Thank you for calling, I can help you!
This is how most people seemed to be when I worked at CompUSA.
I work in customer service. It's thinly disguised as a tech job, but really, if we're honest with ourselves, my job is all about warm and fuzzies. If I can solve the problem, great, if I can't, but the customer feels warm and fuzzy, well that's just as good.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but as a problem solver, for the first few months here I was less concerned with the 'warm fuzzies' aspect of the job and more concerned with solving the problem, which was how my last job was. Warm fuzzies were mostly irrelevant. The goal was to solve the problem.
A few weeks ago we were assigned a project at work. I found it to be mostly asinine, and a general waste of my life. Later I found out I should have put more time into it. More on that in another post.
The project was to contact several support outfits of companies we were likely to work with three different ways. Phone, email, and instant support like chat.
The company I dealt with over the phone had their operators answer with 'Hello this is Sue with [insert company here] I can help you!'
I had two initial reactions to this.
1. Ew. I hate over-zealous proactivity that is clearly perpetrated by arbitrary quality assurance guidelines that these people are supposed to meet.
2. This is the attitude God has when we pray.
I know, two very different, strange thoughts. Welcome to my world.
The important thing to note here is that the person on the other end of the line isn't asking HOW they can help you, because chances are they know better than you how they can help you, so why would they ask you what you think they should do. Why would you be calling them if you already knew how to fix the problem?
When you say 'How can I help you' you're doing two things:
1. You're giving the power to whomever you're talking to to tell you how to solve their problem. Now, this can be a good and bad thing. It's good because people who have problems like to tell other people how they want it fixed. It feels good, makes them feel like they have control of the situation. The problem with this is at some point, you're likely going to need to wrench control back from that person, which they are not likely to appreciate.
2. It opens the floor for them to vent. This is always a good thing. A top-ten rule of support is listen. Just listen. Sometimes, people just need to vent. As long as they aren't vulgar or straight-up insulting, that's okay. When people feel like they've been heard, it's a good thing.
When you say 'I can help you,' you're taking that power back and essentially saying, 'tell me the problem, and I'll get it fixed. Don't worry about how, just know that I can fix it, after all, I'm the one that's trained to help you.'
I don't think God ever answers the phone with 'How can I help you?' He's God. Why would He ask how we want a problem solved?
And when you've gone to God with a 'here's how I want you to do this' attitude, how did that work out for you? Good? Did He do exactly what you were expecting? Or did He show up in some completely unexpected and awesome fashion?
Maybe this is particular to my life, but God never works how I think He will, and frankly, I love that.
Sure, I have expectations when I pray, which is something I've talked about before, and those expectations are that God will move. I expect that He will move however HE sees fit, not however I see fit.
I am of the opinion that when you pray, God says, I CAN Help you. Not, How can I help you. If we pray with this attitude, confident that He will do what He does best, how would our lives change?
'Thank you for praying, Jesus speaking, I can help you!'
The Great Digital Detox
I was driving home from work the other night, enjoying the way Phoenix smells during Spring. The whole city smells like orange blossoms. It was about 70 degrees and I had my windows down and the classic rock station turned up loud.
I usually drive with the windows up and the music quiet, for various reasons. I thought gee if I'd done what I usually do tonight, I'd have missed out on the simple pleasure of the wind in my face and the awesome smell of spring. Such a small thing, but such a wonderful thing. Little things like that are what make life worth living.
I started wondering what else I'm missing. What am I too distracted to enjoy and see and notice and consider? I also realized that I spend almost 14 hours every day in front of a bright, glowing screen. That's when I decided I needed to detox. Digitally.
I wish I could say I'd coined the term (and prior to getting home and Googling it, I thought I had) but the folks at AdBusters beat me to it.
What it means is a complete cutting off of your digital life. Just for 7 days.
No iPhone, no Facebook, no Twitter, no Google, no email, no texts. Just phone calls and face to face interaction. You know, that thing people did before the world became so dependent on the computing box.
I asked my fiancee when I got to her house last night 'Honey, I'm thinking about doing a Digital Detox. Whaddya think?' She gave me her trademark eyebrow which says 'I'm going to regret this, but continue.'
