have it, or your Doctors if you are not. We all have something to be thankful for every day, it helps to stop and acknowledge those things.
8. Try not to get into an argument for 24 hours with anyone about anything, but especially politics.
9. Don’t check Facebook or Twitter in less you absolutely have to for your job. Again, this can cause us to feel stressed and rushed, and always having to “check in” instead of relaxing and carving out space to just be still.
10. Pray! Pray a lot! Pray in all circumstances and situations for peace and contentment. Pray for wisdom, guidance and discernment. Pray for your light to shine out into a darkened world. pray for opportunities to be a blessing. Always remember that what you get makes a living, but what you give makes a life.

Prayer: Father God, help us to unhook from the grid to find peace and balance today in our life. Help us to find down time and relaxation in this constantly on, stressful technology driven world. Help us turn to you always as our power source and for our ability to cope when situations get overwhelming. You grant rest to those who seek you and put you first. Help us to remove the distractions that keep us from doing that in our lives. In Jesus powerful name I pray. Amen!