The e-Book Revolution, Coming To Your School Soon

It arrived without the fanfare of a new phone or tablet, but last week’s introduction to the world of digital textbooks signals Apple’s “next big thing.” As the company continues to explore new ways of delivering content, and to expand its revenue sources, I think they’ve tapped into a HUGE market.

Any college student will tell you that bookstore visits are usually dreaded. It isn’t that the staff are unfriendly, or that the atmosphere isn’t nice enough. Its the drain on the wallet – or pocketbook – that is so painful. Buy the latest edition, because last semester’s textbook is pitifully outdated. Get the right edition, because the prof isn’t going to accommodate a slacker who can’t get the required book. And watch the latest become…a big old paperweight, rather useless after the semester is over. I am ashamed to say that I actually thought I’d refer to some of my most valued college texts…and that a few remain crammed into a box in the attic…even though it has been a long, long time since those courses.

Obviously the textbook system is antiquated and in need of overhaul. And our friends at Apple are looking out for us. According to some quick research, Apple sold 350,000 textbooks in the three days after unveiling their availability on iBookstore.

While the market is only for college books at the present, you can see where this is headed. K-12 educators and parents need to be ready for the day, coming all too soon, when all students use a tablet device for all their books. I recall a conversation less than a year ago with my daughter, a high school student who carries about 100 pounds of books to and from school everyday (oh, alright, maybe it was 40 or 50 pounds…but still).I shared my concern about the burden – literally – of carrying that much weight. Too many books! There is hope, I told her, of a brighter future.

“Saige,” I said, “Before you finish college you’ll be getting all your textbooks electronically. You’ll have ‘em all on an iPad. It’ll save you money – and it’ll save your back!”

Looks like I was a little long on the projection. Seems she’ll see that textbook revolution happen before she finishes high school. And for that, I am grateful.

However, I’m wondering about the downside of having so much loaded onto a computer or tablet. Don’t our kids spend too much time already in front of those glowing screens? Do I really want my child to turn on their “books?” I guess it is inevitable, and I’ll look at the bright side of this development.

How about you? Has your child worn out the backpack from overloading, or suffered back problems from carrying around too many school books?

 

Did You See It?

The unexpected “John 3:16″ commercial aired by Focus on the Family on CBS last Saturday during the Broncos-Patriots game certainly generated some buzz.

Amidst the talk show conversations, the increased traffic to the Focus website, and the many online articles about the ad – and Focus on the Family – as Focus president Jim Daly noted on his blog, some numbers are more important than others:

What touched us most, though, was this simple tweet from a man watching the game with his family: “Both my sons just saw your commercial and gave their lives to Christ as a result. Thank you. #John316″

You may think of Focus on the Family first and foremost as helping couples strengthen their marriages, raise happy, healthy children and engage the culture with biblical truth. Those are all important priorities for us, to be sure, and we’re humbled and honored by the opportunities the Lord has given us for 35 years to help families thrive in these areas. But our overriding aim, as a Christian ministry, is to share the Gospel of Christ. Offering family advice is not enough. To make a real, everlasting difference, we have to introduce people to the Author of family.

We’re grateful for all the media exposure created by the spot, the many Google searches for Focus on the Family, and even the tens of thousands of people world-wide who looked up the Bible verse as highlighted by the commercial. But most important, we’re thankful that God was pleased to use His word, as so beautifully expressed by those lovely children, to bring someone into a new relationship with Him.

 

Time Changes Things

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”

The late Andy Warhol said that, but is it really true? I’ve found that time DOES change many things.

For instance, late last month the toll of time caught up with my father-in-law, who had battled serious physical declines for several years. Having lived a full life for many, many years, and nearing his 90th birthday, his body started to shut down just before Christmas.

Finally, on December 31st he passed away.

Time caught up with him, and in an instant everything changed.

Richard was a good man, a great husband and father, and loved by many for his many fine qualities. He was a man of faith, and of deeply held values. He lived out those core beliefs daily, showing decency, generosity, integrity, loyalty and love to everyone around him.  He was an example to many, and we miss him dearly.

The past several years, though, left him chiefly unable to interact with others. A series of medical challenges took away his strength, mobility, and his vitality. Contrary to Mr. Warhol’s observation about changing things ourselves, Richard was unable to change that physical brokenness. I’m quite certain that if he could have, he would have done so! He would have gone golfing, fishing and hunting again. he would have gone to church, for a visit with friends, for a bite out. He could not overcome his unwilling flesh. Time, however, changed what the man couldn’t.

On that Saturday morning, the last day of 2011, Richard’s body finally gave up and his spirit left “this old world” for an eternity with God. He experienced a release from the sorrow and pain, the burdens of this life. The truth of eternity became his reality in an instant. Time released Richard from the shackles of this life, and freed him to enjoy life in heaven forevermore.

As we start a new year, many of us seek to improve. We make resolutions. We endeavor to lose weight, curtail spending, get our priorities in line, be a better employees. We try to do what Warhol suggested: change things. I’m not against personal improvement. I’ve got some parts of my life I’d like to get better at. But what if we find time changes things for us?

Psalm 139:16 says that all of our days were ordained and written in God’s book before one of those days ever came to be. God knows what this day holds, and what external forces will do to me. He is working His plan for our lives each moment, even when we don’t see His hand. We live in a world made up of seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years. And I believe that God is the giver of every moment of our lives. Ultimately, He sets the dates of our birth and our death. Albert Einstein said that

To know time as gift is to know that its basic rhythms and inevitable passing are beyond our control. And to know time as gift is to recognize time as the setting within which we also receive God’s other gifts, including the fruits of nature and the companionship of one another.

Perhaps in the coming year I’ll try a little less to make changes, and try a little more to see how time makes change happen. At the start of 2012, may time be a gift to you. May it change things you cannot. And may you see every day as one ordained long ago by God…a gift from His hand.