I love my truck!  I have a 2008 truck that has low miles on it and is in good condition.  It starts on cold mornings and gets good gas mileage for a full-size truck.  We use it for all kinds of projects and adventures from hauling firewood and dump runs, to fishing and camping trips. It does not have all of the “extras” that come with newer vehicles, which I personally prefer.  It does have an aftermarket media center complete with a back-up camera.  This comes in handy and is helpful for phone calls while driving. 

I bought my truck used, and the check engine light came on after driving it for not more than a few weeks.  Never a fun time.  I got the error code which said it had a bad battery.  No problem.  Easy fix.  Even I can change out a bad battery.  So, I did swap the battery out for a new one and then all was peachy again with my new, to me, truck.  I had several months of navigating bliss including winter months of heavy snow where my truck performed wonderfully.  I love my truck.  Then I received the dreaded check engine light again.  Can you believe the code read bad battery?  The battery was not even six months old!  I was not happy.  I went on a long trip in my truck and the check engine light went off.  It stayed off for a couple of weeks.  Then it returned to its amber glowing self.  The battery was low again.  I started thinking about this problem, and I decided to do a test.  You see, much of my driving is short trips to the church or school.  When I was using my truck for these short trips it would drain my battery.  But if I was going on longer drives, the light would turn off.  So, I figured it was not the alternator that was the problem.   An alternator is responsible for recharging the battery when the engine is running.  Thus, the battery lasts much longer than if you only ran off the battery alone. 

My theory was to shut the after-market media center and back up camera off as I started on my short daily drive. I also would drive a little bit longer to work so as to give the alternator a chance to charge the battery back up a bit.  Much to my pleasure was that the check engine light did indeed go off after a couple of weeks of this regular process.  I then figured out that the media center had been installed directly to my battery, which allowed it to continue using power to run all of the technology needs that apple car play and maps apps rely on.  By regularly turning off the media center, I was able to drive my shorter loops and still not drain the battery.  And in the winter that is really huge because my remote start does not work if the check engine light is on! 

The only down side of this is that I was not able to listen to the radio or my music on my morning drives.  I have a good five minutes on my morning drive so I decided to use that time to sing worship songs to the Lord and to pray out loud as I made my daily drive.  The result was that I arrived at work much more clear minded and positive.  Those moments with the Lord were having an impact on my attitude and mood.  I was so thankful for those small times with the Lord free from distractions of the world and my day.  Instead of heading to work with the worries of what my day held I arrived at peace and centered on the Lord. 

What a fantastic gift this has been, to turn off the world and the distractions in my life, and just to sing and focus on personal time with the Lord!  It is not lost on me the irony of this discovery.  When the media center was on in full power my truck’s battery was being drained by all of the technology being readily available for my use.  But when I turned off the media source my truck’s battery was being charged and holding it’s charge much better.  I too was finding that there was greater power in my spiritual countenance when I unplugged from the worldly distractions and centered my focus on the Lord!  I had more joy and a God centered focus for my day and the encounters I had with people God brought my way. 

This reminded me of Paul’s letter to the Church at Philippi in chapter 4 verse 8.  “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”  Basically, by being forced to turn off my media I was alone with the Lord and was able to focus on who He is and what He has for me to do.  I took time to pray for those whom I love and for those whom I had told I would uplift them in prayer.  This changed my focus and helped me to have stronger communion with God. 

My recommendation is rather than have the things of this world suck the spiritual life out of you, unplug from the world and plug into the ultimate source of peace and strength.  Plug into time alone with your Heavenly Father.  Plug into unrushed time in God’s Word!  I am confident that you will not regret your decision nor the peace and joy you will receive. 

Blessings,

Randy Karlberg