By the time you read this, I will have willingly untethered myself from my always-on, always-connected technology. I will have disconnected my BlackBerry.

I discovered a few months ago that the only way I can properly enjoy a holiday is to actually turn off my phone. It's not enough to stop the emails being sent in real time. It's not enough to put the phone on vibrate. I need zero signal.

Last holiday, I turned off my emails, kept my phone on silent, and only checked it every few hours. I kept looking at Twitter and Facebook occasionally, and checked out if any SMS messages arrived.

It all went fine until I received an SMS from someone who was frustrated about something to do with something about a camp. Normally, I'd fix it fast and move on. The standard level of adrenaline would mask the intensity of any issue like this.

But the problem was that I'd already cleared my head of work stresses. I'd already reached some heightened state of rest. My adrenaline levels were at such low levels that even a small problem like this distracted me from my holiday and revved me up out of my relaxation.

So, I turned off my mobile completely.

And I rested better in those four days than I'd rested for weeks.

If you're taking a break over this Christmas period, why don't you join me in entering a technological shadow? Tell people the names of some people who know your emergency contact details, and then if they have an emergency, that contact person can call your home or spouse's mobile number for them.

That's what I'm doing.

It won't be easy. I'll probably be trying to tweet on my TV remote control, or read my emails on a calculator. I might even loiter around a mobile phone store in Westfield and just press some buttons on a dummy smart phone.

Going offline is harder now than it's ever been.

But I choose to do this so I can rest well, so I can give my all to Mandy and my kids. I want to switch off so I can switch on to them, and give them the best Christmas holiday I can manage. I look forward to spending some great time with them, and spending some great time reading my Bible, thinking theology, and praying to our great God.

Life is faster and more connected than ever. That's why we need to take some time to go off line.

May God give you a great Christmas as you remember the wonder of the Incarnation.

And, don't take offence if I don't send you an SMS, a Tweet, or an email. It's not that I don't care for you. It's just that I've gone offline.

Merry Christmas!