Toughts About Facebook

Jay Younts
Do nothing from rivalry or con-
ceit, but in humility count oth-
ers more signicant than your-
selves. Let each of you look not
only to his own interests, but
also to the interests of others.
(Phil. 2:34)
F
acebook, MySpace, blogs, online
communities, textingthese are
things that were virtually unknown
a decade ago
1
. Today our lives, as well
as our childrens lives, are dominated
by Internet-enabled communities. Te
use of language has changed as well.
Tere is a cyber vocabulary that is
unique to the electronic world. Letter
groups such as lol, ttyl, and np, form a
modern shorthand that allows for an
almost instant transmission of moods,
thoughts and plans across cities, states
1. Posted by Jay Younts on January 1, 2009
WWW.SHEPHERDPRESS.COM
Communicatation Blog
and continents. People write on elec-
tronic walls to announce when and
what they are eating, what the weather
is, and how they feel about it. Amazing!
Prior to this new age of cyber commu-
nity, one would not think of phoning,
or even emailing, a friend in another
state to announce that they had just put
the kids to bed and are now watching
the 11 oclock news. But now, thanks
to Facebook, dozens, if not hundreds of
folksmany of whom you dont even
knoware aware of these kind of de-
tails about your life. And, of course,
your children are also likely to be citi-
zens of cyberspace, or they soon will be.
Terefore, it is appropriate to ask what
biblical principles intersect with 21st
century electronic information trans-
fer? You have to admit it is a stretch to
think of Paul texting Timothy to bring
him the parchments so that he can post
them on his blog.
Whats your face
doing on facebook?
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5 Councel of Chalcedon Issue 4 2009
Why is Your Face on Facebook?
However, there are biblical prin-
ciples to guide you and your children
as you venture into the virtual world.
Tese principles cover all of the major
types of online communications, but
for the sake of brevity Ill just make di-
rect application to Facebook. I believe
there are at least three overriding prin-
ciples that can serve as safe guides for
children and their parents. Tese are:
Consider others more signi-
cant than yourself.
Communicate only what will
build others up.
Most importantly do all of
your communicating realizing
that since you belong to Christ,
your communications involve
his reputation as well as your
own.
Te point is not simply to avoid evil
content in electronic communication,
but to actually use these principles to
bring honor to Christ while interacting
virtually. Ah, someone is saying, where
is the fun in that? Which is, of course,
the point. Psalm 139 and 121, Proverbs
5:21 and 1 Corinthians 10:31 all teach
that Christians are always in the pres-
ence of God, that he knows our deepest
thoughts continually, and that with our
minds and mouths and ngers we are to
bring honor to him in all the things that
we do. We never cease being in relation-
ship with God. His Spirit dwells within
us! Tis point is foundational to each
of the three principles we will examine
together in upcoming posts. Online
communities such as Facebook provide
a transparent view into your life. But do
you stop and think that you and all of
those participating in this virtual world
with you are also even more transpar-
ent to God? Like many other things,
Facebook provides the opportunity to
enjoy your relationship with Christ as
you interact with others. Te more you
delight in your relationship with Christ,
the more you can bring honor to him as
you participate online.
Give this some thought and let me
know what you think. We will look at
the rst principle of considering others
to be more signicant than you in the
next post.
Facebook and You
by Jay Younts on January 5, 2009
Do nothing from rivalry or con-
ceit, but in humility count oth-
ers more signicant than your-
selves. Let each of you look not
only to his own interests, but
also to the interests of others.
(Phil. 2:34)
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Councel of Chalcedon Issue 4 2009
6
Why is Your Face on Facebook?
Facebook began in a college dorm room
at Harvard in February 2004. Since
then, the Facebook community has
grown to over 140 million active us-
ers. Facebook describes itself as a social
utility that helps people communicate
more e ciently with their friends, fam-
ily and coworkers. E cient communi-
cation indeed! Te Facebook Factsheet
reports that 2.6 billion minutes are
spent on Facebook each day worldwide.
Tese are impressive numbers, both in
terms of people and in time spent.
For Christians, it is important to
categorize Facebook activity in bibli-
cal terminology. Because Facebook and
other similar activities take place in the
online world, it is easy to think that
biblical guidelines dont apply as long as
one is not engaging in obvious sin. But
the Facebook founders have helpfully
done the categorizing for us. Facebook
is about communicationsomething
that the Bible thoroughly addresses.
