as long as i’ve been able to, i’ve been getting email on my phone. maybe four years or so? i dunno.

i’ve always felt this sense that if i wasn’t in the loop or didn’t know something, the whole world would come crumbling down. what if someone left dirty comments on my blog? i can fix that from my phone. what if a friend emailed me an urgent prayer request? what if….?

chris and i have done a lot of traveling over the last month to see family before we move to nashville. on these trips, i haven’t cracked open my computer. i don’t even keep my phone with me all the time. and you know what? i haven’t missed it.

i have over 20 unread emails in my personal account. and another 44 that came in over the weekend that i read last night and haven’t responded to. and i’m learning that nobody’s died and no wars were started because i haven’t responded.

lately, i’ve been pondering ditching the email and data plan on my phone. sure, i’ll lose some cool things like my GPS/google maps, twitter, and google reader…but it’s been sounding really good lately.

part of me doesn’t like spending the extra 50 bucks a month to get all that i “need.” part of me knows i have low self control and low self esteem to boot so i am always feeling the compulsion to check my phone and see if i’m “needed.” part of me realizes i’m setting an example for people around me of how i respect and honor those i’m with.

most of me has been cherishing the time away from my phone and in front of my husband or friends totally focused on them instead of the “buzzzzz….buzzzz….” chris saying, “can you please put your phone away?” has happened too often and i’m sure for every time he says it, he isn’t saying it the other ten times.

so really…i’m thinking of going back to the basics.

have you ever been tempted?

EDIT: As of lunch time, I took the plunge. I canceled it. Only voice and text (and only a handful of people have my number so I don’t get pinged with texts very often). I’m excited to see what this freedom brings!

over this guy

(it’s my husband, in case you were wondering)

today i had lunch with cathi, who oversees finance amongst other things at life. out of nowhere, she mentioned how she overheard another staff member talk about my husband…saying how much he enjoyed working with him. and then she said everyone she’s heard talk about him just raves about him. she’s not the first person to tell me this, either. his boss, john, has also expressed how much he enjoys working with my man.

so yeah. um, i married that guy. and he’s a freakin rockstar.

what do you love about your spouse? and, if you’re not married, what WOULD you love about your spouse?

ok, married people, sex does rule (cue 80s lingo flashback…now).

but that’s not what we’re going to talk about.

i’d like for us to discuss THE sex RULE.

“the rule” (for lack of a better term) that most churches have which states a married woman and a married man cannot be alone (car rides, office time, counseling, meals, travel, etc.) with a member of the opposite sex that is not his or her spouse.

all of the churches i have been employed by have “the rule.”

yet, i was talking with a friend who is also on staff at a church who does not have the rule. he thinks it’s a little legalistic.

another friend said,

“you know that whole theory where people live up to the expectations set before them? to me, this rule says, ‘we don’t trust you to make wise decisions on your own, so we’re enforcing a rule that might help keep you out of trouble.’ of course people are still having affairs and getting involved inappropriately. they’ve already been told they can’t be trusted!!”

one church i was on staff at a while back had the rule, and yet within a couple of years, four staff members, including three in public leadership, had affairs. and this happens all the time. to churches with “the rule” in place.

so…what do you think? is “the rule” necessary? should husbands and wives involved in church leadership set “their rule” instead of the church? does it really prevent anything? or is it a darn good idea that protects leaders? what do your “rules” look like if you have any??

anne has just rolled out of bed, has thrown on some clothes and stares in the mirror. her curly hair yesterday is now resembling something like a 1970’s afro. two bobby pins later, anne turns to chris:

anne: do you think my hair looks really big?

chris: (pauses) not really big…

anne: too big to go out?

chris: (pauses) …. (pauses) …. (pauses) ….

anne: is it too big to go out?

chris: (pauses) …. no …. (pauses) …. well, you might want to …. wet it down a little bit or something.

lesson: husbands, lie to your wives. it will give them confidence.

chris woke up today with a ginormous fever and body aches and the chills. he hasn’t been to a doctor in years, literally, so this is really rare for him. please pray that he gets better (and that i stay well) as we both start at life tomorrow…

leave my man some love below and let him know you’re praying!

an apartment full of boxes somewhere in dallas…chris and anne are discussing final moving things, including the new living room furniture they picked out last week.

chris: so, when is our furniture getting delivered?

anne: um…i thought you said we were going to wait until we moved up there to order it…

chris: yeah, i said that, but i thought you’d get it anyway!

anne: (mouth hangs open overdramatically)…i was just being a submissive wife! i’m not going to spend a bunch of money without us being on the same page.

chris: i just assumed that what i say has no meaning!

anne: so you want me to order it?

chris: it would nice to have furniture when we get there.

lesson: wives, don’t be submissive to your husbands. evidently what they say has no meaning…