by T.J. Burdick | Nov 6, 2017 | Efficiency, Giveaways, Technology
You are Sméagol.
One of the greatest characters to ever grace the pages of fiction was not a character at all- it was a ring, an inanimate object that tempts all who know of its existence to partake in its unrelenting and evil power. The creator of this ring was J.R.R. Tolkien and in his masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings, this ring holds a special power over those who have worn it, a power forged by evil in order to be reclaimed by evil unless someone is able to bear the weight of its dark burden and willfully destroy it in the very fires in which it was forged upon Mount Doom.
Sméagol, one of the characters who bore the ring over the course of hundreds of years, was one of the first to discover it. While in possession of the ring, Sméagol becomes a wretch of his true self. His mind became bent on maintaining his secret love affair with the evil ring that he nicknamed his “precious”. The ring’s power has a hold of him to the point that he prefers darkness instead of light, lies instead of truth, and hate instead of love.
As a result, he forgets who he was. After several years, he can barely remember his own name, or even his own identity. He becomes known as Gollum, an onomatopoetic name describing his grotesque coughing and wheezing he develops from living a wretched life amid the lifeless rocks of cavernous mountains, hidden away from the world in order to become one with his “precious.”
This character with two names is both a protagonist and an antagonist throughout the classic trilogy. At times, Sméagol is loyal, patient, even noble in his pursuit to help the main character, Frodo, achieve the goal of destroying a ring. In his heart, Sméagol knows that in order for true peace to reign in himself and in the world, his beloved “precious” must be sacrificed. He holds on to his former self in a glint of hope that stirs within him.
Sadly his dual personality overcomes him on many occasions. As Gollum, he is treacherous, unrelenting, and vile in his efforts to regain the ring so that it can once and for all take full possession of his soul.
The two identities trapped in one character battle one another for control over the half man, half beast, and in the end, Sméagol becomes something that he is not. He becomes the darkest version of himself. He becomes Gollum.
When we let technology take control, we endanger our total being and we become a lesser version of what we are and, worse yet, what we were meant to become.
Today, I released a book I wrote on how to overcome technology addiction.
Visit GodsWiFi.com to get it for free
Image credit: Hunt, Tara, “Gollum” via flikr CC- https://flic.kr/p/GuXrs
by T.J. Burdick | Oct 30, 2017 | Efficiency, Theology and Philosophy
Over a month ago, I challenged myself to become a more effective evangelist. I had been reading several books on the topic of focus and three of them mentioned a single strategy to remain diligent in my work over a long period of time. My issue had always been a lack of consistency, so “The Red X Strategy,” as it was named, seemed like the obvious choice to break my inconsistent habits in order to produce more content.
“The Red X Strategy,” also known as the “The Seinfeld Strategy” (from famous comedian, Jerry Seinfeld who promoted the idea) is a simple way to measure your consistency in your work. Each day you complete a task for your work, in my case writing anywhere from 500 to 1000+ words, I would draw a large red “X” on my calendar. As the days went on, the red Xs would interconnect like a chain wrapping around each week. I liked seeing this chain and I didn’t want to break it.
The result? After 35 days straight of merely showing up to write every single day, I had produced 21k+ words, 2 short eBooks drafted and revised, a rebranded catechetical curriculum, 5 book covers designed as added client work, and more quality time than I had ever had with my family than I had ever had before. On top of that, I finished my first 5k run and even managed to squeeze in 6 new blogposts.
It was a VERY productive 5 weeks.
The Bible tells us that the “Red X Strategy” is based on solid, theological values:
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
-James 1:5-8
When we are inconsistent with our lives, we are “double-minded,” always thinking about multiple projects to the point we live double lives. On one had, we desire to fulfill our own will and on the other, we desire to satisfy God’s will for us. The problem is, we are blinded by our passions and we are unable to discern what exactly is God’s will. We find ourselves ignoring our loved ones in order to pursue our passions or vice-versa, and we never really find a happy medium. We never arrive at wisdom, but we do pile our to-do list higher and higher.
We cannot gain wisdom unless we focus. This is one of the reasons I believe Jesus died on a Cross, because when the two beams were placed, one of top of the other, they create crosshairs, a single point of focus that we must always have in our sights in order to achieve our ultimate goal: that of our salvation.
