Author: Wick

Jesus has come, and yet will come.  We as the Church live simultaneously in the “already” and the “not yet”.  So this is a good time for us to recognize a new Facebook feature that has Google drooling, and anxious people quivering in the corner.  It has officially been slowly spreading to a larger test audience, and sometime this year will probably become available to everyone.  It’s called “Graph Search”.

“Facebook-is-taking-away-my-privacy-aphobia” has existed ever since the first person accidentally posted an embarrassing picture of themselves, only to realize that girl they liked could also see it once their friend clicked “Like”.  Many of us have grown a little tired of seeing people tricked into “Click this button, hover over this name, put your right foot in, and shake it all about” in order to keep a certain level of privacy.  But as with any internet buzz (well, not “any”….let’s say “some”), this one has a small amount of new information we should be aware of.  Not because it’s scary, and allows murderers, advertisers, and rapists of have access to us they didn’t already have.  But because of how much of a tool this could end up being….for good or bad.

Graph Search is basically a search engine that can reach into the PUBLIC information (or things you’ve allowed “Friends of Friends” to see), and compile results.   Some people have already used it to post some pretty funny/ironic things.  On this website, you can see results such as “Mothers of Jews who like Bacon”.  Sadly, you can also see “Married people who like prostitutes.” (which hopefully only proves some people have a lame sense of humor)  I’m sure some people could lose their jobs over things like “Companies who hire people who like racism.”, or countries could cause harm in situations like “People who live in North Korea and like Democracy”.

For a more complete overview, and how you can change your privacy settings to show up less and less in the searches that happen, check out this article written a couple months back.

But with all of this happening, and growing popularity in things like Instagram, etc…what are good practices and wisdom for us to be raising our children with?   First it seems many of us should begin to use these things with more moderation, humility, and self-control.  A little discretion goes a long way.  The author of the “Actual Searches” site linked above said it well, “If it’d be awkward if it was put on a screen in Times Square, don’t put it on (social media).”

The other side of it is a matter of etiquette.  Don’t take it upon yourself to share someone else’s life with the world.  If you post a picture with someone else in it – tell them, and let them decide whether to “tag” or not.  If you’ve got babysitters, tell them your policy:   “Send the pictures to us and let us decide whether or not to post them.  Even if you know posting that uber-cute picture of my daughter in some embarrassing situation would totally get a ton of “likes” from all your friends…someday it’ll still be floating around in cyber-space when my daughter is in college or looking for work.  If someone destroys her life socially – I want it to be her parents….not you. :)”

Parents of teenagers?  You’ve gotta know this stuff, so you can help teach it to your teens.  Certainly, they may be more “tech-savvy” than you.  But YOU are the expert on life-experience and wisdom here.  YOU are the expert on trying to shed labels you may have earned when you were younger.  YOU are the model for self-control and self-discipline.  Model it for them, and guide them forward to using technology safely and in a way that honors those around them.

And every once in a while, “Like” something publicly….just to see how quickly you get a coupon for it in the mail…:)

(This auction has ended! Thanks to everyone who donated, bid on, and purchased items!  Together we raised over $2,300 toward bringing Phoebe home!!!  Watch for more opportunities to join our efforts, and join us now in prayer!)

We’re doing an online “Facebook Auction” right now through March 17th, to help raise money to bring home Phoebe from the DRC in Africa!  With God, and you’re help, we know we can knock down these financial walls easily.  We have over 50 items for you to bid on, from decorations, to bags, to gift certificates for local businesses, to artwork, to live musicians!!  So much to choose from, there’s gotta be at least one thing you’d like, or like to give as a gift!  Thanks in advance for your prayers and support, and forward this link on to any friends who might be interested!!!To see the auction, just click on this link.  It’ll take you to the auction pictures/descriptions.  If you’d like to place a bid, simply request to join the Anderson Adoption Auction group, and once you’re approved – you can post a bid!!

I remember singing about wanting to have faith like a child – way back when I was almost a child.  Remember the Jars of Clay song from way back when? (1995)  To my fun-loving, happy-go-lucky teenage-self, I figured it was all about being positive.  A kid has no worries, and always smiles, right?  So that’s what it means to have child-like faith.  It means to have a simple faith.

But actually having children, continually reveals to me new aspects of what exactly it means to strive for having the faith of a child.  Most recently it has hit us through our 3 year old, Ruby Anne.  She’s the epitome of an unbelievably cute child.  Always asking for cuddles, making jokes about toots, and crawling into our bed at 2am just about every night of the week.   When we wake up next to her in the morning, we ask – admittedly frustrated at times – “Hey Ruby, why did you come down to mommy & daddy’s bed last night?”

Her response?  To stretch out long, push down her head and arms into the nearest pillow or blanket and say with a giant sigh of relief, “Because your bed is sooooo comfy cozy.”

It’s true.   Compared to a toddler bed with a small toddler-sized blanket, and small toddler-sized springs – our bed IS so comfy-cozy.

If you think that’s endearing, you should hear the girl pray.  I’m not sure where it came from, and I’m not looking to fix her grammar in her prayer life anytime soon.  She says her prayers in a way we’ve never really taught, but she must have simply combined what she was thinking with bits of what she’s heard.   To the point where her prayers now can often sound like this:

Me:  Ruby, do you have anything you’d like to pray about?”

Ruby: Yeah, I want to pray for Phoebe (the daughter we hope to bring home from Africa this year) to be safe, to get money for Phoebe to come home, and mommy’s back feel better, and etc…..(she usually trails off at this point, sometimes into a fart joke)

Me:  Okay, go ahead.

Ruby: Dear God, thanks for making Phoebe safe, thanks for money to bring her home, thanks for mommy’s back feeling better, etc……

It’s such a simple thing, and she may have no idea how slightly different her prayers are than mine – but they’re so far from what I pray with my, “Could you….?”  or “Jesus, please….”  The statements of faith she makes every night about what God is and will accomplish continue to keep me in check.   It emboldens my own prayers.  It calls me out of my ambiguous, “God, whatever you wanna do please do it in this situation” type prayers, and reminds me God loves us so much, He wants us to share with Him the desires of our hearts.   That scripture tells us in several places – Jesus is with us, and will provide according to our needs.  We can pray specifically; much more specifically than many of us do.

So this week, I’m working on thanking God.  I thank God that we have Phoebe’s picture.  (before my wife’s birthday would be cool)  Thanking Him that somehow we were able to raise all of the money we need to bring our daughter home.  (note – if you wanna be a part of that happening, check out our Facebook Auction!) Thanking Him for bringing a new, and lasting peace and stability to the Democratic Republic of the Congo – especially in the East.  Thanking Him that children are no longer dying or becoming orphans because of the transformation His Word is bringing about all over the world.

What specific things might God want you to depend on Him for this week, instead of our “low expectation” prayers we usually send up???