James states the issue clearly:
With the tongue we praise our
Lord and Father, and with it
we curse men, who have been
made in Gods likeness. Out of
the same mouth come praise
and cursing. My brothers, this
should not be. James 3:9-10
Communication, in and of itself, is in-
tended to be a good thing. But as James
says, the issue for Christians is the con-
tent of the communication. With Face-
book, ngers are doing the work of the
tongue. Instead of words owing from
your mouth they are sent from your
keyboard. Te important thing is that
communication is taking place. And
for people who have been purchased by
the precious blood of Christ and given a
new life with a spectacular inheritance,
even casual communication is a big
deal. Why? Because your communica-
tion either enhances the reputation of
God or it seeks to enhance your own.
As the apostle Paul says, whatever you
do, do it all for the glory of God.
Now we have a biblical platform
upon which to construct an under-
standing of Facebook and the other
online social utilities. Lets look at some
specics. Te rst thing one is asked
when logging on to Facebook is what
are you doing right now? You are sup-
posed to tell all of the people in your
social network what you are doing. Te
Facebook Factsheet says that the aver-
age user has 100 friends on the site.
So, by answering this question, you are
telling at least 100 people what you are
doing. Often times, the question is an-
swered with a description of ones cur-
rent emotional statefor example, Joe is
sad or bummed. It is one thing to have
a momentary private thought to your-
self, it is quite another to express that
thought to a hundred or more people
without considering how your words
will cause people to think about God.
Paul challenges you to consider
others more signicant than yourself.
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7 Councel of Chalcedon Issue 4 2009
Why is Your Face on Facebook?
One way to do this is to buy into Pauls
direction in Ephesians 4:29 to speak
only what is helpful to build others up
according to their needs. Tis is the
perfect complement to looking to the
interests of others. Taken positively,
each status update on Facebook is an
opportunity to communicate the faith-
fulness of God to potentially hundreds
of people. Every opportunity to write
on someones wall is an opportunity
to share the riches of Gods daily care
for you. People oftentimes say that they
have do not have occasion to be a wit-
ness to the wonder of God to others.
Well, Facebook provides that oppor-
tunity. So, instead of saying in a status
update today was a bad day at work or
school, you can say something like, it is
has been a tough day, but God is there
for me. In this way at least 100 hun-
dred people (for many Facebook users,
hundreds of people) will know of Gods
faithfulness to you. You dont have to
quote catechism questions or list mul-
tiple verses to make the point. A simple
expression of your awareness of Gods
constant love for you can enhance his
reputation to others.
If you use social networking as
a chance to be yourself and vent or
sound o or be down about life, you
make Facebook all about you. Tis is
what Paul is warning the Philippians not
to do. For Paul, life was not about him,
it was about Christ. If you really believe
that the God is in control of the world
and your life, but you fail to acknowledge
that reality by making negative, discour-
aged updates, then you make yourself too
important. In eect, you consider your
assessment of things to be more valuable
than Gods assessment. Tis also applies
to the things you praise: things like be-
ing glad your team won or that you are
glad to be home or that you cant wait
for the weekend. If such things are all
you ever say, who will ever observe any
appreciation of Gods presence in your
life? Who will understand that God, his
providence and his word are the reasons
for your joy?
Te world wants to be the center
of your life. Tere is a popular country
song by Kenny Chesney that says that
everybody wants to go to heaven, but
nobody wants to go now. Communities
like Facebook can and do promote this
fascination with the world. Life is about
me. Tis is, in one sense, despising the
gift of God to you. Making the world
the most important thing, saying what
you feel at the moment, without regard
to Gods involvement in your life, is,
in eect, despising Gods provision.
It is ignoring the intercessory work of
Christ and the blessings guaranteed by
the promise of the Spirit. We all suc-
cumb to this temptation at times, and,
by Gods grace, ght against it; but we
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Councel of Chalcedon Issue 4 2009
8
Why is Your Face on Facebook?
should be aware that when we despise
Gods grace on Facebook, we have a
large audience, and this worldview is
pleasing to Satan. Dont forget what is
real. Your God neither slumbers nor
sleeps. You are always held by his right
hand. Dont be caught up in the words
delusion that life is about you and how
you feel at the moment.
You are engaged in warfare. You are
to take every thought captive for Christ.
Tis certainly applies to Facebook.