'No no honey it's good! I'll turn my phone off for a week and just read and reconnect with the world!'
She wasn't amused.
She pointed out that I have the attention span of a housefly and it was very unlikely that I'd really be able to stick to this thing.
I said 'Yeah that's the problem isn't it, I can't go 45 seconds without checking my email or updating Facebook!'
So I decided it was impractical to cut out my phone, since I need to communicate at least with the woman I'm marrying, if no one else. So I'm dropping the iPhone for 7 days and using an old slider phone. It calls, and it texts. That's it. And I won't be texting.
Why? Why do such a thing? What's the point?
Well, there are several reasons.
1. I realized, like I said earlier, that I could be missing much more than I realize. Cutting these simple distractions out will allow me to completely focus on the world around me, not the one inside my phone.
2. Sometimes I get so distracted with the digital things, that I don't make enough time to study the Word, or to talk to God. Just to commune with Him. How much more time will I have if I don't have any other choice? What am I missing out on by not entering into daily, real relationship with God? This will allow me to propel into a deeper connection and rekindle my focus on Him and Him alone.
3. Why not? It's a fast like any other, and this is one that will cut out something so basic, so ubiquitous, who knows what I'll see by cutting it out.
Goals
I think it's pretty stupid to jump into anything like this without some solid goals. If I just do it for the sake of doing it, I'm wasting my time. So I've set some goals for myself.
1. Get to know my King again.
That means spending time with Him exclusively. Not with Him as long as my phone isn't going off, or as long as I've checked my Twitter feed recently.
2. Notice things I've been missing.
This one is kind of out of my control. It's more something I'll be praying for. I hope to see somethings that I have been missing. I want this to be eye-opening.
3. Reprioritize
I want the silly things in life to become faded into the background and the important things to become even more apparent than they are now.
4. I want a break from technology.
It's pretty hard to break away from the tech world when you work in it. I'm not going to be able to avoid using my computer and work email while at work. But I won't be reading the tech blogs I frequent. When it's slow, I'll read my Bible.
I'm tired of staring at screens all day. It can't possibly be good for my eye(s) anyway.
The Rules
Starting Sunday night and for 7 days thereafter, I'll be decommissioning the iPhone and plugging my SIM card into an old Samsung slider. I will not be texting. So be warned, if you text me, I won't be texting back that week.
I will only use my computer at work for work. No IM, no random tech blogs, no Google Reader, no Gmail, no Google Calendar, nothing.
I will take phone calls. That's the new 'old-school' way of communicating. Sure, I could go all uber-hardcore and write letters or something, but no one would get them before the fast was over anyway.
Follow along!
It's going to be hard. I'm definitely a techno-junkie.
I'm going to encourage our College Group to join me for the week. Anyone else who's interested, let me know in the comments before Sunday night and I'll put you on the list to be praying for while I'm 'detoxing.'
I'll also be writing (with a pen and paper) a blog post each day. I will post them in order next week. So expect a week of silence, then 7 consecutive posts from the detox week.
It can't possibly be a bad idea. More prayer and more time with God is never a bad thing.
Friend or Foe?
I listen to AM radio at night. Not during the day - I don't care for political commentary. I like the weird stuff that comes on at night. The shows about the paranormal and aliens and anything weird that well-adjusted adults don't want to hear on their way home from work.
I was listening to a show with a 'medium' on it the other night, and it got me thinking.
The Cat-Missile is ALWAYS foe.
When I pray, particularly over groups, very occasionally I will get an impression from the Holy Spirit that something very specific needs to be addressed. Usually, if I'm not obedient to that, it eats me up, and I feel like someone missed out on something because of me. When I'm obedient to it, it is indeed powerful. People will recognize a specific message directed to them and huge bounds can be made in the midst of corporate prayer.
This 'medium,' as he calls himself, takes calls and 'connects' with people's dead relatives. Now, he doesn't do it on request, that is to say, if you call him and say 'Hi. Can I talk to Grandpa Joe?' he can't do that. Grandpa Joe may however choose to 'come through' [to use his vernacular.] As I was listening to this, several parallels drew in my mind.
