Before and After

When I think of "before and after" I think of radical transformation; like a person who lost a ton of weight or a hair and make-up or clothing make over. Maybe even something new out of something old, like the show "Extreme Home Makeover". Regardless, I generally tend to view the "after" picture better than the "before" photo. We always want something better; something newer and improved.

I also find it interesting that when one sees the advertisements for weight loss supplements or to sell exercise equipment, the "before" photo is always an unedited "snapshot" in which the person is wearing no make up, hair messy or at least not styled. The lighting of the photo is dim and off, with shadows and just a harsh look to it. Usually the person is wearing unflattering clothes.... but in the "after" shot, hair and make up are professionally done, the person is now wearing stylish clothing, smiling, better posture, better lighting, and of course, they are transformed to the image is being sold. David, my husband, constantly laughs at infomercials where the really fit guy or gal with lots of muscles says that "just 20 minutes of day" will produce this body. Ummmm..... no. They may have used that equipment for 20 minutes a day but they surely also ran many miles, modified their diet and did a bunch of other exercise to achieve the look they are purporting to have achieved by that diet or that exercise regime or machine alone.... and at 20 minutes a day too!

Now here you may wonder if I'm going to use an analogy of this to our spiritual life of expecting us to know and love God while only doing five minutes of prayer or scripture reading a day. Nope. I'm going in a different direction.

BEFORE

Three years ago I did not own my Macintosh laptop. Nope; we just had a very old PC that's hard drive had given up twice, loosing all my not backed up data. (the 2nd time we did retrieve most of it) I spent a few hours at most on the computer mostly just organizing, downloading and editing photos. Email was designed to inform me of things, not to carry on a conversation. We owned one desktop and it was shared by all. I checked my email maybe twice a day and rarely if ever bought things online.

AFTER

Today as I was driving to a park to run with my friend Kris. (for me "run" is a code word for "walk") I realized I had not brought my iphone. Not a big deal, right? But I missed it. As I drove to the park I kept noticing this urge, more like a slow twitch to keep glancing at my hand, where my iPhone usually is. As I drove I realized I could not check my email. I could not look up blog posts, I just really missed it. Not even a year ago I had an old phone, with a black and white screen that cold only do phone calls and texting (but I never texted) and displayed the time. Now my options are nearly endless.
This is my after: even on my phone I can order a book online through Amazon with just a click of the touch screen. I can read a whole book that I downloaded for free. It organizes and schedules my life, reminds me of things, tells me the weather, I can look up any bible verse in any language and any translation! Check my facebook, blogs, get directions, listen to music, twitter, GPS,... I can do so much with this phone; an extension of my computer at home. I once spent maybe 2 hours online or on my computer "before" and now I have access to it at stoplights, the grocery store, the park. Anywhere. Instant communication; instant knowledge. I love it.

Now, perhaps this is not a better "after" image. Perhaps I had more free time before I was enslaved and had so many options available to me, but would I have filled my life with such stuff anyways?

When I was younger I hated being bored. I'd carry around a backpack that was my life. It did not matter how much it weighed; the though of being without it and the potential of boredom was not something I wanted to face. I had to have a notebook and a pencil or pen. Had to carry at least one book with me. I enjoyed markers and crayons. I'd bring maybe a dozen CD's with me and my portable CD player with me everywhere. In many regards, this is what I carry with me now, only in a much more compact and better format.

I can blame this all on technology, and there's great things as well as bad things to technology. I hear often that people are finding it "good" and therapeutic to unplug now and then and set aside dedicated time to NOT engage in things online. I am trying to understand that, but in the end I am responsible for my choices. Even if I "unplug" what am I plugging in to? If I choose to not read a book or a blog online, am I reading a paper book instead? If I'm not shopping online, am I at the mall? If I'm not instant chatting with a friend, am I on the phone instead? Is one method inferior to the other or just easier to be distracted in front of a computer screen?

I do love my life "after" with my wonderful computer and iPhone. But is it better because I have dressed it up to look better? Is it more alike than I'd care to admit? Do I waste more time or save more time by this wonderful technology addiction? Has it facilitated relationships in a better way than my "before" life and methods of interaction? Is email the same as regular mail?

Is that old quote the more things remain the same the more they change or the more things change to more they remain the same? Plus c'est la meme chose, plus ca change? What do you think?

Tradition or Technology?

A few days ago I was excited about a new application on my iPhone that has 16 english translations of the Bible, and then more in other languages as well. (if you don't have an iPhone you can still use this on your computer.... http://www.youversion.com/)

I'm really excited about this and so I begin thinking: With 16 translations to choose from, do I even need to bring my "real" Bible to church on Sunday mornings? 16 translations! From my favorite ESV to the one that my pastor usually uses on Sunday morning, the NLT. This has the Amplified, KJV, NKJV, NASB, The Message, NIV, NET.... need I go on?

I was taught to bring a Bible to church with me. Always. Before I could even read I brought a Bible to church, so it's just one of those things that I do without thinking much. I suppose for many it's not as important these days to bring a Bible because the Scripture at our church is prominently displayed for us on the screens in the same translation that the Pastor is teaching from. Last week we had a guest speaker who preached from Jeremiah and did not use the screens to put up the Scripture he was preaching from and I heard a sound I don't usually hear: Pages rustling. I looked around and was realized that in almost every row there was at least one person looking up the verses in their Bible. (in my row, there were 3 Bibles being opened) I loved the sound.

I am incredibly partial to "real" books and "real" Bibles. I love the feel of actual paper pages, to me it's more than a book. Plus, I enjoy being able to freely lend my books to others and love seeing all my beloved titles on my bookshelf. I love the idea of a Kindle or E-books because it's a lot easier and less cumbersome to go on vacation with ebooks loaded on a kindle instead of stowing 5 or 6 heavy books in my suitcase! But I simply still prefer "real" books. I know, this could change someday but I'm not sure.... I really love my books.