As James says, communication can
bring honor or dishonor to God. Re-
think the way you are involved in social
networking. Help your children to see
that Facebook is a providential oppor-
tunity to talk to many others about the
wonder of God in everyday language. It
is a way to speak of reality from Gods
perspective in the midst of your own
life experiences.
In the next post we will look more
closely at how to say things that are
helpful. Let me know your thoughts.
Only What is Helpful
by Jay Younts on January 6, 2009
Let no corrupting talk come out
of your mouths, but only such
as is good for building up, as ts
the occasion, that it may give
grace to those who hear.
(Ephesians 4:29 ESV)
Do not let any unwholesome
talk come out of your mouths,
but only what is helpful for
building others up according
to their needs, that it may ben-
et those who listen.
(Ephesians 4:29 NIV)
No rotten talk should come
from your mouth, but only
what is good for the building
up of someone in need, in order
to give grace to those who hear.
(Ephesians 4:29 HCSB)
Te apostle Paul does not make a sug-
gestion for the specic type of commu-
nication that you employ in Ephesians
4:29. Rather, under the inspiration and
authority of the Holy Spirit, he issues a
direct and strong command. It is one
that all of us too often ignore. Struc-
turing our words to bring grace to our
listeners is frequently the last thing
on our minds. However, by failing to
to do so, our words become corrupt,
unwholesome, and rotten. Paul is say-
ing dont talk this way (with corrupt
words), but this way (with words that
bring benet, grace).
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9 Councel of Chalcedon Issue 4 2009
Continued on Pg. 14
By the way, remember that my use
of Facebook in these posts is applies to
all forms of social networking that you
may use.
Facebook, then, gives you these two
options: you can leave a trail of rotten
communication that points directly back
to you, or you can leave a trail of words,
comments and thoughts that point di-
rectly to Christ and his mercy. Which
trail would you like to create? Tis is a
question that you may not ignore. God
commands you to do all things for his
glory, to add to his reputation.
So how, specically, can your com-
munication on Facebook be a benet to
others?
Te rst thing to remember is that
if your words are faithful to God and
his word, they will be helpful to others.
Social networking presents an oppor-
tunity to impact others each day with
thoughts that bring honor to your Sav-
ior. How cool is that? Please dont think
of this as a formal ministry. Rather,
think of these opportunities in the spir-
it of Deuteronomy 6:4-7. Wherever you
go in cyberspace you have the oppor-
tunity to talk about how good God is.
When things are di cult He is faithful.
When you experience joy and delight it
is because of the mercy of God. God is
at work in his world, but our tendency is
to ignore the hand of God and act as if
it is only other people that make things
happen. Many of the people who are a
part of your extended friend network
may not know God. You have the privi-
lege of presenting short, helpful com-
ments about how you are blown away by
your God. You can demonstrate know-
ing his comfort in di culty by simply
commenting that you are glad that God
knows what he is doing with a troubled
world. So being faithful to God is being
faithful to others.
Secondly, you can recall the wis-
dom of the Proverbs. Sometimes less
is more. A wise man uses words with
restraint. Short, pointed comments will
more likely be read and thought about
than long ones. A brief expression of
comfort in Gods providence may actu-
ally provoke a discussion from someone
who wants to understand your comfort
in a challenging circumstance.
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Why is Your Face on Facebook?
Next, you can be helpful by be-
ing truthful and factual. Dont pass on
speculation and become part of a chain
of gossip that leads to the destruction
of others. Remember Proverbs 18:17 in
this light. Dont be afraid to challenge
how someone knows about some titil-
lating tidbit of data.
Lastly, be pleasant and encourag-
ing. You have much to rejoice about as
a child of God. Your pleasant words can
be a sweet honeycomb that attracts oth-
ers to the truth of God and his gospel.
Much more could be said about
helpful communication on Facebook.
However, if you start with these four
principles you will have an excellent base
to build on and be a blessing to others.
To sum up, these four principles are:
1) Be faithful to God and you will be
faithful to others.
2) Be brief.
3) Be truthful and factual.
4) Be pleasant and encouraging.
Implementing these principles may take
some rethinking, but they will serve
you well, not only in social networking
but in all of your communication. With
apologies to John Piper, Dont Waste
Your Facebook!
Its Just Facebook
Jay Younts on January 7, 2009
We were buried therefore with
him by baptism into death,
in order that, just as Christ
was raised from the dead by
the glory of the Father, we too
might walk in newness of life.
