Why I like facebook

I've seen many people over the years take "a break" from facebook, or turn it off for a short period of time. For many of these people facebook has become a distraction in their lives and they need to get away from it. For others they feel like it is a waste of their time. I completely understand this and have taken time away from things that distract me as well (or that I was addicted to... like.. ehem... coffee).

But for me, facebook has always been a blessing and a way to stay connected with the ones I love. We've moved so many times over the past few years that facebook helps us to stay in touch with friends and family. I try and make sure I post a lot of information about our lives on it so others can get a glimpse of what we are up to.

My husband and I are extremely extroverted. We. love. people. We thrive on people. I guess that's why we love ministry so much. It's crazy, but we care about others so much sometimes it hurts. We love seeing what's going on in everyone's lives through facebook. We can tell when someone is hurting by the kinds of posts they write over time, and it causes us to pray for them and sometimes even message them asking if they need to talk. We consider facebook an incredible ministry tool. (This is probably mostly due to the fact that we've been in youth ministry for 6 years. Teens and young people use it more than adults sometimes.) We try to comment on people's pictures and posts frequently so they know we love and care about them. It's the world we live in- facebook is today's reality. It is the social network of our time and there is great advantage in using facebook to share Father's love!

We consider ourselves in "the people business"- I know that sounds funny but it's true. There are times we lay awake at night talking about someone we know who is struggling. We go on dates to "get away" and find ourselves talking about the people in our lives over dinner. Sometimes I laugh and say, "Ok, no more work talk. This date is about us!" But we just can't help it!

 We want to be relevant with the times. It's like a book I saw at the store that I want to read called Modern Parents Vintage Values. We want to stay "with it" and know what's going on in this day and age, not hiding away in a cave for the rest of our lives. Facebook definitely gives us a pretty good outlook of what this generation is thinking and feeling.  But that doesn't mean we water down our faith or lower our standards. We want to be in the world, but not of it.

Facebook can be an awesome thing, if you have self control and use it wisely. I know not everyone can do that, but for those that can, use it for all the good you can!