My favorite magazine has always been Reader’s Digest. If you read it as often as I do you will recognize RD’s monthly column titles in the title to this post. I usually read RD cover-to-cover each month, that is, when I can get it away from my wife and our grown daughters. Even my 15 year old son picks it up and thumbs through to read all the humor articles.I like testing my word power, reading the funnies, and learning strange facts about America. I like reading the inspirational stories of real people. I like that anybody can send in a joke or true funny story and get $100.
But I have been turned off by some of the changes in RD over the last few years. There are more ads than there used to be. There are less stories of regular, real life people and more about celebrities. There are more lists and how-to’s rather than excerpts from good books. There are more colors and text boxes and different fonts that simply distract me or make it hard for my aging eyes to read (please don’t say I need to go to the large print version).
Sometimes I will pick up a vintage edition of RD that I have stored in a secret place so my wife won’t throw them away (yes, I am a pack rat). It is refreshing to me to see more print and less hype; more content and less fluff; more reading and less skimming. I guess I am just old-fashioned. And sometimes I like myself that way.
Sometimes I like my discipleship with Jesus that way too. It is good to get away from the computerized Bible study software, the online devotionals, and other modern tools of the trade. It is good to just get alone with God and my Bible; to turn off the Christian radio; to bring along an old hymnal; to read quietly and listen for God speaking to me.
Jesus did that. After an exhausting day of ministry with crowds of people, with sights and sounds, with demands on His time and energy—Jesus got away. “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.” (Mark 1:35 NKJV)
Sometimes I need to stop all the sounds and listen for the Savior; stop all the hype and find the hope. God really wants me to spend time with Him alone, quiet, undistracted. When I do, I am more able to make sense out of the noisy, advertisement filled pages of life.
What helps you to slow down and focus on God?
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Great observations about Readers Digest, and great post! And I think that you are right on!
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of technology, but there are times that we just need to unplug and simplify. Thanks for the reminder and challenge to slow down...
Dan, thanks for writing the 31DBBB article today. (http://blog.ourchurch.com/2010/06/03/31dbbb-day-24-how-to-use-a-magazine-to-improve-your-blog/#more-2106)
ReplyDeleteI appreciate what technology can do for us too (afterall, I blog). But I wonder how many people out there are like me, who like the feel of the pages of a real book; who like reading paragrah after paragraph of a well written article without the distraction of pictures and sidebars; who like humming through an old hymnal.
Am I the only one?
I like a good book to slow down as well. I find that if I want to relax I have to read fiction. If I read a non-fiction book I am taking notes and looking for practical application. Not very relaxing. I am a big C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien fan.
ReplyDeleteLarry, I'm right there with you on Lewis. I've even read his space trilogy. --Richard
ReplyDeleteDan pointed me to your post, knowing that I'm all about slowing down in this fast-paced world. He thought I would appreciate your post, and he was right.
ReplyDeleteI'm a blogger, and it's hard not to be tempted by the gizmos and gadgets that can jazz up a blog, but in the end, it's great content that brings people back.
I liked this: "Sometimes I need to stop all the sounds and listen for the Savior; stop all the hype and find the hope."
And I find the same thing as you--that when I'm alone with the Lord, I'm more discerning and can make more sense "out of the noisy, advertisement filled pages of life."
Ann, Thanks for coming by. Isn't it good to know that we have a God who is always there; who never sleeps nor slumbers; who's not too busy to meet with me any time of day or night? So amazing to realize that God really wants to spend time with someone like me. How could anything be more important than that? --Richard
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