(Romans 6:4 ESV)
We were therefore buried with
him through baptism into
death in order that, just as
Christ was raised from the
dead through the glory of the
Father, we too may live a new
life. (Romans 6:4 NIV)
See to it that no one takes you
captive by philosophy and
empty deceit, according to hu-
man tradition, according to the
elemental spirits of the world,
and not according to Christ.
(Colossians 2:8 ESV)
Tere is a tendency to follow the worlds
lead and see life as a mixture of the pro-
found and the mundaneto contrast
the exciting, meaningful, fun parts of
life with the normal, dull, daily grind
parts of life. For many this is the con-
trast between chilling or hanging
out and doing something that really
matters. Facebook falls into the hanging
out category. Its no big deal, just some-
thing to do when there is nothing to do.
With the advent of 3G phone networks,
you can update your Facebook status
anytime using your mobile phone. So,
while you are standing in line at the
store, you can let the rest of civiliza-
tion know that you are standing in line
at the store. In this context, Facebook
Continued from Pg. 9
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15 Councel of Chalcedon Issue 4 2009
Why is Your Face on Facebook?
becomes a way to make the mundane a
little more tolerable, a little less boring.
But is this the way that God wants you
to think about lifethat large chunks
of life are meant to be trivial? Sadly, it is
uncommon to think of hanging out in
terms of glorifying God.
Seeing parts of life as mundane is
the kind of thinking that Colossians 2:8
describes as empty deceit. You see,
you can be taken in by the trivial as eas-
ily as by the profound. If you buy in to
the belief that parts of life are trivial, of
no real value, then you have been taken
captive just as surely as if you were to
believe that the story line of Te Da
Vinci Code is true.
Your life, all of it, was purchased
by the death of Christ so that you could
live a new lifenot just some of the
time, but all of the time. Is it wrong to
relax or take a break after a full days
work? Not necessarily. But even then, it
is good to remember that rest is given
to us by God. He made our bodies to
need rest and relaxation. But just as
Christians should view love, money, or
philosophy dierently than the world
does, we should also view relaxation
and hanging out dierently . Jesus died
to give new life to his peopleall of the
time. Te apostle Paul says it this way in
Colossians 4:5:
Walk in wisdom toward outsid-
ers, making the best use of the
time. ESV
Te NIV translates the last phrase of
this verse make the most of every op-
portunity. Te Facebook community
puts you squarely in the path of many
who are outside the faith. Tis surely is
neither trivial nor mundane. You have
opportunities to make use of your Face-
book time to enhance the reputation of
Christ. Simple comments will doones
that remind your friends that God is
more involved in life than we can ever
imagine. Facebook time can be used to
see if a friend seems to need encourage-
ment. It can be used to observe how
others are thinking so that you can pray
for them or contact them. You can even
point out unbiblical Facebook com-
ments to your children, much as the
father in Proverbs 7 makes the most
of the opportunity when he observes
a young man being seduced. Spiritual
warfare is real. Te most dangerous en-
emy tactic is the one we dont see com-
ing. Te enemy is adept at ensnaring
Gods people with weapons that appear
to be harmless.
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Councel of Chalcedon Issue 4 2009
16
Why is Your Face on Facebook?
So it is easy to think hey, its just
Facebook, whats the big deal? Te big
deal is that all of life is to be lived for
the glory and honor of God. If there are
moments when you just kick back and
dont think about anything but what
seems cool to you at the moment, you
are missing the real value of life and
putting yourself in harms way at the
same time. Te call of folly, like the
call of wisdom, roams in the streets, in
homes and in the best places in town.
Tose who are simple will not be able to
distinguish between the two. Facebook
can encourage you to be self-centered,
to write and talk about yourself and to
be caught up with yourself. Or you can
use Facebook time to be dierent, to
view other people dierently. You dont
have to preach sermons in order to
bring glory to God. Your status updates
can include thoughts about the way life
really is. For exampleyou could post
something like this:
Life is not a
spectator sport
it is war.
Tis is short. It is pithy. It is true. It may
even provide some opportunities to say
what is behind it. So, do your social net-
working realizing that since you belong
to Christ, your networking involves his
reputation as well as your own. Make
the most of the opportunity.
Facebook & Friends
Jay Younts on January 10, 2009
(2 Comments)
A friend loves at all times, and
a brother is born for adversity.
Proverbs 17:17
Wounds from a friend can be
trusted, but an enemy multi-
plies kisses. Proverbs 27:6
Greater love has no one than
this, that he lay down his life for
his friends. You are my friends
if you do what I command.
