QUOTE: "[The Internet] creates a permanent puberty of the mind. We get locked in so much information, and the inability to sort that information meaningfully limits our capacity to understand. The last stage of knowledge is wisdom. But we are miles from wisdom because the Internet encourages the opposite of what creates wisdom—stillness, time and inefficient things like suffering. On the Internet, there is no such thing as waiting; there is no such thing as stillness. ... This culture is on an extraordinary pace toward needing things to be more efficient. But that is a value that is ultimately antithetical to the gospel. I've never heard of efficient wisdom, efficient love, efficient suffering or efficient compassion." —Mennonite pastor Shane Hipps, author of Flickering Pixels: How Technology Shapes Your Faith [Christianity Today, 5/09]

What a powerful quote recently sent to me from a Focus on the Family email.  I hope that quote challenged you like it did me to reflect and evaluate how much I am influenced by technology, especially the internet with it's unlimited access to whatever you want to know about.  With so many blogs and articles to check out each day we can get caught up in the most up-to-date events and news that we miss life immediately close to us affecting our world.  This doesn't even address the present concern of cell phone texting and all the hype that is involved with it's addictive habit forming behavior.

My encouragement to you today is if you have found your personal or family time to be jeopardized due to lack of personal boundaries using the internet, disconnect from use for at least 24 hours.  Don't check email or any other personalized up-to-date program that you find yourself drawn to 18 hours of your day.

Rather, set healthy boundaries and let friends and family know that you'll check your email and other sources of communication between a certain time each day.  Point being don't be overcome with addictive behaviors rather overcome addictive behaviors with healthy boundaries especially when using the internet.  Keep your time accountable.

JWES CROCKETT, Minister of Students