And yet... (two of my favorite words, dreaded words for others) and yet, I am really tempted to simply bring an iPhone to church and access The Word in digital medium. Why not? But I'm hesitant. First, I already am given a bad time about having my iPhone with me in church. People don't know if I'm playing a game, checking email or facebook or tweeting. The reality is that it's quite possible I could be taking notes on my iPhone or reading my Bible. But why would I even need to "turn to Colossians" in my Bible or iPhone if it's already on the church's screen anyways? Could it be I just bring a Bible out of tradition? So, if that is true, I guess, out of "tradition" I'd want to bring my trusted "real" Bible, the one that's encased in leather. (or fake leather)

I'm really wrestling with all this. (I know it's silly) First, when I have brought out my iPhone, it's a bit annoying. My church usually is pretty dimly lit in the auditorium/sanctuary. Actually, it's probably easier to read the Bible on my iPhone than in book form, but to do so creates a "glow"..... it's a bit distracting for others. Perhaps in a few years (or months) when everyone has a phone that can do everything but open a bottle of beer people won't feel it's so distracting to be reading the Bible on their phone. Until then, I am trying to be considerate. (and yes, I admit, I'd be tempted to check my email.

So, I still haven't addressed the use of twitter during church. Not sure I'm up for that one yet. :-) After all, if most of my friends take issue with me reading the Bible on my iPhone and taking notes on my iPhone, I perhaps don't wish to know what they'd think of twitter!

Getting the Message Out

I turned off my laptop today. It was actually not too horrible. Of course, I still had my iPhone with me the whole time so I could check email, twitter, and even read a few blogs.

As much as I love my iPhone and wouldn't know what to do without it, my biggest comfort, joy and satisfaction is my cute macbook pro laptop. Really, it is something I don't think I could live without. That and WiFi. I could easily give up television, my favorite food, and many other things but not my laptop.

There's so much I can do with a laptop and WiFi. I can connect with people via twitter, Facebook, and email. I can watch videos. I can listen to a podcast or videocast. I can listen to sermons from churches all over the world. I can read blogs and I can give money to organizations. I can buy anything I desire on the internet. I can do research, study the Bible, and even read e-books online.

I really love all this stuff.

I have heard it said that too much information is actually unhelpful; Our brains don't want to be faced with 100 different choices daily about mundane stuff like which cereal to choose.... but I love information; I can't get enough information. (This is not a good trait.)

Today I was introduced to an iPhone application that includes multiple translations of the Bible and even offers them in a wide variety of languages. At prayer time this morning my pastor closed by reading Psalm 65. I was struck by the beauty it described and at first I thought he'd memorized it as I did not see a Bible in his hands. (yes, I peeked) When he was said "Amen" he cited the Psalm and added it was read from The Message....he had that translation as well as several others on his iPhone that he'd gotten for free. It's an application called Youversion and it's so cool. (It's now on my iPhone too) You can download it on itunes and I also saw it advertised at lifechurch.tv There's even daily Bible readings.

I don't normally read Scripture from The Message. I grew up believing that such a paraphrase was "cheating". ...... it was someone else's interpretation of the Bible and ideally a "good christian" should study and come to their own interpretation carefully and prayerfully. (of course, to do so I did use commentaries and relied heavily on other's opinions anyways) Several months ago I actually bought my own The Message hardcover book. It seemed strange but I thought it was a good "tool" in Bible study, much like a commentary or even listening to a preacher's interpretation via a sermon.

Today I thought the Psalm read in The message was "alive" to me and beautiful, yet I still struggle with reading it. It's strange, I know. I have talked to many others that prefer this translation The simpler the better, right? I am not one that believes the Bible is only accurate in the 1611 King James. I actually prefer a newer version, the English Standard Version but I do like and use several others. I have lots of scripture memorized and it's all in the NIV translation.

All this to say, what's your favorite version? Do you have one? Do you have four? What do you think of paraphrase Bibles like The Message? Would you memorize scripture in that translation?

Oh, and today (thursday) I just downloaded for free the kindle version on my iPhone of Suffering and the Sovereignty of God by Justin Taylor and John Piper. All you have to do is download Amazon's Kindle for iPhone (free) and then you can read many titles on your iPhone. I love technology!

A Perfect Pair

I always seem to get the new technology before my husband. I've observed that most women aren't as enamored with the new technological gadgets, at least in my circle of friends. I, however, have fully embraced certain fun things like an Apple iPhone or a macbook pro. In fact, I must admit an affinity for all things Apple. (except some of their software but that's another story)

As my husband pointed out, Apple is rarely the first to come out with things. It wasn't the first MP3 player; wasn't the first laptop computer or the first smart phone. But Apple seems to take the new, existing, radical ideas and make it simple. Beautiful. And accessible for all. I could espouse all day the virtues of my Mac and Apple products and why I love them, feel they are superior other products, and how impressed I've been with the customer service I've received at The Apple Store. But I won't. Chances are, you know. Doesn't everyone deep down want a Mac?

So, I got my macbook pro about 2 and a half years ago and now my husband has one too. Friday David joined the over 1 million people who purchased the new Apple iPhone 3G S, once again having a newer, better version than I have.

Isn't it beautiful? I can't wait for him to love it as I love mine. (though I've been told no one can love a phone as much as I love mine) Ironically, I rarely use the phone part of it: I love the internet, calendar, email, ipod, and all the other amazing applications that it can run.

I know. I'm addicted, but you have to admit: its beautiful in all its simplicity and function. Well done Apple. I don't think I'll ever be able to buy anything but Apple. I just am so happy with it.