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May 26, 2004 by Mike Jentes
thequest family,
A little earlier this spring, we took the plunge to get high speed internet--wow is it faster than dial up. We actually went a step further and got a wireless network for around the house...and boy is that cool to go outside and still connect to the net!
The "power" light comes on right away when you turn on the computer. But just having the power on, doesn't allow me to cruise the internet. The second light--the "link" light has to come on before I am connected to the wireless internet. It's a pretty amazing thing...no cords...but connected.
Last week, I was spending some time meditating and praying and I began to think about these two little lights. I was thinking about how this might be a picture that represents us as a spiritual community. We believe deeply that we are about connecting people to authentic relationships with people and God. We have the power...God's power comes to us right away as a gift from Him as we begin to follow him. That light is always on.
But the "link" light takes a little bit more. If I walk across the street with my computer...the link light doesn't stay lit. But if I am in close proximity, then it does. Being connected has lots of advantages...online access. Take it to the spiritual...Being connected to God has a lot of advantages...access to GOD--the Creator of the Universe WOW!
Often times we leave it there. We want to connect with God and we don't think about connecting with the people of God. But a wireless network...is a network. It has multiple parts. It is inter-connected. For example, Mindi's computer and my computer have a "shared documents" folder. I can put stuff in there...and she can open it an look at it. Mindi and I are interconnected.
That is true about thequest as well. We want to connect with God...but we also want to connect with the people of God. We are interconnected with them too! Being in a network isn't just being connected to the Hub (GOD), but being connected with the others who are connected to the Hub.
Instead of a "shared folder," we have a "shared life." We have meals, events, and experiences that we share together. We are linked. We are part of a "network." We would rather call that a "family" than something so tech-y. But you get the point.
Hopefully this mental picture helps you like it has helped me to be about connecting people to authentic relationships with people and God.
Press On, Mike
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To make the wireless part work, we had to have a hub (to send the stuff) and a
"card"--its kinda like an antenna to connect with the internet. It looks like
the picture above. Most of that card goes into the computer...but the black
part to the right sticks out a little bit. Above that blue square to the right
are 2 little green lights--one is labeled "power" and the other is "link."