Over the past couple of weeks, Bjorn has been challenging - both inbound and outbound - about being intentional. Things in our spiritual lives aren't going to happen by accident. We are called to be focused and disciplined as we live our lives in Christ.

Perhaps it's no coincidence that a very practical application to these messages - even beyond what we've heard on Sunday mornings - has been popping up in my life. I think we'd agree that one of the easiest ways to lose focus, waste time and be anything but intentional is through the screens and devices all around us.

Rob and I recently went through a book called "The Tech-Wise Family" by Andy Crouch. We found it helpful both in the why and the what of navigating ourselves and our kids through a world completely connected to the internet. We are the first generation of parents to be raising kids in this kind of connectedness and it's no small task.

I wanted to share not only the book with you (see link above) but also a short interview that Andy gave about the big concepts in the book (for you visual and auditory learners). There is a lot of wisdom here about how to be present and how to be intentional with these screens that are not going away. I hope you find it helpful. (See the video link below.)

Another resource that has helped us a family is iParent.tv. Apps and what they're used for is changing faster than is reasonable. This website gives parents the lowdown on apps, websites and devices so that we can know the potential benefits and dangers of what's on trend. The quote on their home page says, "46% of teens would change their online behaviour if they knew their parents were paying attention." Talk about the need to be intentional in our families, eh?

Of course, tech talk isn't just about raising kids - it's just as much for us grownups as well. Let's help each other and challenge each other to not let the spinning of the world around us keep us from the One who matters most and has set eternity in our hearts. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

I'm praying for us all to have an inbound and outbound week of intentional focus on Jesus and His mission for us in this world!

See you Sunday,
Pastor Tracy

This Sunday...

Our inbound message is called Loved:

It's a simple concept on paper: Jesus loves me, this I know. But when I start to study what the Bible says about God's love, it's more than I can intellectually take in. Not only that, this love is the lynchpin for everything else in my faith. We're going to spend some time on Sunday morning with this fundamental truth that is vital to walking with Christ.

You can also follow along with the message on YouVersion. Here's the link.