A Cell Phone is NOT a Necessity

My youngest son's cell phone is currently in my possession. Since we (the hubby's money and my check writing, envelope licking, and stamp sticking skills) pay the cell phone bill each month, we set up a few simple rules for its use. One rule is that the cell phone shouldn't be used at the dinner table or during Family Home Evening. The biggest rule is that the cell phone can and will be taken away for disrespectful behavior. Tonight during Family Home Evening when the son kept texting his friend and his mouth kept running faster than his brain I had finally had enough and asked for his cell phone. Following some extreme theatrics I was given the phone and I am not planning on returning it anytime within the next 24 hours. Every few minutes the son comes in with another reason why he NEEDS his cell phone right now.

He NEEDS it to wake him up in the morning. He does use the alarm on his cell phone to wake up, but lately he still seems to need a couple of parental reminders as well and he does have an alarm clock next to his bed, so I'm pretty sure we'll manage to get him up on time in the morning even without his phone.

He NEEDS to call someone really important. Hard as it is to believe, we have a house phone that calls people just as well as his cell phone does. No, he can't take it outside and around the corner and up on the top of the block wall to chat in private, but it would still work.

He NEEDS it to text me and let me know if he needs a ride home from school or not tomorrow. I do appreciate his texts that say that our neighbor can give him a ride, which saves me a trip, but I told him I will just plan on picking him up tomorrow so that alleviates that problem. He's pretty sure that just won't work.

I don't think anyone really NEEDS a cell phone. Yes, my cell phone makes my life easier and there are times that I wonder how I ever managed without one, but if I didn't have one I would still survive. I'm almost positive that a cell phone is a WANT and not a NEED.

This line of thinking has reminded me of two items I have been musing about recently. Friday morning a friend of mine received the following text that she shared with me.

Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?
What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
What if we flipped through it several times a day?
What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
What if we gave it to kids as gifts?
What if we used it when we traveled?
What if we used it in case of emergency?
This is something to make you go....hmm...where is my Bible? Oh, and one more thing: Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill.

Definitely something to think about. I can honestly say I do know where my Bible is but do I NEED my scriptures as frequently and fervently as I seem to NEED my cell phone.

The second thing is this post I read today about a year long activity focusing on "Every Needful Thing". What is it that I actually do NEED in my life? I'm pretty sure that it's not a cell phone, but I'm interested in participating in this journey and being reminded of the things that I do NEED and trying to include them in my daily life. Perhaps you'd like to join me.

Today I am grateful for

a house that is a tiny bit more organized.
zucchini and scrambled eggs.
January in Arizona.