With Christ nailed directly to the middle of the Cross, the blood that poured from his body turned the sacred wood into a “red X” in which our journey towards sanctification begins. To achieve anything worth achieving, you must focus, pick up your cross, and follow Him. When you align your will with God’s, he gives you wisdom, which results in right judgement of your priorities, consistency in your work and, most importantly, peace of mind in knowing that all of your efforts are focused on completing one, primary task:
Knowing, loving, and serving HIM.
by T.J. Burdick | Oct 16, 2017 | Efficiency, Marriage and Family, Technology
If you are like most people, the first thing you do when you wake up is look at your screen.
After you take a shower, you check your email while you eat breakfast.
On you commute to work, you check your social media while stopped at a red light and you check again shortly after finding a place in the parking lot.
At work, at home, in the bathroom, while pumping gas, heck, even when your own kids are begging for you to read them a book, your life is surrounded by screens, screens, and more screens.
Your life is a liturgy.
Every act you commit, for better or for worse, belongs to God and I’d be willing to wager that much of what we do and say with our devices gives little to further God’s kingdom and much less to strengthen our souls and nourish our bodies. Repetitively, we follow the same rite of unlocked screens and eternal scrolls throughout our day and what do we gain from it? A few “likes” and a comment or two?
While technology has the potential to satisfy our curiosity and cure our boredom, it tends to distract us from achieving our ultimate goal- that of our salvation.
To change that, we need to add breadth and depth to our daily lives. We need to return to a daily liturgy that looks more like the “ancient” rite from 20 years ago. You know, the time before technology turned us into screen addicts.
Here’s how:
Pray
God tells us that the most important commandment is “to love God with all of your heart, all of your soul, and all of your mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself” (Mat. 22: 37-38). Having a consistent prayer time a the beginning of the day connects our souls to God and unites our will with His. As prayer becomes a habit, you find yourself seeing the world through God’s eyes. When this happens, almost every act you commit becomes an intentional way of knowing loving, and serving God.
Exercise
St. Paul tells us, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies” (1 Cor. 6: 19-20). I think we forget how beautiful our physical bodies are and can be. We tend to put physical exercise at the bottom of our priority list. We eat what we shouldn’t and our pulse remains stagnant in a world that needs our endurance to be sufficient “to fight the good fight, to win the race, to keep the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7). A daily routine of physical exercise can take our bodies from lowly missionary chapels to breathtaking Cathedrals.
Read
Proverbs tells us that “though it cost you everything you have, get wisdom” (Prov 4:7). Erasmus echoes the sentiment when he wrote, “When I have a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes.” Technology has made it easier than ever to read books and listen to them via audio books. And yet, we tend to use our screens instead to play games and loose ourselves in feeds. Read more books and you’ll become more interesting of a person to talk to. Read more books and you’ll gain a better perspective on life, people, and God. Read more books and you’ll find yourself on your phone a lot less.
Pursue Your Passion
God has given you a mission to complete. He’s supplied you with the skills and time to do it. He’s also given you the desire to go through the long and tiring hours needed in order to accomplish it. What is it that drives you, that makes you unique from the rest of the world?
Are you a writer? Then write 500-1000 words a day with God as your inspiration.
Are you a runner? Then train for that 10K with God by your side.
Are you a wood carver? Then shape your slab into a beautiful work of art with Jesus (who knew a thing or two about carpentry) as your muse.
You were meant to create something good, true, and beautiful. Each day, do something to develop your talents, practice your craft, and produce fruit for the kingdom.
These are only 4 things that we should be doing every day to become holier in the a world where illuminated screens tend to overshadow our passions. But “in God’s light we see light itself” (Psalm 36:9), which means that wherever there are shiny devices and twiddly thumbs that stroke them, grace abounds all the more.
What else can we add to the list? What do you do every day that brings you closer to God (and further away from your screens)?
Let me know in the comments.
by T.J. Burdick | Oct 1, 2017 | Efficiency, Technology, Theology and Philosophy
Let’s face it, it is time to admit that we can no longer go without the Internet. We love our devices but, what are they doing to our souls?
In an effort grow closer to God…
- We tried digital detoxing.
- We tried going on social media fasts.
- We tried erasing the addictive games.
- We tried to maintain inbox zero.
- We even tried going to the store instead of buying everything on Amazon.com
And we failed.
With every unlocking of our home screen, we swipe and scroll without control and we wonder with a tinge of guilt what we can do to live a spiritually charged life with our devices, because we certainly cannot live without them anymore.
If that sounds like you, I’ve got great news in this post. Allow me to present the 5 ways that you can use your technology to grow in your relationship with God.
