Cell Phone Bill? What's that?

I've had a lot of people ask me how I can afford to live so well while making so little. So I figured I'd begin a series of blog posts sharing some of my secrets. Some may be right for you, others may not, but these are the ways I make a small paycheck go a long way and still take epic vacations. I will be posting referral links, but I wouldn't try to give you anything I don't really believe in. And if it has the Nate Stamp of Approval, you know I've done my research!

The first post will be about my cell phone bill. How much do you pay a month? Probably about $60-$120, right? If so, you're in the same category as a lot of people. I say you're paying too much. Let me tell you about who I get cell service from. It's a small company called Republic Wireless. And I pay $10 a month.

Ten dollars? How is that possible? You may be wondering these things, then thinking that I probably have terrible reception or a dumb phone that can't even go on Facebook. The truth is, I get great reception and I have a smartphone.

Republic has four plans, which you can see above. I use the $10 a month plan, which gets me data on Wifi and unlimited texting and calling when not on Wifi. But you can change plans twice a month. So when I go on vacation I'll bump up my plan to the $25 plan with 3G. It works stupendously. Republic uses Sprint cell towers, which are ok but not great. But the way the prices are so low is because it uses Wifi whenever possible.  And if you have good wifi, call quality will be excellent. It can even switch from a Wifi call to a cell call seamlessly! I love the $10 plan because I don't want to be constantly connected to the internet. Only sometimes. Also, I'm almost always near Wifi. Republic Wireless saves me tons of money on my Wireless bill, and I love it. Note that you will have to buy a phone from them, so it's only a couple phones to choose from. But they are a couple of the best phones on the market. (The Moto G and Moto X)

I tried to keep it brief. You can find out everything else you need to know on their website or by contacting me. Here's a link where you can get $20 off (2 months if you use my plan!) I recommend this very highly. They also have a sale going on for the next 24 hours. So if you're looking to save on your phone bill, check them out!

I tried to keep this short. There's so much more I could say, but I want people to actually read this. Don't forget to subscribe or follow so you can get the rest of the series. Thanks!

Put it DOWN!

I woke up this morning determined to try something new. Namely, not look at my phone until after breakfast. I know it's not good for me to have a screen be the last thing I see before going to bed and the first thing I see after I wake up. So this morning I made sure I had breakfast and spent some time with God (as well as moving my car to avoid a street sweeping ticket) before I as much as glanced at my cellular device. And guess what?

It was HARD! The desire to pull out my phone was intense. I was able to resist, but at least ten times I caught my hand reaching for my pocket to pull out my phone. The time that most resonated was when I walked down the stairs, I tried to pull it out. As if my inner psyche said, "You may as well multitask. You have four seconds as you walk down the stairs to see how popular you are this morning on Facebook, Gmail, and texting." Blegh! This mindset is disgusting to me. How did I become so attached to a simple piece of technology? More importantly, how do I fight the effects?

At dinner last night, I had a conversation about something that happens to me every day in the break room at work. This probably happens to you too. How many times a day do you find yourself in a completely silent room, save maybe the sounds of the television. Everyone in this room is either staring at their phones or at the television screen.

Now let's travel back in time with me to the 1950's. Grab a milkshake and see a drive-in movie really fast. OK, now let's get to the point. Back in this time, there was something called the art of conversation. Starting to talk to a stranger was not uncomfortable or weird, it was what you did. If you entered a room with one other person who you did not know, it wouldn't be nearly as difficult to sit down with them as it is now.

Flash back to the present day. I often sit down with strangers, because I'm outgoing and weird like that. I get one of two reactions:
- Pleasant surprise. They're happy that someone wants to talk to them, since they were only sitting alone because they didn't know anyone. (Apparently not everyone is outgoing to a fault like I am.)
- Awkward silence. These people either don't want to talk to anyone or aren't able to maintain conversation.

Why has staring at our phones almost entirely replaced conversation. Sure, check your texts really quick. I'm not opposed to using phones. But I plan to cut back on the checking Facebook seventeen times during my half hour lunch break. I'd rather start a conversation. Everyone has a story. That person sitting across the room could become your new best friend, or your future lover! You'll never know unless you start the conversation. And in today's culture, they're not going to start that conversation; that's up to you! I'm starting a new life policy: If I'm out and about with people, the phone is a tool, not a toy. Quickly responding to messages: fine. Constant staring at the screen, not OK! And if you get one thing out of this, let this be it:

Text messages can wait.
Facebook notifications can wait.
Snapchats can wait.
Your Instagram won't self-destruct without constant viewing and uploads.
0% of your happiness should come from things you see on your phone and 100% from things that happen in real life.

Let me repeat that last one. You say you enjoy spending time with your friends, then proceed to spend that time on your phone. Live, laugh, love, and put away your cell phone!

Church?

Lately I've been thinking. A dangerous habit, I know, especially for me, but I like to live on the wild side. This thinking has led to everything from patentable inventions (patents are WAY too expensive) to thoughts about society to thoughts about church. Which is what this article is about.
I could say one heck of a lot in this article, but I'm going to try to get my point across without writing a novel. Because I am writing a novel. Separately; not related to this. And it will be awesome, just wait!

Anyhow, I've grown up in the church. Like, I had a house, but I grew up going to church. I guess that's a "churchism," "grown up in the church." As if there's a dormitory in the belltower. Strange childhood. ANYways...I've grown up around the notion, stated out loud, that church is God's people, gathered together, wherever they may be. But, beneath that stated principle has been the unstated concept that church is a building, and church must be all that church is today. Let's see if any of these sound familiar.
1. Church has a pastor.
2. Church has worship, which includes singing songs (Sometimes hymns, sometimes Chris Tomlin. One church I visited sang the Beatles. That was interesting.)
3. Church requires a 10% payment of your money, and you will be made to feel guilty if you don't pay up.
4. Church is mostly non participatory. Meaning, you sit and listen while other people talk and sing.
5. Church is boring. Alternatively, church is not boring, and there's an insane stage production or a tiger up on stage, but you really don't learn anything except that you can rent a tiger. (Did you know that? Crazy world!)
6. There's a raised stage, or a pulpit the pastor talks behind, or both.
7. Looks similar to this:

Now, these are just a few things. But look at them outside the lens of tradition. They range from no biblical reasoning for them whatsoever (#6) to questionable reasoning (#1, #3).

(Side note: I know some of you reading this will first respond by writing up a massively long response with how all these things are justified in the Bible. Don't waste your time. If you want to talk to me about it, talk to me. In person. No reason to start a flame war online.)

A lot of the basis for these things has been found in the book Pagan Christianity. Go ahead and read it if you like. I feel the conclusion may be a bit extreme, but many of the points are well taken. I don't think God intended the church to be a place where we never open our mouths or contribute at all. And I think the church today is far from what it used to be/should be. I've found that I'm not spiritually satisfied in "church" that we have today. Occasionally I'll learn something, but overall, I've found a different environment to be more stimulating to my spiritual development. Note that I said 'my.' If you LOVE church and walk away feeling 'fed' week after week and feel very close to God, then awesome! But I think God is leading me to something different.

Anyways, I could go on. But I think you get the jist. Now here's where I ask you something. Do you feel the same way? Do you want to start something new and passionate? Something from the ground up, as in line with the New Testament as possible? I'm praying that through this post, or however else God chooses to do it, that He'll send me at least one person with the same passion. Preferably near me so we can meet in person like once a week. So if God's "tugging on your heart," (I'm good at these churchisms!) hit me up! My greatest desire is to glorify (churchism!) God through this. So even if you don't, feel free to pray that God's will be done. Ok, that's it for now. Nate out, God in.