I facebooked one of my students today to ask them a question.  I didn’t expect for them to get back in touch with me until after school.  They instantly responded.  Facebook sent their cell a message, they checked their cell then responded…from class.  Not sure what the teacher was talking to them about, but I can tell you she wasn’t paying attention.

We call it multi tasking now, but it is becoming more and more impossible to stay focused on one task to completion.  Cell phones, internet, streaming video, twitter….It causes you to constantly be connected but is a huge source of distraction.  To be the most connected generation, we are disconnected to the creator of the universe.

Try this for a day… Put your phone on silence and check it at lunch and at the end of the day.  Now everytime you think about texting someone, talk to God.  I know what you are thinking, “How can I talk to God if it is not dinner time?”  1 Thessalonians teaches us to ^pray without ceasing.  We have no problem texting without ceasing.

Don’t allow distractions to lead you to destruction!  Take time this week to focus! 

We were at Disney last week, and I continually told Caden that if he got lost from us, he needed to go to the Castle and we would come and get him.  Whenever you are in a big crowd like that it is a parents worst fear that their child would get separated from them.  I constantly told him so he would remember.

Then the distraction came.  Donald Duck came walking by and Caden began to follow him.  I was about to call out to him to keep walking with us, but I decided to see what he would do.  He followed the big stuffed Duck all the way to the picture taking area. Then he began to wonder back to where we had come from and he continued to keep his eyes on the quack.  

Then the moment came.  You know the moment.  When you realize that you are all alone.  Separated from your Father.  Lost.  Panick set him for him as I watched him for just a moment.  Then fear swept over him and he began to run screaming out our name in desparation.  It was at that moment that I hollered out for him, only 30 feet away from him.  He ran toward me, and embraced me.  I scooped him up and held him as his eyes began to well up in tears.  I reassured him that I had been watching him the entire time and reminded him where to go if that happened again.  Then I told him it was OK.  He was safe now.

Have you reached that point in your life.  When you feel all alone.  Desparate in your own sin.  Lost.  God is much closer than you may think.  He calls out your name.  He speaks to you through scripture and prayer and says, “I’m right here.”  Do we react though the same way.  To scream out in desparation to our father in our desparate sinful lives and say, “Father!”  No normally we go back to what distracted us and find ourselves spending time with some Quack. 

The Father’s Voice is calling for you to come to him.  What are you waiting on?

So we are at Carowinds and I am on my first ride of the day with some of our students at the Big Youth Thing.  They strap me in to the Borg roller coaster which then lays me down flat and starts up the first hill.  At the top it does a cork screw and I am flying and screaming.  About half way through the ride, it wasn’t fun anymore as my cell phone went flying.  Who knows where it landed.

Anyway, the rest of the day, I had no cell phone.  No numbers (I had 500 in my cell phone) No way for anyone to get in touch with me.  I was unavailable. 

What was at first a terrifying thing, all of a sudden became a burden that was lifted off my shoulders.  No one could get in touch with me.  I could randomnly call someone when there was 10 seconds of dead time. 

When was the last time you made yourself unavailable.  Made yourself stop what you were doing and talk to God, uninterrupted.  You should try it.  It’s terrifying, but freeing.

By the way, I got a phone the next day at 9 am.  Bad habits are hard to break.