Don't Waste Your Voicemail Greeting

Why didn't I think of that?!?!?  The customer's voicemail greeting, instead of just the standard, "Hi, I'm John Doe, please leave a message and I'll return your call", included a Bible verse.  It wasn't the best verse to pick, it wasn't the easiest translation to read, and he wasn't the greatest reader, but at least it was the Word of God: "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."  And like it or not, everyone who called had to listen to this in order to get to the beep!

Why have I been wasting my voicemail greetings all these years?!??!

This discovery has launched me on a mission to find good verses to include in my voicemail greetings.  There are a lot in the Bible that use the word "call":

I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,
And I am saved from my enemies. [Psa 18:3 NASB]

As for me, I shall call upon God,
And the LORD will save me. [Psa 55:16 NASB]

For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You. [Psa 86:5 NASB]

Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the peoples. [Psa 105:1 NASB]

The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,
To all who call upon Him in truth. [Psa 145:18 NASB]

Seek the LORD while He may be found;
Call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
And let him return to the LORD,
And He will have compassion on him,
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon. [Isa 55:6-7 NASB]

But maybe you have some other ideas?  Share them!

Why (and How) I Switched to Republic Wireless

The why is pretty easy: I was paying around $35 a month for unlimited talk and text through Verizon.  With Republic Wireless, that number has dropped to $11.81 a month.  And there is no monthly contract.

What you need to know:

• Republic keeps its rates low by using WiFi for phone calls whenever possible, rather than cell signals.
• I was not able to continue using my existing phone (an old LG Cosmos 2 dumbphone).  Republic only works with three models of phones: the Motorola Moto E, G, or X.  I bought the cheapest, a Moto E, from them for $117 including tax and ground shipping.  It has all the features of a smartphone and runs Android 4.4.4.
• Republic offers a 30 day trial period.  I could have returned the phone and canceled my service during that period for a full refund. 
• In my area, Republic uses Sprint for its cell towers, with Verizon as a roaming backup where Sprint signals do not exist.  This led to poorer coverage for me than I had with Verizon.  However, for my usage and travel patterns, I found that I am almost always in a place where there is either WiFi or Sprint signal (or both) available.
• I was not able to keep my old cell phone number.  Republic does not have any phone numbers local to my area.  In fact, when the phone first arrived it had a 520 area code, but I was able to switch it to a 928 (my area code) number easily and quickly.  
• If I wanted to upgrade to a data plan, Republic makes that easy and allows switching between plans up to twice a month.  As I said, my new Moto E is already a smart phone so I would not need to upgrade it if I went to a data plan.
• After seeing my phone, my father also decided to switch from Verizon to Republic.  Since he wouldn't need the 30 day trial period, we bought a refurbished Moto E for $82 (price has now dropped to $74) on eBay which looks and works like new.

Note: I am not being paid by Republic to promote their service.