1. The way the Holy Spirit speaks during prayer can (if abused and not respected) be said to imitate 'clairvoyance.'
2. God used a medium at least once in the Bible to scare the bones out of someone. (more on that in a moment)
3. It would be painfully easy for a 'spiritual' Christian to buy into this phenomena that is peddled by radio and TV hosts.
Which brings me to the title of this post. Friend or Foe?
In 1 Samuel 28, Saul has kicked all of the mediums and spiritists out of the land. So he called for a medium to be brought to him. I find this to be one of the most comical scenes in all of the Old Testament. Saul calls for this medium, and she knows that Saul himself has banished all of her kind from the land. Saul is all dressed up in a disguise, so she doesn't know its him. She makes him swear an oath that she won't get in trouble, then asks who he wants to see. Then it gets good.
11 Then the woman asked, "Whom shall I bring up for you?" "Bring up Samuel," he said.
12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her voice and said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!"
13 The king said to her, "Don't be afraid. What do you see?" The woman said, "I see a spirit [a] coming up out of the ground."
14 "What does he look like?" he asked. "An old man wearing a robe is coming up," she said. Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground.
15 Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" "I am in great distress," Saul said. "The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has turned away from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do."
16 Samuel said, "Why do you consult me, now that the LORD has turned away from you and become your enemy? 17 The LORD has done what he predicted through me. The LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to David. 18 Because you did not obey the LORD or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the LORD has done this to you today. 19 The LORD will hand over both Israel and you to the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The LORD will also hand over the army of Israel to the Philistines."
This straight up freaks the medium out. She was NOT expecting to pull up Samuel and have him talk to Saul. I'd imagine she was gonna pull something very generic out of her little crystal ball and send Saul on his way. Then she gets handed this.
This is one of my favorite stories in the whole Bible for two reasons.
It's hilarious.
Anyone who reads this story and doesn't think God has a sense of humor afterward clearly wasn't paying attention. Here you have God using the very thing this medium pretends to do scaring the living curdles out of her. (I think I just coined a new phrase. 'Scared the curdles out of her.' Feel free to use that.) This proves that she really hasn't ever had a genuine experience with this stuff, and that she was basically stealing people's money.
It's real.
There is genuine fear, and genuine power in the Holy Spirit shown here. This is a real, tangible experience Saul and this medium had. We don't really know what happened to the medium after this, but I believe that things changed for her dramatically.
I also believe however, that the impressions she 'got' from 'spirits' were real to her. And this is where the danger lies, and hopefully where this post comes together to a point.
The guy on the radio genuinely believes he's helping people. He really believes this is happening. To him he isn't pulling vague words out of the air, he is genuinely in contact with spirits.
Is he?
No.
At least, not with the spirit of Grandpa Joe. Friend or foe? That's the question. Who is he talking to out there? Grandpa Joe, or one of satan's demons, tasked with confusing and consternating otherwise Godly individuals?
Sounds dramatic huh? It is. It isn't drama for the sake of drama, however. When the door to these kinds of things is opened, (pardon the expression) all hell can break loose. It only takes one little invitation for things to start happening.
So really, what's my point here?
Be careful.
If you give the Enemy an inch, he'll take a mile. Constantly check your perception. Where are you looking for comfort? In the ethereal voice of Grandpa Joe, channeled from beyond the grave, or in your Heavenly Father?
When you feel guided to give advice, or lead someone, check yourself. Is it Biblical? Does it line up with what Jesus spoke and what His word speaks?
If you don't bother to check, you can't know who's on the other end of your inspiration.
Friend, or foe.
What I did on my vacation…
So I quit my job to have a little break between the old one and the new one I'm starting. I had plenty of vacation time and thought I could use a good wind-down before I got back into the swing of things at a new job.
I had big plans for this time. Coffee and bible reading every morning. Lots of prayer and studying.
Let me tell you what actually happened.
10.30-11.30: Wake up.
(Mon, Wed, and Fri.)11.30-2:30: Hang out with girlfriend.
