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Here we go again with another “Five Minute Friday” post!  To learn more about “Five Minute Friday” (FMF), check out the linked image here.  Basically, each week there’s a word given for you to write about.  You start writing, no back-tracking, editing, etc.  At the end of 5 minutes, you stop.  Then you post it, and share in the community of words that were birthed during these 24-ish hours.  It’s cool stuff.
So here’s this week’s response to the word: “home”.

Somewhere in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, my daughter waits.  I pray she’s being cared for.  I pray she’s being held, and told how precious she is.  But I don’t know.  I don’t know what’s happening to her fragile body.  I don’t even know what her face looks like.  I do know our Heavenly Father is with her.

But I can’t wait to bring her home.

Our home is expectant.  With our first 3 daughters, the “pregnancy” was primariliy experienced by my wife.  The kicking in her womb (although certainly our daughters kicked me once in a while too, laying in bed).  But this time, our entire home is waiting expectantly, pregnant with anticipation.   We feel her kicking in our hearts.  We wait to bring her home.

I imagine the heart of God flutters with similar anticipation.  Although I don’t believe God is going to come “whisk us away” in a sort of rapture to a heavenly dwelling with golden streets……I DO believe God desires to bring us home.  To a Heaven and Earth made new, and joined together like never before.  He has already begun that direction, and is working toward it even now.  He invites us to join Him in the process of making all things new – as the veil between Heaven and Earth continues to be broken through in short bursts of the Body of Christ living out His Kingdom.

A while back, as a fundraising Idea I decided to write a song.  It echoed the connection between our hearts right now, and the heart of God.  It may still be something we do….for a couple bucks each download it’d be a great way to raise some funds.  But here’s the chorus:

“And I’m working on a plan, to give you a home.

That you will not need to fear, And so you’ll never be alone.

So wherever you are, have patience little lamb,

This love of mine compels me, to bring you where I am.”

And so we continue to wait.  We’re at the top of the list.  Any minute, my phone could ring….telling me the information,  about this little girl who will become “Phoebe”, the light shining from God’s heart….somewhere in the middle of Africa.  Saying, come, begin the final phase of bringing her home….

Stop.

(If that call came today, we’d be quite a bit short of funds to do so.  If you’d like to help, we have a Facebook Auction currently happening.  Just click the link, and join the group to place a bid!!  Thanks for your prayers!!)

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!!