October Greetings 2014

by **Phillip Gross** October 3rd 2014, 7:40 am

Well for those who my not be aware, tomorrow is my birthday. You know, awesome things happen on the 4th. Independence Day on the 4th of July... Phillip Gross was born on the 4th of October... Two things that are right there neck and neck! Smile

by **joecool** October 3rd 2014, 8:27 am

On the flip side of Oct 4th...
- 1954 Marilyn Monroe announced that she intends to divorce Joe Dimaggio
- 1957 The USSR beat us into space with the launch of Sputnik
- 1969 China announced their first hydrogen bomb test

by **Phillip Gross** October 3rd 2014, 10:12 am

joecool wrote:On the flip side of Oct 4th...
- 1954 Marilyn Monroe announced that she intends to divorce Joe Dimaggio
- 1957 The USSR beat us into space with the launch of Sputnik
- 1969 China announced their first hydrogen bomb test

Trivial by comparison... Very Happy

by **Phillip Gross** October 3rd 2014, 10:49 am

Thinking about getting rid of my "smart" phone. I've had one for years in one iteration or another. I'm now seeing a pattern in my life though that I don't like. It seems that when I'm really pursuing a close relationship with the Father, I don't get online much. I don't really look at facebook, or even forums. I just read the Bible and pray more. But then if that passion cools, I am online more. I'm not saying that every time I'm online I'm not pursuing God, but there's definitely a correlation between the amount I surf the web and my Biblical intensity. I don't know which comes first, the chicken or the egg, but I see a connection.

I think I'm in a season of finding and getting rid of things that steal my affection and the "smart" phone is one that I think I need to 86. Will I be inconvenienced at times without the world wide web at my finger tips at all times? Sure, but I think the cost of less ability is worth the benefit of less distraction.

I love Jesus, and I just want to purge my life of things that pull my attention away. Anyone else find things in your life that easily pulls your attention away from the Father? I think Claymore's story of the boy walking away so easily because of other distractions was another proverbial straw on the camel's back in bringing me to this conclusion. In truth, we're not much different than those kids. We just have other things other than pizza and girls that pull our attention away. Some things even seem good and noble, but if it pulls your attention away from relationship with Father, then it needs to go! My youth pastor always used to say the only difference between "good" and "God" is the extra "o" which stands for "overcommitment". Many times it's not bad things that pull us away, but good things that we just don't have time for (in an eternal value system).

by **Claymore** October 3rd 2014, 1:07 pm

Phillip Gross wrote:
In truth, we're not much different than those kids. We just have other things other than pizza and girls that pull our attention away.

I have often said that, spiritually, we have about the same Attention Span as my wife's Collie. We know that we want to follow the Lord, but that any time something else falls into our line-of-view, we tend to chase after it.

Example, we have about a 300 foot driveway to the house.

If we tell the Collie to "go home", she knows that it means to go to the house, and she knows what her mission is.

So here is her train of thought....

"I'm going home, I'm going home......Ooh look a stick. Play with the stick."

"Oh yeah, I'm going home, I'm going home.....What's that? Ooh, a turtle."

"Oh yeah, I'm going home, I'm going home......SQUIRREL, SQUIRREL, SQUIRREL!!!"

by **joecool** October 3rd 2014, 2:47 pm

Phillip Gross wrote:Thinking about getting rid of my "smart" phone.

Internet (noun) - an international computer network connecting my brain to every distraction in the known universe.

by **RRCmdrBennett** October 3rd 2014, 5:15 pm

Blame Al Gore for that he invented it...

It really began with the telegraph...

by **Phillip Gross** October 3rd 2014, 6:34 pm

joecool wrote:
Phillip Gross wrote:Thinking about getting rid of my "smart" phone.

Internet (noun) - an international computer network connecting my brain to every distraction in the known universe.

Totally true!!! I love it.

by **RRCmdrBennett** October 4th 2014, 12:36 am

Sometimes its good to unplug from the hive and get yourself plugged into the source. Some preachers would take that personal conviction and ban everyone from having a smartphone.

by arcliner October 8th 2014, 2:59 am

I knew one of the commanders that will go on a "smart phone fast" so he can prepare his devotion! Guess smart phone has been a distraction tool that drew lots of our attention to it.

Imagine if we were to spend every 5 mins instead of checking out our mobile phone, to check out on bible. We will have read the bible many times, maybe we could have recited it as well!

by **Claymore** October 8th 2014, 10:57 am

arcliner wrote:

Imagine if we were to spend every 5 mins instead of checking out our mobile phone, to check out on bible.

THERE is a good bit of wisdom!

by **RRCmdrBennett** October 8th 2014, 5:29 pm

If you get a bible app you can have both...

by **joecool** October 8th 2014, 5:34 pm

There's something to be said about brains over brawn. This afternoon, my son asked me to pull carpet out of a preschool room that's going through a renovation. In one hour by himself, he had only been able to pull up a single corner. Looked like someone had used 5 gallons of glue.

I looked around, checked my angles and avenues, and jumped back into my truck. Drove around to the back, got my tow rope out and tied it to the loose carpet corner. Viola! October Greetings 2014 3452256262