2:30-11: Video games.
Repeat. Tuesday and Thursday were similar, except with the video games and girlfriend time switched around.
Looking back on the week, I can't figure out why I didn't spend one spare minute with God. I picked up my bible a few times, but not like I always say I would 'if I had the time.'
I definitely enjoyed the time off, but what did I really get out of it? Very little, right? I'm pretty disappointed in myself. I really needed some time to reconnect with God on a level that I've been neglecting the past few months.
I'll fix it of course. Today is the last day of the vacation, but being on a schedule again will allow me to really pencil in time for God, and make sure that I follow it. I am a creature of routine, I have my mom to thank for that. Routine is very important, and things that don't get into the routine on the ground floor rarely make it in at a later date. So when I write my new routine I'll be sure and include bible/devotion/prayer time.
Interesting fact about recessions…
They end.
There's a billboard near 40th street and Broadway in Phoenix/Tempe that says this.
I think it's probably my favorite billboard ever.
Someone, or some company, or some church, bought a run on this billboard and put this on there.
Just that. No URL, no phone number, no product name or company plug. Just that simple phrase.
It gives me hope in humanity that there's at least one person out there who has decided that the depressing news is enough, that the dark cloud hanging over the economy is just part of the economic weather shifts. An 'El nino' of money, if you will.
It got me thinking this morning about what I'm doing to offer people hope on a daily basis.
Jesus brought hope. Every day He was on this world, he restored hope. He told people it was going to be alright, that yes, things might get hairy, but they'd always turn out well under His protection.
Especially in times like this, its not our duty as followers of Christ to participate in the gloom and doom and the naysaying, but rather it's our job to give hope to the hopeless through our faith in Christ Jesus.
For those of us who for anytime were unemployed (or still are) in the midst of this recession, this seems an impossible task. But for you, for us, it's doubly important.
I was laid off last year as a byproduct of the recession. I'm now employed again, so it would hardly help for me to say I have hope. 'It's easy for you to say, you FOUND a job, before the recession got worse.'
True. Those of you still searching for a job should do so with a smile. Put your faith in Christ and when people ask where your joy comes from in such times, you'll know exactly what to tell them.
Admittedly, I got a little depressed at the beginning of my time among the unemployed. But after a week or two, I began to understand the work He was doing in me. It was through that job loss that I learned to trust my God with everything. I had no choice!
For those of you who are employed and are still looking to improve world-wide morale, there's a simple solution.
Pray for people. Everyone. Anyone.
If you had an unlimited amount of money, and you could give it away without feeling it yourself, and it would do only good to those you gave it to, would you not give it out freely and constantly?
Prayer is much more powerful than money.
Pray for the guy who cuts you off.
Pray for the guy who hands you your coffee in the morning.
Pray for the people who are crossing the street as you wait to make a right turn.
Pray for the people you talk to at your job.
Now I don't mean stop and pull them aside and put a hand on their forehead. If you feel the spirit pulling by all means obey, but I'm just talking about a quick prayer.
"Lord please let that person find an unexpected blessing from you today."
"Lord wherever that person is heading, please get them there safely."
"Lord give this person whatever their looking for today, and write your name on it so they know it's from you."
They'll never know it was you, but they'll feel it.
Take heart and be encouraged. Recession or not, Christ is still King.
Let’s keep it moving in a forward motion…
Motion is relative.
If you're sitting in a car at a stop light, and a large bus pulls up next to you but doesn't quite stop, just keeps slowly rolling, your brain occasionally tricks you into thinking it's you rolling, not the bus.
This is because the bus is so big that you can't see anything else. You have no other frame of reference.
Just the opposite is true too. You might assume that the bus is moving, when in fact it's you rolling slowly into the busy intersection.
Motion is relative.
Why is it that so often we fail to apply the principals of our physical lives to our spiritual lives?
I'm one to complain that I'm not moving. I complain about that a lot.
I complain that things have been the same, nothing is changing, I'm not getting it, I don't understand, why is it this way.
Motion is relative.
