Saturday, May 15, 2010

Christian T-Shirts

Last night, my family took me to my fave restaurant for dinner. We were all in a good mood, cutting up and joking around and not paying much attention to the people around us....until our food got to the table. Once everyone started eating, I was made all too aware of the conversation in the booth behind us. I missed the first part of the conversation, but from what I could gather, the girl talking was telling her parents how she told someone “exactly how it was”. My 11 year old’s eyes were as big as dinner plates as this girl continued to rant....using “colorful” adjectives to punctuate her story.

I whispered to Brian “Remember, people who are not Christians do not live by the same standards you do. We can’t expect people who don’t know Jesus to understand how ugly that sounds.” He was satisfied with that. He shook his head and went on about his meal.

To my astonishment, when the group from the table walked past us to leave, the parents had on t-shirts with (presumably) their Church’s logo and mission statement on them and the daughter (the one with a mouth that would make a sailor blush) had on a t-shirt with the same church information but the back said “Praise team”. HUGE yellow letters on a blue t-shirt....couldn’t be missed! Was this person leading worship in her church?? If so, what must the people she is with everyday think being a “Christian” is all about?

My 11 year old looked at me as if to say “what ya gonna say now?”

In all honestly, what COULD I say? My argument that Christians don’t talk like that is out the window. Instead, We had to spend the ride home trying to explain to an 11 year old that some folks “just don’t get it”. It’s sad, because they are only selling themselves short and missing the blessing of a life overflowing with the love of Christ.
My sweet Brian summed it up for me.....

“I guess that is like Dad wearing a Mississippi State t-shirt.”

And he is exactly right. See, Calvin is a die hard Ole Miss fan, and Ole Miss and Mississippi State are state rivals. So, Calvin could WEAR a Mississippi State shirt, even go to the ball games and sit with the State fans, but eventually someone would catch him supporting the wrong team.

So I am now asking myself..."Do my words, my actions, and my attitudes agree with my t-shirt?"

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

12 most annoying Facebook Personalities

It's been a long day. I needed something light and pointless to entertain me.
This is what I found. A few of these made me laugh out loud!
Enjoy!!

The 12 most annoying types of Facebookers
By Brandon Griggs
CNN



(CNN) -- Facebook, for better or worse, is like being at a big party with all your friends, family, acquaintances and co-workers.
Facebook can be a great tool, and an occasional annoyance. What kind of Facebooker are you?
There are lots of fun, interesting people you're happy to talk to when they stroll up. Then there are the other people, the ones who make you cringe when you see them coming. This article is about those people.
Sure, Facebook can be a great tool for keeping up with folks who are important to you. Take the status update, the 160-character message that users post in response to the question, "What's on your mind?" An artful, witty or newsy status update is a pleasure -- a real-time, tiny window into a friend's life.
But far more posts read like navel-gazing diary entries, or worse, spam. A recent study categorized 40 percent of Twitter tweets as "pointless babble," and it wouldn't be surprising if updates on Facebook, still a fast-growing social network, break down in a similar way. Take a CNN quiz: What kind of Facebooker are you? »
Combine dull status updates with shameless self-promoters, "friend-padders" and that friend of a friend who sends you quizzes every day, and Facebook becomes a daily reminder of why some people can get on your nerves. Watch as Facebookers reveal bugbears »
Here are 12 of the most annoying types of Facebook users:

The Let-Me-Tell-You-Every-Detail-of-My-Day Bore. "I'm waking up." "I had Wheaties for breakfast." "I'm bored at work." "I'm stuck in traffic." You're kidding! How fascinating! No moment is too mundane for some people to broadcast unsolicited to the world. Just because you have 432 Facebook friends doesn't mean we all want to know when you're waiting for the bus.

The Self-Promoter. OK, so we've probably all posted at least once about some achievement. And sure, maybe your friends really do want to read the fascinating article you wrote about beet farming. But when almost EVERY update is a link to your blog, your poetry reading, your 10k results or your art show, you sound like a bragger or a self-centered careerist.

The Friend-Padder. The average Facebook user has 120 friends on the site. Schmoozers and social butterflies -- you know, the ones who make lifelong pals on the subway -- might reasonably have 300 or 400. But 1,000 "friends?" Unless you're George Clooney or just won the lottery, no one has that many. That's just showing off.

The Town Crier. "Michael Jackson is dead!!!" You heard it from me first! Me, and the 213,000 other people who all saw it on TMZ. These Matt Drudge wannabes are the reason many of us learn of breaking news not from TV or news sites but from online social networks. In their rush to trumpet the news, these people also spread rumors, half-truths and innuendo. No, Jeff Goldblum did not plunge to his death from a New Zealand cliff.

The TMIer. "Brad is heading to Walgreens to buy something for these pesky hemorrhoids." Boundaries of privacy and decorum don't seem to exist for these too-much-information updaters, who unabashedly offer up details about their sex lives, marital troubles and bodily functions. Thanks for sharing.

The Bad Grammarian. "So sad about Fara Fauset but Im so gladd its friday yippe". Yes, I know the punctuation rules are different in the digital world. And, no, no one likes a spelling-Nazi schoolmarm. But you sound like a moron.

The Sympathy-Baiter."Barbara is feeling sad today." "Man, am I glad that's over." "Jim could really use some good news about now." Like anglers hunting for fish, these sad sacks cast out their hooks -- baited with vague tales of woe -- in the hopes of landing concerned responses. Genuine bad news is one thing, but these manipulative posts are just pleas for attention.

The Lurker. The Peeping Toms of Facebook, these voyeurs are too cautious, or maybe too lazy, to update their status or write on your wall. But once in a while, you'll be talking to them and they'll mention something you posted, so you know they're on your page, hiding in the shadows. It's just a little creepy.

The Crank. These curmudgeons, like the trolls who spew hate in blog comments, never met something they couldn't complain about. "Carl isn't really that impressed with idiots who don't realize how idiotic they are." [Actual status update.] Keep spreading the love.

The Paparazzo. Ever visit your Facebook page and discover that someone's posted a photo of you from last weekend's party -- a photo you didn't authorize and haven't even seen? You'd really rather not have to explain to your mom why you were leering like a drunken hyena and French-kissing a bottle of Jagermeister.

The Obscurist. "If not now then when?" "You'll see..." "Grist for the mill." "John is, small world." "Dave thought he was immune, but no. No, he is not." [Actual status updates, all.] Sorry, but you're not being mysterious -- just nonsensical.

The Chronic Inviter. "Support my cause. Sign my petition. Play Mafia Wars with me. Which 'Star Trek' character are you? Here are the 'Top 5 cars I have personally owned.' Here are '25 Things About Me.' Here's a drink. What drink are you? We're related! I took the 'What President Are You?' quiz and found out I'm Millard Fillmore! What president are you?"
You probably mean well, but stop. Just stop. I don't care what president I am -- can't we simply be friends? Now excuse me while I go post the link to this story on my Facebook page.


Hugs!
K