Pray
There are millions of apps that can help you pray more using your device. I use only one, the Divine Office App on the regular, usually twice a day. The reason I only use one app to help me pray is simple, prayer is a natural state of Christian living and apps are not natural. I like to have my mind free from screens when I pray and to do that, I make sure to limit my capabilities of praying using technology. When I am preoccupied with a reminder “ding” that tells me it is time to pray, I am more likely NOT to pray (or feel guilty for not having prayed during the “ding” moment). When I can’t keep up with reading the Bible throughout the year, I tend to not focus on the spiritual depth of actually reading the Bible, which is its intended purpose.
The Divine Office allows me to replace my Breviary, which is a rather thick book with many ribbons that requires multiple pages to turn for each prayer. With the app, I can pray with the Liturgy of the Hours more efficiently, which frees up more time to do other things to solidify my soul.
Study
Holy men and women would from the past have given their limbs to have the same access to historical and Biblical documents we have today. Right now, you can find almost every religious archive to ever be recorded and read it for free (and in their original languages if you are a polyglot). Think about the possibilities of developing your love for God if only you focused your energy toward studying his marvels. Whether you are attracted to the philosophical proofs of his existence, the theological cases for his love and mercy, or even the scientific facts that lead us to honor his creations, there are limitless possibilities to knowing, loving and serving God when it comes to internet usage.
Here are two ways to get started:
Many universities and colleges offer online courses both for credit and for fun. My two favorites are Holy Apostles College and Seminary, which offers the lowest cost for their entirely online Masters and undergraduate programs as well as some free online courses to get you started.
Also, I’m partial to my online learning platform, the Dominican Institute, which offers courses for all ages (and it is always adding more).
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Hack your Spiritual Education
Search for answers to your theological and philosophical questions by sifting through websites, participating in online forums, and watching orthodox videos on the faith. I’ve learned more on the internet from YouTube than any other source and guess what? It was completely FREE. Granted, I had to be careful about who I learned from (there are a lot of crazies out there), but it is easy to find the ones who speak the truth. More importantly, the internet provides you with a wide spectrum of doctrines of which you can compare one with the others to successfully analyze who speaks more truth. You are no longer limited to listening to just your pastor, you have the whole world to learn from.
Create
Technology offers us a myriad of ways to be creative. The artist can now make digital paintings using highly advanced tier apps. The film enthusiast can create movies and post them instantly on YouTube for their fans to view. The writer can draft, edit, review, and even publish their own book and put it into the market without having to spend months working with a publisher to get their work into the world. You a creative side because you are made in his image and likeness and thus, you too have the ability to create. Capitalize on that desire and make something good, beautiful and true. The world needs your creativity because without it, you cannot evangelize.
Connect
The word “community” has taken on a new definition over the past decade. It has gotten to the point that teenagers who own devices spend more time interacting with people via screens than they do in the flesh and adults aren’t too far behind. An Instagram “like” takes the place of a spoken compliment about how much we like our friend’s new haircut. A Facebook “thumbs up” removes the need to tell a colleague why you too think dessert should be eaten at every meal because why reserve it for just dinner?
Technology has a tremendous amount of potential when it comes to building communities and strengthening the souls of those who log on. It is important to note that nothing will ever be more valuable than the face-to-face interactions we have on a daily basis. There are huge benefits to physical proximity when it comes to the development of our minds, bodies, and hearts and if we commit ourselves to limiting our screen time to activities that enrich our community, we will have more time to take part in true, in-the-flesh interaction that our souls so direly need.
Here are a few suggestions when it comes to living out a Christian life while online:
- Post spiritual things on the internet, but mix them with other posts that are secular by nature, but still important to you. I post a lot about God, but I throw in a lot more about my family, Harry Potter, and the Detroit Pistons.
- Spend time analyzing your friends’ posts always looking for ways to enliven their spirituality.
- Send direct messages or emails over comments. They mean more and they don’t call attention to yourself, but they focus on the person you are connecting with. If you really want to go for a direct hit, send the person you are trying to communicate with a handwritten letter. THey’ll appreciate it more than you may ever know.
Retreat
Sometimes, we need to get away from our realities in order to examine our current state with more depth. So, we take a step back and perhaps a day off of our regular responsibilities to examine our conscious, figure out where we are in life, and where we want to be. This is called a “retreat” and it does wonders to our spiritual growth.
Many people retreat from their daily routines by pulling out their smartphones. However, I would argue that most of what we do on our phones during these times of “retreat” are not geared toward building up our spirituality. On the contrary, we distract ourselves from our responsibilities and ultimately, from God, because we are tempted to waste time instead of becoming more productive through our screen usage.
