“Can you hear me now?”

Several years ago we finally went the way of modern innovation by disconnecting our land line in preference to our cell phones.  That was a big step when you consider my children themselves actually bought us an answering machine for the old phone prior to that since they “could never get a hold of” us.  Of course, Bob’s cell is of little use since he leaves it lying on the dresser in the front room…all the time.

Yes, technology comes slowly to my home.

The challenge I have with cells phones is the inconsistency.  Depending on “the service area” and “the carrier”, calls get dropped, or can be really hard to hear.  Our eldest daughter used to live in a part of L.A. notorious for bad cell reception.  During one wild fire season, (akin to our Midwestern tornado season I am told), I received something like this:

“Hi Mom….(crzhrhhhrzzz)….fires close…(zxsssssgrrrrccrr)….heard on news, ok for now….(chrrrrrsszzarckkkkk)…..

Naturally, when something important like that is coming through, one tends to strain a little more to get the message.  I think that’s also an old teacher trick to quiet down some unruly kids; i.e., start talking more softly, and curiosity gets the best of them if nothing else.  With all the newer brain studies and neuro-imagining (talk about technology!), I’d love to see what the brain looks like when it’s really focused on something.

I figure God knew something about this magnificent piece of organic technology we call the brain (since He created it) when Jesus said this:

“To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.”

Interestingly, He’s not just talking about more knowledge, but more understanding.  That is, application, and how it all fits together in the context of the larger picture.  A.K.A., wisdom.  The challenge,…no, the danger comes when I don’t discipline myself to listen, even strain if you will, because we all know in our work-a-day world of noise both external and internal, real listening is a lost art. 

To only hear the first part of that phone call from California might have set off a small panic, but focused attention to get the FULL message, even though some of the words were muffled, gave me what I needed to know.  The rest was verifiable later in a follow up phone call.

God is speaking, albeit sometimes in a “still, small voice”, that strategic teacher voice.  It’s just a matter of if I’m in a place of adequate reception.

Matthew 13:12  Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Spiritual placebos

wikipedia photo

Did you know that one of the original Snake Oil compounds was found to exclude anything related to a snake?  Thus the term “snake oil” claiming to be a cure-all has become synonymous with quackery of any kind.  Just another placebo in the world of false advertising, I suppose.

By contrast, a double blind drug trial is one in which neither the scientists nor the human “guinea pigs” know who is actually getting the medicine under investigation.  One group gets the real stuff, and the other gets the counterfeit.  It’s an important way to test legitimate new drugs, since even thinking I’m the one getting medicated can produce symptoms, even if all you’re getting is

Blogging Blast #1: How well are you “prepped”?

(So just what is a Blogging Blast??— BLOGGING BLAST #1 )

I just received my new official emergency backpack for my office.  (I’m a school nurse, and we try to prepare for the unthinkable, as well as treat headaches and put bandaids on boo-boos.)  I won’t mention where I got it, but I say it’s “official” since it’s bright red and has a cross on it.  Supposedly, it has enough space to hold supplies for three days.  It’s the three days of “what” that gives one pause, and obviously calls for prioritizing what one might need for those three days. (Three days with 550+ middle schoolers….just sayin’.)

Nevertheless, it always good to be prepared.  There’s been a movement about the nation of people who have been dubbed “Preppers”.  I went to one website that offered topics from Hunting and Plant Gathering After Nuclear Fallout to How To Make Garlic Pan Bread On A Campfire . 

I wouldn’t last long….

Still, I admire their