John 15:13-14
Joe added you as a friend on Face-
book. We need to conrm that you
know Joe in order for you to be friends
on Facebook.
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17 Councel of Chalcedon Issue 4 2009
Why is Your Face on Facebook?
Tis is the message one receives when
someone requests to be added as a friend
on Facebook. As I mentioned earlier, the
average Facebook account about has 100
friends. Many have much higher friend
totals. What is a friend? A Facebook
friend is anyone whom you are willing
to give permission to view your Face-
book page, your wall. Tat is one way
to dene a friendship. Others, in prag-
matic, informal ways dene friendship
according to life experience. So a friend
could be someone who is always there
for you. But what does always there for
you mean? Does it mean someone who
never criticizes or corrects you? Does
it mean someone who only says good
things about you? Does it means some-
one who will always listen? Or is a friend
any casual acquaintance from a social
networking site?
Rather than look at all the vari-
ous ways friendship is dened in our
culture, lets take a brief look at what
the Bible says about friendship. While
much that could be said, the three pas-
sages above provide a good starting
point. For the purpose of this discus-
sion, note that each principle builds
upon the previous one.
FirstStarting with the last passage,
note that Jesus Christ denes friend-
ship. So a friend is one who will lay his
life down, both literally and guratively,
for you. Tat is commitment. Remember
that mankind would not even be able to
understand the concept of friendship
apart from God. Friendship did not orig-
inate from man as he progressed up the
evolutionary ladder. Friendship reects
the image of God that formed the pat-
tern for human character from the very
instant of his creation. God is the model
for all true friendships.
Since Jesus himself denes and
models friendship, then it follows that
it is wise to have friends who are also
friends of Jesus. While we acknowl-
edge the role of grace in our relation-
ship with God, John records that we
are friends with Christ if we do what
he commands. So, it is a good idea to
look for friends who are friends with
Christ. How do I know that people
are friends with Christ? If they obey
his commands. If someone does not
consciously choose to be friends with
Christ by obedience to his ways, that
person, from Gods perspective, will
not be a good friend to you.
Seconda friend will show sacri-
cial love to you at all times. People will
often help each other, especially if it is
convenient to do so. But this principle
sets the standard much higher. True
friendship will always cost something
and will often be inconvenient. But that
is what helps dene friendship, and
such friendship is rare. Tis is friend-
ship that gives without expecting any-
thing back. Tis is friendship that goes
beyond saying Well, you would have
done the same thing for me.
Tirda friend is one who recog-
nizes your weaknesses and will lovingly
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Councel of Chalcedon Issue 4 2009
18
Why is Your Face on Facebook?
tell you about them. As the proverb says,
the kisses of an enemy are profuse. If you
a have relationship with someone who
only praises you regardless of what you
do, that person is not your friend. A true
friend will deliver faithful wounds. In
part, this happens because a true friend
loves Jesus more than he loves you.
Our struggles with sin are real and,
sadly, ongoing. Someone who does not
recognize this reality in you is either
misleading you or is selshly avoiding
the di cult task of telling you what you
need to hear.
Tese three principles make up
essential components of authentic
friendship. It may be possible for some
to show elements of the second or
third principles. But only a true friend
can demonstrate all three.
So what is a friend? Te culture
around us, including the online commu-
nities, may dene friendships in dier-
ing ways. But true, authentic, friendship
is rooted in these biblical principles. Talk
about them with your children, with
your circle of friends, with those in your
social network, with your spouse. Most
importantly, talk about them with God
and ask him for the courage and wisdom
to pursue authentic friendships that will
encourage you to know the most genu-
ine of all friendsChrist.
Tis post concludes this series on
Facebook. I pray that it has been help-
ful to you. Tanks for your responses
and comments. Let me know if there is
more you would like to see addressed in
this area.
Facebook & Your Time
Jay Younts on January 12, 2009
Walk in wisdom toward outsid-
ers, making the best use of the
time. (Colossians 4:5 ESV)
Due to an excellent observation in a
comment from Jenny, this post will
address another issue regarding Face-
book. Your comments and thoughts are
valuable. Tere have been a number of
good suggestions for posts in the last
couple of weeks and, Lord willing, we
will get to them all.
Jenny raised an important consid-
eration in her comment. She raised the
concept of me time. As Christians
our lives are to be centered on bring-
ing honor to the name of God in all that
we do. (1 Cor. 10:31; Col. 3:17, etc.) Our
culture inundates us with the idea that
our rst need is to care for ourselves.