I've discovered in listening to this song [several thousand times thanks to the long song life that Christian stations tend to have] that though I may feel stuck, motion is relative. And for anyone who can see around the huge bus next to me, I am indeed moving. Slowly, painfully, but moving. Progress is being made.
It is crucial that I [we] remember this in our daily lives. We must remember that it's all relative, and what looks obvious and boring and stagnant to us is a completely necessary journey for us to complete.
I find myself praying daily that I see with new eyes the lesson I'm missing, the key factor that's keeping me here in this spot. For the first time today did I truly allow myself to realize that perhaps this experience is the lesson. That there's nothing more to learn than just to lean and wait. Stop looking for the next step and embrace the current one.
This hardly means that I'm welcoming this revelation with open arms, as a matter of fact, it is an equal part frustrating and encouraging. Encouraging to finally see for sure that God is in fact working on me (while I never doubted this, it is easy to become discouraged) frustrating because it means this step has a good chance of lasting longer than I want.
In my desire to 'move on' I've lost sight of the one goal of my life. Its sole purpose is to serve the King of Kings. Serve Him by loving his people. Unconditionally, happily, not grudgingly. It's hard to do that when you're complaining.
So what next?
Well. Let's keep it moving in a forward motion. We'll stop complaining and embrace the reality and gifts the Creator has blessed us with. I'll see beyond the bus and notice that it is me moving. That I am rolling slowly in the direction that He has determined.
I won't, be afraid, Your hands they cover me,
It's so worth it, 'cause it's worth it?
I can't let it fade
My hands are high and, raised, 'Cause it's worth it
The Dating Game
I read this article over at Relevant Magazine today. It talks about some of those who 'Kissed Dating Goodbye' at the heart of the craze and are now wondering if that was the best decision.
I always found my parents stories of high school dating...interesting to say the least. I never had any experience that even close to mirrored what they had.
No dates on Friday nights, no dates on Saturday nights. The only time I ever had a 'date' was to a dance.
And those of you from Loyalton can attest, there wasn't much variety in our school...if you chose to date someone in your class, you were dating someone you'd known for virtually your whole existence.
Having that kind of upbringing, I never put too much emphasis on dating itself, rather I found myself wanting a girlfriend. I think there is a distinct difference here. By the standard definition ('Dating is any social activity undertaken by, typically, two people with the aim of each assessing the other's suitability as their partner in an intimate relationship or as a spouse. The word refers to the act of meeting and engaging in some mutually agreed upon social activity. Traditional dating activities include entertainment or a meal.' <--thank you wikipedia.), I really did a lot of dating in high school. Granted, we did it in a group, but all of us, whether consciously or unconsciously were sizing each other up as potential mates. Maybe just temporary, maybe for the long-term.
I think society has branded 'dating' as something that followers of Christ should in general seek to avoid. 'Dating' to a lot of people means casual hookups. From a Christ-centered perception, I consider dating to be seriously evaluating someone for marriage. To the point that I'm spending time with this person practically praying for God to show me if/why they aren't right for me.
After one relationship that I FORCED to work as long as it did crashed and burned, I decided I was going to let God lead me to my next partner. And along the way, I tried to force some other things, but God was a little more stern in holding me back. Since then I've resigned myself to His will, and I'll just tell you, His faithfulness is not a joke. He is faithful beyond anything you can imagine.
All this to say that those of you who consider yourselves 'socially inept,' take heart, because God designs us with strengths and weaknesses. Even if you don't have any dating experience, God has someone for you. And that person will likely have the same amount of experience you will. It's a journey you'll get to take with that person you eventually end up with, instead of sharing pieces of it with the world. Inexperience among both parties garners intimacy.
We’re all one phone call from our knees.
This is from a Matt Kearney song called 'Closer to Love.'
I was talking to a dear friend of mine this morning about this song, and she suggested that it's about how we really don't need Jesus until we NEED Jesus. As in, we don't bother to pay him any mind until things fall apart.
This is something that's covered pretty thoroughly already. I'm not sure I've mentioned it specifically on this blog, but I know I've talked to some of my youth about it.
