Should I drop the land line?

My home phone is out. Again.

I didn’t realize this until I was teleworking yesterday and someone called my work Blackberry. She usually calls my home line when I’m working at home. I don’t know why.

She told me my phone line was out. Later, a neighbor also reached me by cell and said they couldn’t get through.

I might have noticed it sooner, but no one ever really calls here except Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee and a local middle school that was never on the list of consideration for where our son might attend.

So, yesterday, I spent about an hour doing gymnastics with Verizon tech support. They were able to run a test and tell me that the problem was inside my house.

I was online and had to run downstairs to unplug a phone and unplug the power source, then back upstairs to check the two phones upstairs…and so on…and so on.

I finally got the phone working. But it went out again and remains out as I write this.

I began wondering if it was time to give up the land line. We’re very close. However we’ve also reached the point where the middle school son may start spending some time at home alone. He needs to be able to reach us.

That means the question becomes whether this is an appropriate time to bite the bullet and get him a cell phone.

I’m not sure we’re ready for that.

So…what do you think?

10 Years Later. Has My Life Changed?

It was a common theme in our discussions following the events of September 11, 2001. Our world had changed forever. Life would never be the same.

In a sense, I suppose that’s true. We’ve spent billions and lost countless lives in two wars and other actions. Many of our freedoms have eroded in the name of safety.

But, are we as a whole, more aware, more conscious of terrorist threats today? Or have we, in the name of political correctness, lullled ourselves back to sleep, forgetting all along that there are indeed people out there who hate us and want to see us all dead?

I remember calling my wife when the news first broke. She was at home with our youngest, then just a little over a year old. Tonight, we helped him with his 6th grade Latin homework.

Our oldest was 12. He’s off at college tonight after a slow start, but he’s catching up. But I remember vividly when he came in from walking the dog and said “Dad, I heard an airplane.” After all in the first hours and days, air traffic was grounded. I assured him that, living as we did between DC and Norfolk, that he had heard a military aircraft.

Since that day, many things have changed in our lives. I haven’t lost the weight I wanted to, but still plan to. I’ve finished a seminary certificate and am nearing completion of another training program.

We also lost my father-in-law, and later after she lived with us for five years, lost my mother-in-law.

Our flag still flies frequently from the front out our house. And I’ve found myself much more actively involved in politics and public policy. Because, I believe it matters.

One thing for certain, that was confirmed over and over again at our worship this morning. There is one constant.

Jesus Christ is the same, yesteray, today and tomorrow. And as believers we know that even in the midst of loss, in the midst of a horrible tragedy like 9/11, we have a hope. We have a future.