Haiti and Cell Phones

Haiti: Every time I see pictures of the devastation that has occurred, my heart breaks. In a time where our country is experiencing a "economic recession" and so many of our fellow Americans are in financial and emotional hardships, it's hard to imagine things getting worse. And for the Haitians, they are going through the ultimate "worse." Something we will never truly understand. Even the poorest American would be considered "wealthy" in most parts of Haiti. We are certainly a very spoiled nation. It is only by the grace of God that we were born in our land of the free. It has become a habit for me to wake up each morning and thank God for the job that I have been blessed with while so many that I see daily still search for one. Now, I realize that my prayer of thanksgiving should simply be for waking up in a warm bed in the house I own and in a country of privilege. Please continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Haiti.

Cell Phone: I have now completed day 2 of not using my cell phone while driving. I think most of you might understand how challenging this could be. I did not realize how much I use it while driving. Even to simply call Clint and tell him something I forgot or to call and check in on Mom. I use to think I was such a wonderful multi-tasker by taking care of business while driving to my next destination. How very dangerous this "habit" is not just for me but the other drivers on the road. I caught the final bit of this topic on the Oprah show and it propelled me into doing some research on my own. I found that one study, "demonstrated that drivers' reaction times were, on average, 30% slower when talking on a cell phone compared to being drunk and nearly 50% slower than normal driving conditions." Wow, that is scary! Not to mention the other statistics about texting while driving. Don't even get my started on that topic. That was not something I was in the practice of doing. I have always been a little annoyed when I see someone texting while driving. And even scared on a few occasions while a friend would down the interstate, talking to me in the passengers side AND texting on their cell phone! I realize they would never do it with the intent of harm, but I don't think people are aware of the accidents and deaths that occur due to driving while using cell phones. I thought texting was the greater offense since it is now illegal in TN. But what I have learned is that our brains simply cannot drive and take in all of our surroundings as normal if we are using our cell phone. And that means just talking on it. I know it's going to difficult, but I am going to do my best and stick to the no-cell phone zone in the car. I encourage you to think about it. So, if you call and I don't answer...I may be driving, but I'll call you back when I put the car in park :)