Shannon and I often talk about “being all there”, mostly in relation to my obsessiveness with technology. Sometimes technology consumes me. I’m updating Tweeter, commenting on a status, researching a topic, writing code for a website, blogging… the list could go on and on. One of the areas where she challenges me is to ask the simple question, “Am I all there?” What does she mean when she asks me that question? Simply, am I listening and attentive with the person before me!

How often do we get consumed in something and God and people no longer take priority? How often do we get so engrossed that it can make people feel and seem unimportant? By asking that question, she is really saying, “Josh, there are people before you, and they want your attention!”

Let me ask it another way: “What has your attention?” Your work? Your studies? What? There are many things that are not inherently wrong but can very easily become the thing that inhibits and even destroys relationships around us. There are times, and quite often, that we should step back and evaluate the situation. We should ask some real and challenging questions and take heed when people around us care enough to bring them to our attention!