Tag: computers

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K! Magazine Kidzmatter Magazine Magazine motivation

Books and Batteries

Cartoon of a teacher and a boy with an electronic tablet. The boy panics and says, "Help! My Bible's batteries ran down!"
Published in "K!: Kidzmatter Magazine"

The first time a student brought their tablet into the Sunday school classroom was quite a sight. The child claimed it was her Bible. But for some reason, all the kids gathered around her and they weren’t asking to see her Bible. They were interested in what games were on her tablet. It took some time to get the class back into some semblance of organization.

Since the schools are all closed right now, I imagine the tablets and smartphones are getting quite a workout. I’m sure there are some times when a crisis may emerge because a device’s batteries are running on empty. Keep calm and find a charger! It will be all right eventually.

Find some time to recharge your devices as well as yourself this week. Step away from the laptops, tablets, smartphones, and televisions for a few minutes, if not hours. You’ll be glad to get some time to step away from the news and let yourself have a break from it all.

Cartoon of a teacher and a boy with an electronic tablet. The boy panics and says, "Help! My Bible's batteries ran down!"
Published in “K!: Kidzmatter Magazine”
Categories
family

All the Sordid Details

Cartoon of a boy with a laptop. He says to his mom, "I'm writing a blog. Does your family or Dad's have all the sordid details?"

I had the privilege to ride with my father for the previous two days. We talked about various things from politics, to crazy drivers, to advice about finishing life’s race well.

No, there we didn’t discuss sordid details. Oh, and I know there are unsavory stories from the past, but we didn’t discuss them. Every family has skeletons in the closet. If you are interested in genealogy at all, you’ll soon find them.

One of the many lessons I’ve learned from my parents over the years is to stay positive. Whenever I would get down, my mother was there to say, “Keep looking up!” Whenever I would say something unkind, she would recite, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another.“ You can’t do too much mudslinging, insulting and roasting with that reminder.

So that’s why I take the opposite approach to the boy in my cartoon. I’ve had two great examples that have reminded me there is a much more excellent way to speak than to air someone’s dirty laundry.

Cartoon of a boy at a computer. He says to his mom, "I'm writing a blog. Does your family or Dad's have the most sordid details?"
Categories
motivation

Is It Real Change If You Go Back to the “Good Old Days”?

Illustration of an Amish man at an old PC. I drew this for Illustration Friday. This week's word is "old-fashioned."

There will always be problems and issues. Frequently, when problems arise, it can be tempting to think we need to go back to the good old days. But can you really make lasting change by going back? Were the good old days ever that good?

I grew up during the Vietnam War and Watergate. I don’t think we want to go back there. Before that, it was all the riots and unrest of the sixties. In the fifties, we were in the Korean War and battling polio. And the forties? World War II. The thirties? The Great Depression.

We tend to remember only the good in a decade and tend to forget the trials and troubles each decade had. Sure, we need to learn from the past. But wishing we were back there is an exercise in futility. Nostalgia can only get us so far.

Besides, I have no desire to go back to the computers of yesterday. Who wants Windows 98 and Palm Pilots back? Anyone?

Illustration of an Amish man at an old PC. I drew this for Illustration Friday. This week's word is "old-fashioned."
Categories
church cartoons

Electronic Giving is NOT E-Waste!

Cartoon of a guy lugging an old PC. Another guy says, "Electronic Giving doesn't mean you donate your old PC!"
© 2019 Kevin Spear. Published in the October 2019 Church of God Newsletter

Cartoon of a guy lugging an old PC. Another guy says, "Electronic Giving doesn't mean you donate your old PC!"
© 2019 Kevin Spear. Published in the October 2019 Church of God Newsletter

I noticed this has been an issue anywhere I worked with more than twenty years of history. There’s an old PC in the corner. There are old hard drives, zip disks and even floppy disks. Does anyone remember the old 5 1/4″ floppy disks? They still make great coasters. But they’re not very good for storage these days.

Today, you can get a 64mb flash drive for the same price an old floppy once cost and it could contain the equivalent of 42,667 floppies! Yes, I did the math. You can get a 64 mb flash drive for about $2.00 USD today (October 20, 2019). That is what I remember floppy drives going for in the late eighties and nineties. They carried about 1.5 kb. Alas, that old hardware, software and storage devices aren’t useful anymore. So please don’t donate them to a church or charity. They don’t need your ancient e-junk!

Electronic giving has been a thing at the churches I’ve attended for over five years now. You can have funds withdrawn to your account and not have to worry about bringing cash or paper check for the offering plate. When I’ve heard the phrase “electronic giving” from the pulpit, I’ve often wondered what if would look like if someone took it literally and placed a flash drive in the plate as proof they actually gave something!

I drew this for the October, 2019 CHOGNews.

Categories
Purpose

His whole life flashed before his screen

Cartoon of a man staring at a computer screen

We make all sorts of decisions each day. Throughout the day, I’m tempted to spend my time in front of a screen. Whether it’s a television, computer screen or a mobile phone, it can get so easy to get lost in a glowing rectangle.

Sometimes, I can justify it because I am working. Other times,  I wonder where the time went. That glowing rectangle can sure hypnotize me!

Then I remember my time is so limited on this planet. My kids have grown. Did I spend too much time in front of a screen when I should have been in front of them?

Time is short. Teach me to number my days, that I may gain a heart of wisdom.  Our time is short. Make sure most of it isn’t in front of a glowing rectangle!