Christian Chirp? Seriously?

I'm a generally conservative, evangelical Christian, but I'm at a loss to explain exactly why I bristle at the thought of a social media site called "Christian Chirp."  The following is an attempt to do so, and is my own personal opinion.  Please note that my opinions do not reflect the views of evangelical Christianity, the churches I serve and attend, or anybody or anything else.  You can comment if you like, but if I don't like your comment, it won't get published.  It's my blog, get over it.

So - what's wrong with "Christian Chirp?"

1) Christian Chirp.  That has got to be the lamest name ever.  However, I know people who actually think that sort of stuff is cool.  Or hip.  Or now, or...whatever - wake up!  It's lame, people.  And to anyone even considering making the irrelevant appeal "but what about the name Twitter?" - save it, it's irrelevant. I think the name is lame, so there.  You can think what you like.

2) It was formed because the founder felt he was being persecuted on Twitter because of his conservative beliefs.  And he's very vocal about it, too.  The truth is his Twitter account was suspended for a week for sending a large number of duplicate @replies - the fact that the offending message was about Rush Limbaugh is purely coincidental.  When you send the same message out too many times, that is considered spammer behavior, and they suspend your account pending investigation.  It's all very clearly spelled out in Twitter's Terms of Use, where it says: "Some of the factors that we take into account when determining what conduct is considered to be spamming are: .....If you send large numbers of duplicate @replies."  I'm still waiting for this guy to man up and admit he blew it instead of continuing to play the persecution card.

3) The founder also runs two other sites - ChristianInternetIncome.com and Christian Money.com.  This isn't a secret, both websites are listed right on his profile.  Forgive me for assuming, but it appears he's successfully created his own lead generation service, kudos for his ingenuity.  Not that there's anything wrong with making money, but using the term "Christian" as a selling point is kinda lame.  Wow, I used the word "lame" twice!  The founder of Christian Chirp isn't alone here, I have a problem with any business opportunity that markets itself as Christian, for Christians.

4) The whole idea of Christians holing up in their own little world rather defeats the purpose of the great commission, don't you think?  I mean, sure, we worship together and we have classes and other opportunities to be together as believers - why do we need our own social media outlet, too?  Seems silly to me.  Think about what happened to all those Virb users who were so excited about Virb two years ago - well, I'm guessing they all signed up, and a month later looked around and noticed nobody else was signing up. They're all on Facebook now.  And Twitter.  I wonder if they'll try Christian Chirp?  Probably.  I digress...

5) Are there seriously Christians out there who don't have non-Christian friends, who don't read non-Christian publications and have no interest in anything other than Christian this and Christian that?  Seriously?  Christian Chirp is like a club you have to belong to in order to socialize.  LAME!!!  (3 times) Somebody used the term "Christian Ghetto" - and while I didn't appreciate the derogatory sound of that, I realized the term was rather fitting in an effort to describe the segregated culture Christian Chirp potentially creates.

These are just my hastily thought out observations and opinions at the moment.  As a woman, I reserve the right to change my mind tomorrow, but that's it for today.

Check it out for yourself.  What do you think?

Vote!

Yea, you! VOTE!

That's all I have to say about that...

Christians burning bibles?

Saw this video, as I'm sure many of you have by now.  I suppose even bad PR is good PR, but thinking the KJV is the ONLY legitimate version of the bible and everything else is of the devil?  Really?

I made a comment on Facebook that I wished the media would, just once, single out normal Christians doing normal things.  But what is normal?  I suppose that's rather subjective when it comes to practicing your faith.  What I may view as "normal" is probably viewed as "weird" by others.  But I think you get the idea.  The media isn't interested in portraying "normal" - people want the fringe.  They want the weirdos.  Human beings have an insatiable curiosity in the bizarre, paying $3.00 at a fair to get a glimpse of the world's largest snake or smallest horse.  We want to hear about the parents who allow their children to die because they don't believe in medical care, we line up to read stories of famous evangelists brought down by sin, we marvel at snake handling churches.

Now a self-proclaimed Christian, bible-believing church is burning bibles.

Tell me, what message does this send to non-Christians?  Do these folks really believe that their little book burning is going to have people lining up on their church steps on Sunday morning wanting to know Jesus?  What exactly is the statement they are wanting to make here?