It comes down to not putting God in a box, or on a shelf, or anywhere. It's about letting Him be who He is. And that is someone who's everywhere...always. Not just some places sometimes, but everywhere, all the time.
The funny thing is, I find myself thanking Jesus the most when things are good, and forgetting him when things go sour. I think this represents the opposite of the general conception. I don't know why this is in my life. I just don't really think about praying sometimes when things suck. Then when it finally occurs to me I'm like...oh duh.
It seems to me that it's easier for me to just let God be God when it's convenient for me. Not so much that I break Him out when I need Him. I tend to put Him on the shelf during the hard times because somewhere I know that he is trying to teach me something with all the hardness. And usually I have to make that worse by not letting Him do his thing.
As much as I like to learn, I tend to drag my feet when it comes to spiritual lessons.
So really, I am one phone call from my knees. I just don't know which phone call it is that would get me to my knees.
Eating Garbage
I'm doing this devotional with a friend of mine, and today's little message was about Spiritual Garbage, and how we as Christians tend to consume is in massive quantities.
We're called to 'hunger and thirst for righteousness.'
But usually, we're not hungry. We're full of junk. our hunger is quashed by the things of this world that we sink our passion into. Fame, money music wealth, self gratification, anything.
We supplant the desire to know God with these worldly and never fulfilling pursuits.
I was thinking about this in my own life and trying to pin down exactly what it is that I sink my passions into that are taking the place of my hunger and thirst for righteousness.
It could be anything. It needn't be something as dramatic as sexual immorality or anything, it can be simple things that you might not have even considered.
I think if you were to take a few minutes right now and think about what it is that's taking your hunger for Christ and falsely filling it, the Holy Spirit is going to show you some things you never considered.
At least that's what he did for me.
I’m just really dumb.
Someone said to me today that they felt like one of the pieces in a giant game of Risk between Jesus and the Devil.
I think Jesus is probably the green guys.
I had a chance to kind of zoom out last night and see the giant spiritual battle happening right over my head. It seems so silly to me now that I'd never noticed or bothered to see. It made me feel really dumb actually.
I think we forget far too easily and often that Satan is real. Demons are real. They are out there, and they are fighting against you. I saw last night just exactly how Jesus has literally sent angels to fend off attacks from the enemy. I've seen where my mistakes allowed Satan to grab a foothold and take a stab at this dangerous thing.
Satan wants us to think he's not really there. He wants us to picture him as the horned guy with a pitchfork and a pointy beard. He doesn't want us to know that he's really the stray thought in our head that doesn't line up with God's word. He doesn't want us to know that he's that voice that tells us that we're just gonna screw up whatever God gives us. He doesn't want us to know that he is the guilt we feel when we stumble.
He's more powerful when we don't recognize his true form.
It's not like all this is a mystery. God's word makes it real clear.
We have to be vigilant. When you actually sit down and allow yourself to realize that Jesus doesn't just love you, He is LITERALLY fighting for you, your perspective will change. You will start to recognize things, thoughts and feelings for what they are, and when you do that it robs the enemy of all his power.
As soon as you realize what Satan looks like, he's going to take it up a notch. He's going to get more clever. Just don't lose hope. Remember that "...he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1: 6)
I realized for the first time in a while that Jesus has big plans...for me. I tell other people that all the time, but I really took ownership of that last night and I know that he has huge huge plans for me. And truly realizing that and letting it be written on my heart has lit me up and set me on fire for Him all over again.
So realize that there truly is a battle going on for your heart and your spirit and your passions and your attention. But also know that we already know who wins. 
Meet the Author
Joshua Davis
a.k.a. the kid with the cape.
joshua at joshuascape dot com
Welcome!
Latest Posts
- Post Wedding Thoughts
- A little something I wrote.
- Thank you for calling, I can help you!
- Where’d they go George?!
- TGDD: Day 1
Worthy of Note
Listen to me tweet!
- I really just wanna go home and play Fallout 3 and hang out with my wife and puppy. Not be at work.
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- New post: Post Wedding Thoughts http://joshuascape.com/2010/08/28/post-wedding-thoughts/
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