Syncing Up

As personal digital assistants (PDA) and MP3 players have been introduced into the technology world, the term synchronization, shortened to sync, has also been introduced. One will ‘sync’ or ‘sync up’ their object with their personal computer. This action assures that both pieces of technology have the same information in them. Neither of them is competing, nor are they withholding any information from the other. It is a convenient tool to have for backing up, retrieving, and transferring information from one piece of technology to the other. So if you lose your object or have it replaced, then all you have to do is sync it again, and all the information will be put back.

With the popularity of these types of technology, probably half of you have either experienced this yourself or know what it is. You know how simple it is to plug your cord in to your PDA or MP3 player, and in a matter of minutes, all the information is on both pieces of technology. It doesn’t matter if you had five hundred addresses and phone numbers or one hundred of your favorite songs, they are now digitally saved for you to use whenever you want.

Now, phones are using the feature which allows you to plug it in to save all your contacts to a computer. Other phones are being combined with a PDA. They are classified as ‘smartphones’. You have all your contacts, their addresses, birthdates, anniversaries, your appointments, pictures, videos, and any documents you wish to store, all in one small, portable object.

Whether your PDA is included in your phone or if it stands alone, you understand the value of this tool. There are no more times when you must fumble through pages of contacts or scribbling names and addresses out when someone moved. You simply edit their name and voila, it is changed, neatly and easily! It also can remind you when you have an appointment or special day coming up.

For those of you who have MP3 players, whether or not combined on your phone, you know how much time you can spend putting hundreds of songs on your player. The ability to sync the songs you have transferred makes it convenient and helpful.

Christians also have the privilege of being able to ‘sync up’. With technology, there is a smaller unit that can hold a fraction of what the larger unit can hold. As we parallel this to us and our Creator, we are the smaller being and he is the ultimate being, and we can hold a fraction of what our Creator can hold.

When you connect to Him, through prayer, thought, or meditation, you are essentially ‘syncing up’. You might be trying to understand what His will is for you, confessing your heart, or asking for Him to care for a particular person or situation. ‘Syncing up’ allows Him to better understand what you are experiencing. There isn’t a competition going on. When you are finished ‘syncing up’, hopefully, you will be on the same page. ‘Syncing up’ also allows you to be more in tune with things and to remember details that you may not remember otherwise.

With technology, you do not have to sync up your unit more than once. It is a choice you make. You can sync up one to unlimited times. However, the fewer times you do it, you risk losing information.

As a Christian, you have the opportunity to ‘sync up’ once or unlimited times, too. If you ‘sync up’ only once, then the information you have from that last connection will eventually be old and out of date. However, if you sync up over and over, you will notice that you will be more familiar with Him and you will be up to date.

Take time to connect with Him and to let the two of you be in sync. Just as it is a benefit in technology to sync up between each unit, it will be even more beneficial to you to ‘sync up’ with your Creator.

Plugging in and syncing up!

What a Week(end)!

We arrived back yesterday from the Tulsa Workshop. It is more than a weekend...as it spans Thursday through Saturday, arriving on Wednesday and coming home on Sunday.

This was like none I'd never experienced before. The short of it is that Friday it was rainy and Saturday it was very snowy (6-8 inches). The other side of the experience was that I had my first official time to speak...not once but all three days! I could go on about how that has humbled me more than puffed me up, but I won't.

As usual, the speakers were great! Very encouraging, motivating, and filling for my spirit. It started off on Wednesday night with a great time at Memorial Drive, hosting their "final" Feeding of the 5,000 (as next year Wednesday night will be at the Fairgrounds). Then, Thursday morning is an awesome time to meet in the Workshop Director's office and have a preacher's forum. This is probably my favorite part of the workshop. This time was followed up by the shepherds of Memorial praying over us...that was so cool!

The rest of Thursday was good as I had the chance to see many people I hadn't seen in a while. Friday was a great day, also. Saturday...was snowy...which didn't make the speakers any less great, but it did scare a lot of people away.

If you were there you experienced much of what I experienced. If you weren't there, you missed a great time and I hope you will think about coming next year with the theme...The Journey: Pressing on to the Goal.

Counting down the days till next March!

Wonderful Workshop!

I am just hours into the Tulsa Workshop. The largest gathering for Churches of Christ in the world. There will be 10,000+ people come through here this weekend (Thursday-Saturday). More importantly, God will be lifted up through every word spoken and song sung!

It is the greatest few days of my ministry year! I leave so excited every year! I can't wait till next year, before I leave for the current year.

This year is special for a selfish reason. I have been asked to speak, not once or twice, but all three days! I am anxious. Pray for me as I try to help people/churches to use technology to honor Him and expand the Kingdom. I speak Thursday at 4:00 PM, Friday & Saturday at 10:00 AM. If you can remember, pray during these times, specifically.

It was an honor to be asked and I pray that God has anointed me with words that will benefit those who attend and those who by the CD recordings of these classes.

Have a great rest of the week!

Being fed...