Sometimes I don't know... when to unplug.

Here is a cool fact about me, my grandpa grew up Amish. I can hear you now "Amish? What is Amish? Are those the crazy people who don't have electricity?"  Yes. They do not have electricity running to their house, as well as running water, and many other modern conveniences. Are they crazy, I don't think so.

The Amish live a very simple life, relying on the things that were created by God and not man. I remember as a young child going to visit the farm where my grandpa, Poppy as we called him, grew up. I loved being there. Surrounded by the simple, no one was on their phone, no one was on their ipad, no one was on their computer. They were connecting to people face to face, making lasting relationships.

In a way this is a genius idea. I mean, really, how often do we ever unplug from the world and plug into God? Several times in the new testament it tells us that Jesus went off on his own to pray and seek his Father. In the age of the internet on cell phones how often do we choose to read our Bible over Facebook, or Prayer over Pinterest?  I often find myself getting lost in pinterest for hours. Time I could instead be seeking God.

A few weeks ago I was talking with the pastor and a few interns here at my church. We were talking about what our priorities are. Without a doubt I said my first priority was God. As the conversation continued we listed how we spent our time in correlation to our priorities. My list of priorities and how I spent my time did not line up. So was my first priority really God?

About four or five days ago I tried a small experiment; I deleted the pinterest app off my phone to see how I could do without it. I did OKAY, but I still found myself doing other tasks on my phone. The only way to get away from it was to turn off my phone for awhile.

So this week I challenge you, with the same thing I am challenging myself with, unplug from the world and plug into God. Spend time making a lasting connection, face to face, to something or someone that truly matters to you.