Yes, God is important, but only as he
or she meets our need for whatever
spiritual vacuum we have that needs
lling. From a cultural standpoint the
idea of spirituality is just another part
of caring for myself rst. Culturally, we
are challenged every day to see life in
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19 Councel of Chalcedon Issue 4 2009
Why is Your Face on Facebook?
terms of self-fulllmentmy needs, my
space, my time, my life and, sadly, my
god, whomever I deem her or him to be.
As Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians
6, we are not our own, we have been
bought with a price. It is instructive to
note that the context of this teaching
that we are not our own is a discus-
sion of sexual conduct. What could be
more intimate and personal than your
sexual life? Yet Paul says that even in
this area we are not our own. We are
not free to choose how to behave sexu-
ally, based upon our assessments of our
needs. And, not surprisingly, the area
of sexuality is one in which our culture
openly despises biblical truth. Sex is for
you, in any way that you wish to have it.
You have the right to do with your body
whatever you want. Clearly, by assert-
ing the value of self-fulllment regard-
ing sexual behavior, the culture has not
been friendly to Christianity.
If Paul says that you are not your
own in the intimate area of sexuality,
certainly this same principle applies to
the rest of your life.
In acknowledging the Lordship of
Christ over your sexual life, you will ac-
tually enjoy and benet from sex more
than if you followed the calling of the
culture for self-fulllment. In other
words pursuing what I want apart from
God is never a good or healthy practice.
From another perspective, lets say
that you live on a farm far away from
the urban sprawl. How helpful would
self-fulllment be as a guide for living
on a farm? Saying that you would rather
not go out and prepare the elds for
harvest so you could catch up on the
latest status updates of your Facebook
friends would seem a little bit ridicu-
lous. Or, waiting to milk the cows until
tomorrow so you can play Word Twist
on Facebook or check out a friends
latest blog entrybecause I just need
time for myselfis equally ridiculous.
Instead, as a Christian you should be
lled with gratitude that there are elds
to harvest and cows to milk.
Okay, so you dont live on a farm.
But you do live where God has pur-
posed for you to live (Acts 17:26). Your
time is not your own, but purchased
by God with the blood of Christ. God
wants you to make the best use of your
time or, as the NIV translation says, to
make the most of every opportunity.
To specically address Jennys
comment, your children are young for
an amazingly short time. Tere are
opportunities to speak of God even
when changing diapers. Changing a
diaper means that God has given you
a precious child! You cant separate the
chore of dirty diapers from the blessing
of your child. Tis is part of who he is
and what it means to have him. If there
were no diapers to change there would
be no child. So, even changing diapers
is an opportunity to thank God for
his faithfulness to you. Here is a chal-
lenge: every time you change a diaper,
tell your child how thankful you are for
him and thank God for him. Grumpy
diaper changing leads to a grumpy life.
Issue 4_1_2009.indd 19 9/22/09 11:55 AM
Councel of Chalcedon Issue 4 2009
20
Why is Your Face on Facebook?
With Facebook, you are presented
with an opportunity to learn about oth-
ers and to inuence those outside the
faith, at least in some small way. Tis
can be a good thing. However, there is
the temptation to sit and be caught up
for hours following the endless rabbit
trails of friends, groups to join, causes
to become a fan of, and games to play.
You may call this your time. But as we
have seen, your time is not your own.
To improve your time manage-
ment, perhaps you need to set a limit
for the time you will spend on Face-
book. And while that may be needed for
some, an even better option is to turn
away from our cultures calling for self-
fulllment. God provides you each day
with the opportunity to die to yourself
and live for him. Facebook ought to
be just something that you do as a fun
diversion when you have the time to
squeeze it in. Tings like serving your
family, studying Gods word, prayer,
remembering the many ways God has
blessed you, reaching out to people
in your church and community, etc.,
should make Facebook time hard to
nd. It should be hard to nd because
your life is crowded with the joy of liv-
ing life for Gods glory. It is not your
time, your space, your lifeit is Gods.
Come with desire and you shall go away
with comfort. You shall have the virtues of
Christs blood, the inuences of His Spirit,
the communications of His love.
A
fter several years of meditation, study,
and prayer, J udy has completed writ-
ing and composing songs for each of the
Beatitudes.
J udy says, This may be the most signi-
cant body of songs I have written.
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