Turn Off Your Computer! I Mean It!

The chairman and CEO of the world's largest search engine is urging college graduates to turn off their computers and discover the humanity around them.

Google's Eric Schmidt spoke at the University of Pennsylvania's commencement ceremony in Philadelphia on today.

The Class of 2009 is graduating in a tough economic climate, but Schmidt says such downturns can be a time for innovation. He noted that Rice Krispies, Twinkies, and beer cans were all products of the Great Depression—and staples of college life.

Schmidt says that while graduates can't plan for innovation or inspiration, they can be ready for it when it happens.

You know, without even knowing it, I've been following Mr. Schmidt's advice to the class of 2009. I've been walking away more and more from the computer. Taking time to do more "important" things.

I think those times of silence are important. As my blogger friend Camey says, we all need quiet times. I'm in one of those times in life.

At some point soon, I'll unpack a few things I am learning and going through. Maybe I will eventually get to the point where I can say that I am growing through these events, but I'm not there yet. Maybe soon.

Thanks for any and all prayers said on my behalf, and on behalf of my family. They are appreciated.

A Journey of a Thousand Miles

Let me confess something to you—I am a serious traveler. Now, since my wife may or may not read what’s written here, I’ll go ahead and tell you something that you can’t repeat to her if you ever have the opportunity to meet her. I admit it—I drive my wife crazy with my fanatical attempt to plan out every detail of a trip. Not just the big details mind you. I have this need within me to plan even the smallest detail. Now, before you judge me too quickly, let me add, that’s just the way God wired me. I’ve come to accept that.

And with today’s technology, I can plan every trip down to the smallest detail. Of course, there’s Expedia.com to book my flight, hotel room, and car rental. There’s Google.com to tell me about the area I will be in—with a full description of nearby hotels, shopping malls, gas stations, and just about everything else I could possibly want to know.

At Google.com I can also print out a satellite view of where I will be! How cool is that!

Then, there’s Mapquest.com to not only print out a map of the general area, but to also give me exact directions from my house to the location I am going. But, it doesn’t stop there. Mapquest.com also gives my estimated mileage to the area, and even an estimation of how long it will take to drive there!

All I need now is a personal GPS device and I could hold all that information in the palm of my hand.

There is no doubt in my mind that a good journey requires good preparation. Whether it’s maps, or directions, or even your spouse riding along with you to help you navigate, making good preparations will make the journey go much better.

As Christians, we are on a journey for the King. Let’s be clear. We have a choice to make about this journey. We can work alone, in isolation, handling everything ourselves, making do with our skill sets and talents, I started to say that we could be a Lone Ranger-type servant, but that illustration won’t hold water because even the Lone Ranger had Tonto. But, you get the picture. We can tackle this journey alone, if we choose.

That’s one way to serve. And, you know as well as me, that strategy sure seems to be the more logical way to work at times—at least you know you can count on yourself! Most of the time.

However, I don’t really believe God’s intent is for any of us to serve Him alone. Here’s the truth I want you to wrap your arms around today: God desires for all of us to be on a Spirit-filled journey that moves all nations to Christ.

So, I’ve got a question for you: Are you willing to choose God’s journey over maintenance in your daily walk?

That question isn’t as easy to answer as we might first think. Most of us would say, “Sure, who doesn’t?” Or we might ask, “Aren’t we supposed to choose His way over maintenance?”

But listen. If we are to choose God’s way over maintenance, we have to do more than just hope for it to be true. Hoping that we will be involved will not make it come true. Hoping that we journey with Him is a waste of time if all you do is hope and never begin the journey.

Our work for Jesus Christ is not about settling for a routine, monotonous motion of religious activity. Our work for the kingdom is about sacrificing every facet of our lives to make the salvation of Jesus Christ known in all nations. Our work is a total commitment, it is a daily commitment, it is a single focus on taking up our cross each day for God’s work.

Did I Use the Best Keywords?

Keywords.

Keywords are so important as you develop and grow your blog. I'm just learning how all of this works and I really would like to make some kind of impact with my blog. Not sure what that impact is or will ever be. I just want to have some relevance in the lives of those who visit this site, some who visit it daily, some weekly, and some, just once. Maybe my blog will inform you. Maybe you will walk away enlighted. Maybe you will question what has been written or the comments shared. Who knows the impact these words will ultimately have.

Keywords. I searched across the Internet today to see what some of the most used keywords are. I was surprised to see that to really take advantage of keywords, you have to purchase monthly reports, updates, I suppose, to discover a marketing plan of how to use keywords and what the hot button words are. However as I searched, I did see that some of the most common keywords used today are these: Myspace; Facebook; Yahoo; Google; sex; eBay; porn; adult; peace; happiness; and, Jesus.

Interesting mix, don't you think? What is sad is that most of the keywords out there I will not print on my blog. Oh, there are some interesting words. Some keywords that are in common use by way too many people. But, not here.

So, today is an experiment. How many additional hits will I get because I have used these words? I'm curious. So, we'll see.

Yet, of all the keywords in the list that I found, the only keyword that makes a difference is the last one in the list: the name Jesus.

Jesus is the name that matters. Jesus is the name that makes an eternal difference. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. We must go through Jesus to reach God, our Father in heaven. How do I know? He told us so.

So, what is your keyword today? What will drive you through the day? What will motivate you? What will be your focus?

I hope you know Him. If not, you can today. Here's a Web site to answer many of your questions. Please take a few minutes to read over that site and then check back here to share your thoughts and insights.

I hope you'll come back to visit here as you have time. We talk about many different things. You are welcome here.