Ecclesiastes 12:10

   I’ll be the first to tell you I am not the biggest fan of social media in general and Facebook more specifically. I've never taken it too seriously [i] but I can grudgingly admit I see some of its appeal. Facebook is a neat way to connect to old friends and find out about the goings on in people’s lives. Still I wonder if some folks do anything else with their day! Their lives seem to be consumed by it. It may be a tad self-indulgent and a time waste but  is it really doing any harm?    A recent report shows that Facebook is at the root of a major problem in our country: divorce. A third of all divorce filings in 2011 contained the word "Facebook," according to Divorce Online. And more than 80 percent of U.S. divorce attorneys say social networking in divorce proceedings is on the rise. Three years ago, 20 percent of divorce filings contained the word "Facebook”, by 2011, it had risen to 33 percent, according to the American Academy of Matrimonial Law...

   It happened again.  Some news story came out about a ( Pick One, Celebrity Death, New Law, Hollywood Scandal, Wonder Drug, New Research, Shocking Story ) that spreads like wild fire until someone bothers to check the facts and see that it wasn't true.  It is now getting to the point that any story I see on Facebook, Twitter, news sites, or the like, I instantly think the opposite is true.  It seems the media is so eager to be first with a story they never bother to check if the story is true.  If it is sensational enough or shocking enough why bother if it is true enough?  Now before we get to quick to blame them let’s remember who is forwarding and reposting all those stories!  I admit I am little  upset and worried at how quickly so many people are to buying into the half-truths and gossip in our world today. Without batting an eye, we will give our acceptance to things that are not so.      Now we all will ge...

      Over the years I have noticed a strange paradox with preachers.  You can often tell if a man was not prepared for a lesson when they go too long.  You would think unprepared speaker would run short but in practice it doesn't work that way.  I've heard speakers that “run out of soap” mid lesson but then ramble and repeat to fill the time.  Maybe the lesson just seems longer since his thoughts lose cohesion and he begins to veer off course.  Preachers (this one included) often make the mistake of thinking that if they are speaking, it automatically must be worth listening to.  But when a preacher hasn't put in proper study and considers his words carefully, it ends up just being babble.      It seems to me lots of preaching in our religious world today is just that, a bunch of babble.  There are a lot of popular sayings and stories but not a lot of Bible and personal ...

    Everybody has one. That person you call a friend that you wish you didn’t.  The one in your group that will ruin everyone else good time when they are not happy. The person at you side in all the pictures of your life you regret.  The lighting rod of most the drama in your life.  The friend that drags you along with every bad decision they make, every bridge they burn and every problem they cause.  You know the friend that you “hate”.  If they are so bad, then why are we still friends with them?     Maybe you just have too much history. Maybe it feels impossible to sever your ties to them. Maybe we feel responsible for them and leaving them behind would give us too much guilt.  Whatever the reason, we keep them in our company no matter what the damage is.  It doesn't just work that way with friends either. Sometimes it is habits. Sometimes is a place. It’s that thing in your life you know ...