That’s why I would recommend taking a break from technology. To the extent that you are able (because I know we need to use it for work, school, etc) take a break from accessing your screen during a designated time each week. Replace the time you would typically be scrolling endlessly with something that will build up for faith, perhaps something from this list I’ve offered you in this blogpost.
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Technology has the capability of making our lives more efficient, more spiritual, more Christian. but we must be intentional about how we use it in order to make it work for our salvation and for those we serve.
There are countless other ways to live a good spiritual life in the digital age.
Comment below with the ways you use technology to grow in your faith.
by T.J. Burdick | Sep 5, 2017 | Efficiency, Marriage and Family
Life is a series of ups and downs. When everything seems to be going your way, it is guaranteed that things will get worse. The same is true on the opposite side of the spectrum- when darkness surrounds you; there’s light at the end of the tunnel. This series of highs and lows is called undulation, and it makes life… interesting.
As journeyers, we climb to the peaks and delve into the valleys of this life in order to find our way into eternal joy in the next. The problem is, we are never quite sure where we are. We are constantly lost in a torrential downpour of activity that we rarely take a step back to see where we’ve been, where we are, and where we are going.
That’s why it is so important to audit your life. Auditing your life gives you power over your future by placing you firmly upon the foundation of your current state. It orders your priorities and grounds you in the reality of what you are able to do right now in order to get to where you want to be. If you aren’t auditing your life regularly, you simply aren’t living.
A good life audit will help you do the following:
- It helps you control your mental and physical health.
- It maintains your positive relationships while keeping the negative ones at bay.
- It provides a pathway to better economic stability.
- It builds foundation for you to pursue your passions while allowing you to pursue happiness in your work.
- Most importantly, it brings you closer to God through spiritual checkpoints.
The best part about auditing your life is that it is simple to do. The only thing you need is a sheet of paper, a pencil and a good hour of silence (or more) to focus what is going on in your life right now.
This is the process I follow:
I create three equal columns across my sheet of paper and I place the following headings on them.
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Column one: The Positive (+)
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Column two: The Indifferent (=)
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Column three: The Negative (-)
Next, I spend as long as I can focusing on the positive things that have happened in my life since my last audit. For example, my latest audit has the following (and many more) in The Positive column:
- Spending more time with my wife now that work has died down a bit.
- Reading every day with my kids for at least a half hour.
- Currently writing two books and enjoying the process.
- My schedule is not too hectic right now.
- I’ve exercised regularly and my energy levels are high as they’ve ever been.
Then, I take a few moments to think about the things in my life that I’ve placed on the back burner, things that don’t make me feel one way or another, but are nonetheless important to my life. Here are a few things that are currently on my Indifferent column:
- I postponed my Masters coursework.
- My day job is normal.
- The yard is not perfect, but bearable.
Finally, I take my final step by addressing with complete honesty the things that worry me, stress me out, and keep me from sleeping some nights. Here’s a sample of what’s currently on my Negative column:
- Student loan debt.
- Inconsistent prayer time.
- Still not able to find time to help the poor as much as I’d like to.
- I wish I had more time to be with my brothers and sisters.
- My work contract is currently being changed, will I loose income?
My lists usually have a minimum of 10 things in each column. When I am finished, I can visually see if my current state is positive, negative or indifferent. If there are more things in the positive column, my life is going fairly well. If there are more lines filled in the negative column, I need to figure out how to change them to the other side.
To close, I then do three things:
- I thank God for all of the positives He has placed in my life and pray that I can retain them by not taking them for granted.
- I ask God to help me with the things I am struggling with.
- I write down one action step that I can take over the course of the next three months to bring one of the negatives onto the positive side.
My current action step reads as follows:
Pray once with Scripture immediately after waking up and pray again, in a kneeling position, before laying down for bed.
You can see the negative I want to focus on is the lack of consistency in my prayer life. If I am successful with my action step, those prayers will likely bring many other things on my list to the positive column too because when prayer is a priority, I’m more readily able to accept whatever comes my way, be it negative or positive.
I would recommend auditing your life using this format once every three months. I would also recommend not looking back at your past audits until after you have completed the one you are currently writing. The reason being is because if you look back into your past audits, they might influence the way you are currently feeling for the worse. It is better to take the blank slate and lay all of your positives and negatives on the table as they come to you at the moment you sit down to write them. If you look back, certain emotions might overcome your current state and make you lean towards feeing the same way. Avoid that temptation- wait until you’ve completed your current audit in order to compare it to past versions.
