Skip to main content

It's Free...Until You Have to Pay

I resisted buying a new cell phone for a very long time. However I started to notice that other people were taking great pictures, surfing the net and sending emails with their new and improved phones. After six years with my tried and true friend I decided enough was enough. I bought a new phone. The pictures were incredible. I didn't want to pay the extra $35.00 for Internet service. My reasoning was I can do my email at work and at home. I resisted that part of the sales pitch.

One night while exploring my new cell. Right there, I saw it, "Free Site, CNN." Well that sure is nice I thought. Night after night I read the latest headlines and saw great pictures on this website. This went on for weeks. I was hooked. On a Friday night I went on the website like I always did and enjoyed the stories. The next morning I woke up and went to the website. However this time I read that I did not have access because web service was not in my plan. I was startled. I'd been reading this site for weeks. Then it dawned on me. I had bought into the company's marketing plan. I was shut out. I was directed to a site where I could subscribe to the site.

Free was the succulent bait. I'd been being enticed all along. Free was a relative term. All at once I understood temptation. It usually doesn't introduce itself as a trap. It makes one feel comfortable with no consequences. It appeals to what one likes anyway. For me, I like news. It got me comfortable. It was always there and very interesting. Then one day when it had become a habit it was time to pay.

I'm going to pay better attention to my spiritual life too. I'll be more aware of those little enticements that seem harmless and free. It's all free until it's time to pay.
Labels:

Comments

  1. Daphne JonesFebruary 18, 2010 at 12:47 PM

    That's good. I, like you, have had my cell phone several years. And I'm looking at all these smart phones that do everything. But I just don't want to pay that extra money for internet access to email. I figure I can check that at home and work. I really would like the iPhone. I think if I wait just a bit I may get it with a different carrier other than AT&T.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Songs in the Night

This week marks eight years since the sudden and unexpected passing of my late husband Winston. That was a strange land for me. The land of loss and death. At first I needed to hear others sing because the song in my heart was frozen with grief and I was traumatized. I’d sing God’s song later with help from others. There were tapes I listened to that reminded me of the Lord’s song. It was the voice on the radio or the television that told me God would bring me out of these trials. It was the voice of my mother telling me and reminding me of God’s faithfulness to me in the past. How could I sing the Lord’s song in a strange land? In the next phase on my journey through grief after the sudden death of my husband I tried to sing along with those who were on the journey with me At first I’d only get a few words out before the tears started to flow. I kept trying day after day to sing along. I was reminded of God’s word. I was strengthened by constantly hearing the words of faith and
1 comment
Read more

Keeping Short Accounts

Junk Drawer Opening the bread bag I simultaneously pulled opened the junk drawer. Unthinkingly I tossed the bag twist in it. One of these days I’m going to clean out that drawer. That drawer the home of things I can’t categorize, but when I need odds and ends I go to it. It’s filled with items of dubious worth. As I worked I started to wonder. Does my heart have a junk drawer or maybe even a junk room? Have I put miscellaneous hurts and grievances in it? I keep it closed around friends and family. However, privately, I rummage through it from time to time. Am I keeping scraps of resentments, jealousies, roots of bitterness or little insults I received in it? I’m careful to not let it be on show, nevertheless the “stuff’ is in there. Right then and there I gave up the right to keep my junk drawer. Dear God, please clean out this area of my life. Let me instantly forgive and keep my heart clean from secret sins and grievances.
1 comment
Read more

Decorated and furnished

I have to admit it I am a fan, okay I’ll tell the real truth, I’m a fanatic about HGTV. I love practically all of the shows about decorating, buying and selling homes. I sit in rapt attention as the experts tell the homeowners what upgrades they need to do to sell their homes. I am absolutely fascinated with the decorating chops of Candice Olsen, my favorite designer of all times. Before HGTV I used to buy Architectural Digest just to stare and salivate over the beautiful homes showcased in that magazine. When selling one’s home all of the experts agree that it is harder to sell a home that is empty, devoid of all furnishings. If the home is tastefully decorated buyers can come in and imagine how their own family might live there. Empty homes appear cold and uninviting. In order to attract a higher price, especially on very high priced homes, the real estate agent may suggest that the seller engage an expert to stage the home. The transformation of these staged homes is astoundin
Post a Comment
Read more