Perhaps they just wanted to do a publicity stunt?  Mission accomplished, however, I'm pretty sure that's not the mission Jesus sent his disciples out on.

Don't take my word for it - check out their website here.  Happily their website link was mistyped on the news report, and I highly doubt they'll be winning any awards for design, spelling and grammar, which should all be listed in their "Perversions" section, I'm just sayin'...

What Does Reconciliation Look Like?

Can anyone explain to me what biblical reconciliation between two professing Christians is supposed to look like?

Background - two former friends haven't spoken to one another in quite a while.  Both appear convinced the other is at fault.  One has sought reconciliation, the other has refused.  The situation continues to (sometimes negatively) impact others who are not involved.

I don't see the situation improving without some sort of intervention, quite frankly it's uncomfortable at times to be around them, but I tend to be more of a control freak anyway, always wanting to fix things.  If you were a mutual friend, what would you do?  If you are a pastor, and the two were in your congregation, how would you handle this?  What would you tell them?  Would you even get involved?  Is doing/saying nothing perhaps the best course?

She's going down the same path

Ever watch someone you care about make bad choices?  I'm there right now, and I honestly don't know what to say or do.

Something happens to women when they hit 40.  Several things happened to me, a combination of fear, excitement, confidence, dread - all rolled into one.  I loved turning 40, and I love being 46.  Oh sure, I wish I had my 26-year-old body back, but that's the trade-off sometimes for knowledge and experience.  I love listening to 30-something women who are under the impression they can look back on all their years of life-altering experiences and go forward with wisdom.  With all due respect, they have gained some wisdom, however sometimes all I want to say "Sweetie, talk to me in 5-10 years when you get a real education."  Know-it-all 30-somethings can be annoying, just as I'm sure I'm annoying to 50-somethings, but let's not go there for the sake of this blog entry, which is mine. :)

All that said, this blog entry is about someone who is experiencing the same stuff I did before I thankfully learned from my mistakes.

This is what I'd like to say to her.  "Stop trying to be involved in everyone's business, we're not talking about you, you're not missing anything, you're not being left out, and you are still a valuable person.  Stop trying to be the center of attention all the time.  Stop looking for affirmation from others - they will be sure to disappoint you!  Not only that, it's inappropriate and disrespectful to your husband (not to mention dangerous to your marriage) to seek that sort of emotional fulfillment from the person you're currently seeking it from.  And please...stop confusing who you are with what you do - it's solely your identity in Christ as the woman God created you to be that matters."

I have a sneaking suspicion that anything I say will fall on deaf ears.  I have to say something, though.  But what?  How would you approach a friend who you can clearly see is headed in the wrong direction, how do you stop her?  Can you?  Experience is the best teacher, but it's a whole lot less painful, don't you agree, when it's someone else's experience you're learning from?

Can any of you relate to what it's like to be my friend?  Did someone come along and try to warn you?  Or were you destined to learn the painful lessons yourself?

Ouch

It's what I get for not employing proper posture, and now my upper back and left shoulder are in a knot.  I can barely tilt my head down, never mind touch my chin to my chest.  Searing pain in my left shoulder and neck  when I try to do something like put in a hair scrunchy.  There's a bit of numbness and tingling down my left arm now going into my hand.  Ibuprofen doesn't really touch the pain.

Sleeping is no fun either.  Sharp pain in my shoulder and upper back whenever I so much as pick up my head, move my arm, or heaven forbid - turn over in bed.

Perfect timing, I've got women's retreat this weekend.

Time to call Dr. V.  He's my chiropractor.  Last time, however, this took almost 4 months to resolve.  No one to blame but myself.  Off to try and stretch, or maybe a hot shower, or an ice pack...or...whatever.  Sigh...

Wanna take a Harley ride?

A twisty, curvy 10 minute Harley ride in Connecticut on Route 89 between Mansfield and Ashford. But even sweeter is the soundtrack - that's my band!  The songs are "Babylon" and "The Long Way Home" from ETx's new CD titled "The Long Way Home," and both songs, as well as the rest of the album, can be purchased on most major music download sites, including iTunes, CD Baby and Napster.