Regardless of where you are in the undulation of life, atop a peak or in the depths of the valley, auditing your life will help you take a step back and realize the blessings God has given you and the work you can put into making your future state a positive one.
So, get a sheet of paper and a pencil, block off some time tonight, and take the first step toward controlling what can be controlled in your life by giving your life an honest audit.
When you finish, let me know in the comments what your action step for the next three months will be and I can pray for your success.
by T.J. Burdick | Aug 29, 2017 | Efficiency
There are two types of people in this world: Early Birds and Night Owls. Early birds, of course, are the ones up at the crack of dawn, ready to carpe diem and get work done. Night Owls, on the other hand, stay up late and burn the midnight oil to accomplish their tasks.
When it comes to the creative process, both are great options because both satisfy the muse within. Whether you are getting up early or staying up late, as long as you are executing and making your art every single day, we can consider that to be far more successful than doing nothing.
However, the Early Bird has a distinct advantage over the Night Owl. This advantage is know as potentiality.
Properly defined, potentially means the ability to develop or come into existence. Your potentiality to create something awesome is far more likely if you begin the process right out of the morning gate. Here are seven reasons why this is so:
1) Your mind is at its peak of operation after you have slept well during the night.
Studies show that your brain clears up toxins and unwanted cells during sleep. The longer the resting period, the more detox that occurs. When these bits are removed, your brain is more capable of creating synapse connections and produce creative thought. Your greatest moment to be creative is when you first rise from your bed. Seize that moment.
2) Your brain solves problems on its own when you are asleep.
Have you ever laid in the silence of your bed and, just before you felt yourself drifting off to sleep, you came to came up with a solution to a problem you had be mulling over all day? Our problem solving abilities can work much like our physiological abilities in that we need not exude a willful effort to complete them. For example, we don’t often think about breathing because our brain automates that. The same can be said for our decision making if we invest in sleep consistency.
3) You are more satisfied when you accomplish your personal desires first thing in the morning.
When we pursue our passions and accomplish their ends, we experience a sense of satisfaction that is unique. Work cannot supply it and our own loved ones cannot understand it, yet it drives us because we know that if we don’t complete it, we will feel less completed. Work and family responsibilities fulfill your needs for security and love, but doing what you feel called to do gives you a satisfaction so intense it eclipses the monotony of the same ole’ same ole’. It gives you life. Why wouldn’t you start out your day with that?
4) You are more motivated to wake up.
As a direct consequence of the satisfaction you feel by waking up early to accomplish your passionate cravings, you’ll find that you are more motivated to wake up each morning. If it means you can do the things you love to do, the snooze button has no power over you. In fact, you’ll be willing to burn both ends of the rope if needed and be both an Early Bird AND an Night Owl if it means you can participate in your work freely. This is a liberating feeling.
5) You don’t have to sacrifice time with your loved ones.
The most important thing in your life are the ones you love. Spending time with them is the most essential investment you can make. Without them, you have no joy and no foundation to pursue your passions. You need them more than you need yourself and as such, you must dedicate as much time as possible with them. Waking up early to do your work frees up more time to be with them. This way, you can give them your full focus, your all, without being distracted by your work.
6) You schedule yourself into a successful mindset.
When we wake up early on a consistent basis, we start forming a habit that all successful people have. We break free from a scarcity mindset and begin focusing on the big picture. In other words, we start planning for our future. This mode of thinking effects our every decision- we no longer immediately say “Yes” to all of our own projects and outside work, but we learn to say “No” so that we can take full advantage of the little time we have in our morning block to get things done.
7) You are imitating Jesus.
Jesus woke up early. In fact, God the Father was up before space and time even existed. And if you are Christian, than your life is not your own- it is God’s, which means that you too can do the things Jesus did (like wake up early to climb mountains and pray), if not greater! But it won’t happen unless you begin waking up early to connect with Him in deep, contemplative prayer and by doing the creative work He has called you to do.
Now, this doesn’t mean that Night Owls don’t share these aspects in the creative process, but after a long day’s work, the possibility of them attaining regularity and clarity in their craft diminish due to physical fatigue and clouded thought. The spirit might be willing, but the flesh is weak.
That’s why you need to become a morning person, because your Night Owl tendencies can be used as an insurance, an added block of time to complete your tasks in the event that you were unable to do so in the morning. As an Early Bird, you have the option of finishing work in the evening, but if you are a Night Owl, you rarely have the option to wake up earlier to finish what you started the night before.
What about you, do you consider yourself a Night Owl or an Early Bird? Let me know in the comments!
