I did it.

I finally got on Facebook. That’s part of why I haven’t blogged for awhile. At first I just wanted to save face; I didn’t want to admit that I was still such a ‘net recluse. Since I signed up on Thursday night (I think), I have been spending time on Facebook rather than blogging.

It was not too hard to get it figured out. I actually uploaded a few pics. There’s still a lot more to figure out. Like who I should let onto my page, and what they should see. So many decisions.

But I do see that I can connect with friends from high school, college and other realms. I scrolled through and found a bunch of people I would like to get back in touch with. I haven’t initiated that yet, because I’m still learning the lay of the land in Facebookdom.

It was weird when I first signed up – there were a few folks who were already waiting to be my friends. At least I knew all of them, and wanted to be friends. Then the Facebookies suggested other people I might want to be friends with. It was amazing. Must have been about 40 people on the list. I knew all but one of the people, and I asked to be friends with most of them.

How did they know that I knew these people? That is a little creepy. At least they didn’t try to match me up with a bunch of weirdos or terrorists.

Now I’ll know all about my friends, and open the window into my own life.

As for Twitter, I don’t even have a texting package for my cell phone. Won’t Twitter just kill me with texting fees? Or do I have to Twitter on the phone? So much to learn.

For now, I’ll work with Facebook and begin recruiting more people to sign up. I would invite you to see my page, but I’m not sure how to do that. You can probably figure it out…

Catching Up

Soon I plan to get my Facebook account set up. Everywhere I hear about people’s Facebook pages. A friend in Florida told me last summer that I really should connect that way. Yeah, yeah, I thought. Now even my technophobe friends are signing up. Our church, reportedly, even has a Facebook page. And I thought I was so slick for blogging.

Some friends are also after me to begin Twittering – or is it Tweeting? I don’t even text much from my cell phone. But this is all the wave of the future, I understand.

Actually, I have been wanting to start a Facebook page for some time. I even tried it one time, and I never received the confirmation email. I can’t let that stop me. It seems too important to skip.

We just moved into a new house over the weekend – only a couple of miles from our last address – and so everything seems new. It may be the perfect time to begin some new techie habits. Soon I’ll be referring you to my Facebook page. Heh, Heh.

Reflective Reading

Eugene Peterson, the writer of The Message, has a unique perspective on reading God’s word.  I recently read an interview in which he describes his method of reflective reading.  Years ago, he says, he began reading the Psalms as poetry.  He recognized that the Psalms are poems, and you have to read poetry differently than prose.

 On a first reading of a poem, you usually don’t understand it, he says.  It takes ten or more readings to “get it.”  Now that makes sense to me.  I actually find that I have to read most things repeatedly.  This in-depth reading can be applied to all of scripture.  It is not reading large chunks of scripture, nor is it a technical study of background or grammar.

 He refers to an ancient method of scripture reading called “lectio divina,” which is Latin for “spiritual reading.”  This is the opposite of speed reading.  It is seeking to be immersed in the heart of God.  It is reading for transformation.  As we read a passage over and over, we focus on four elements of interaction with the Word:  listening, reflecting, praying, and obeying.

 This method of scripture study seems to lend itself to reading the Bible aloud.  It allows the Holy Spirit to take charge and speak to our hearts.  He changes us inwardly, so that we actually become more like Jesus.

 This doesn’t happen in a 15 minute devotional time squeezed in between a shower and breakfast.  Nor can it happen while we check the latest headlines and the weather.  We need to step back from the urgencies of life and take time with God.  That’s where real living is.

Snow

We are way overdue for a snow.  It’s been three or four years since we’ve had enough snow to make a snowman.  In the past, we’ve always been able to count on at least one good snow per winter.  Not lately.

 Anyway, the weatherman is now calling for the chance of rain changing to snow tomorrow afternoon, with the possibility of four or more inches accumulating.  Now, it has been my experience that when the weather forecasts call for snow, they always miss it.  The more certain they are about snow accumulating, the less likely it is to happen.  The best snows always seem to catch everyone by surprise.

 We have had dustings a couple of times this season, and even these caught the weather experts by surprise.  But now I’m ready for a snow.  I’m ready to have a big bonfire and a snowball fight.  I want to build a snowman.  I want to take pictures in the snow.  It just doesn’t feel like we’ve had a winter until we’ve had a good snow.

 I get all excited when I hear snow in the forecast.  Then I get disappointed when it never happens.  But even if no one predicted it, we are still due for a good snow.

 Now, I hope I haven’t jinxed it by talking about it. 

Funny Prayers

I was listening to a Catalyst podcast yesterday, and the host made a comment that struck me.  He had seen a well-known Christian leader on television offering a prayer, and he shared that something in the prayer made him laugh out loud.  He virtually apologized for laughing.  He went on to say that he rarely ever laughs during a prayer, recognizing that communication with God is a sacred experience.

Now, I certainly agree that prayer should be a sacred experience, but I must confess that I often laugh aloud during prayer with others.  God obviously has a sense of humor, and I think that he likes for us to share in it.  Routinely my family and I will burst out in laughter during family prayers.  We get tickled when we share with God something punny, absurd, frustrating or delightful.  He can be in on our jokes.  It draws us closer to his heart.

We don’t laugh at each other, mind you.  We laugh together. 

Often our worship team will laugh together in prayer as we prepare to lead worship.  Part of the fruit of the Spirit is joy, and what better way to express it than good-hearted laughter?  Our small group has been known to laugh aloud as we share our burdens and excitements with Jesus.

I expect that Jesus often laughed as he spent time with his Father.  He is fun to be with.  Good parents enjoy laughing with their children.

Scary Idea

The U.S. Senate today passed a “stimulus” package priced at $838 billion.  We have to fix everything.  If we had failed to pass this bill, we would have wrecked the economy.  Oh, wait, that was the $700 billion bailout bill last fall.  It was going to fix everything.  But now we need to spend even more money to get our economy moving forward again.

If borrowing money for the government fixes everything, then why stop at 700 + 838 billion?  Why not just borrow $10 trillion?  Just think of all the executive bonuses we could give, and “stimulus checks” we could all receive in the mail!

Where does this money come from?  Someone has to buy the U.S. treasury bills – bonds that must be repaid with interest.  But what happens when no one wants to buy them?  After all, someone so severely in debt as Uncle Sam can barely pay his minimum payments.  Why would you risk lending him more money? 

As the global financial markets shy away from purchasing T-bills, we are left with no alternative but printing money.  Then we will see a certain escalation of prices, with too much cash introduced in our money supply.

The idea is that “only government” can fix our problems.  And the only way it can fix the problem is with borrowed money.  Something is wrong with this picture.  It is a scary thought that only government can make things right.  It is even scarier when they plan to do it with money borrowed for generations in the future.  

Automatic Audit

 Tax season is upon us.  Accountants are holing up at work, barely seeing the light of day.  Taxpayers are getting records together, working to determine exactly how much Uncle Sam will get.  We want to pay him all that we owe – but nothing more.

 I learned today that Tom Daschle, the president’s nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, has withdrawn his name from consideration.  Turns out that the former senator from South Dakota owes $134,000 in back taxes.  I am appalled that a member of our legislature could have the gall to spend billions and trillions of taxpayer dollars, while not paying his own taxes. 

 I wonder how many other senators and representatives fail to pay their taxes.  Couldn’t we have a law by which every legislator is automatically audited by the IRS?  I wonder if they would be more responsible in their spending.

 Meanwhile, the congress is proposing “stimulus” spending, an effort to borrow our way to prosperity.  Obviously we need to have more common sense in our fiscal policies.  It sounds like we also need leaders with more integrity.  We should demand better.