I have been on a 30 day fast of my iphone, music and PS3. People have asked me why take away these three things and you are still on Twitter, Facebook, read your Kindle etc. I felt that these were the three biggest distractions from me listening to God. I had one of those “if you want something to change in your life then do something different” moments so I decided to do something drastic for me.
I think the hardest thing for me to be without has been my music. I love listening to all kinds of music and at all volumes (although, loud in my truck is my favorite) Music, I have learned, also gets my mind focused when I am doing graphics on my Mac. It wasn’t until I was without my music these past weeks that I realized this fact. l also recognized how much time I was spending on my phone. I have 7 pages of apps and lots of games and distractions but need to curtail these things to a reasonable level and not always have to be checking my Facebook, Twitter or the condition of my Zombie Farm!
This blog was actually motivated out of a breakthrough I felt I had in my fast this morning. I was praying and reading my Bible and God told me that the reason why I, Brian, need “techno time-outs” is that I can get so wrapped up in what I am doing with the gadgets in my life that I forget to just simply sit back and listen to what the Holy Spirit is telling me. I am not saying that any of the gadgets I have are evil in themselves, but I do think they have the potential to steal my time and mess up the priority of Christ in my life. I also had God share with me that it was important for my future that I learn to listen to God in the midst of life. I am a pastor so I am bombarded with the issues of people almost on a daily basis but this was much deeper and broader than just ministry. I am not sure completely what it means but I got the message loud and clear. I preached in DC last week that if I was only known as a funny guy, the iphone/Tech geek, etc. and people didn’t know that Christ was number one to me, then I failed. I don’t want to fail in this life so I will do what I need to do to make sure I am tuned in to the best of my abilities to the Holy Spirit and what he says to me
Holy Crap 
I think this is a good idea Brian. Sometimes we need to just refocus ourselves on God. No matter what it is, money, technology, or anything else, if God isn’t first place in our lives… you’re just wasting our time!
Hey Pastor Brian, We are in the mountains of Costa Rica completely separate from things like TV, sports radio, news, etc. so God has enjoyed my company, and I’ve enjoyed hearing Him tell me so. Btw We were talking about selling our iPhones to get a more travel friendly phone…not a spiritual decision, but someone is still going to have to pry it out of my hand. 🙂