My Facebook

Facebook and other social networking sites have changed the way we connect with people - both near and far. I saw a recent article that was saying that you can only have a few friends and Facebook doesn't serve the purpose. That is about as much as I read - of course my closest allies are usually going to be people that I see or at least talk to on a regular basis. Now some of my close friends ARE Facebook friends as well - especially those that live further away it allows us to keep in contact. I have FB friends who are people I knew in high school - it has been fun seeing what their lives are now and I probably know more about a few of them than I did then.

I also have connected with people interested in similar things that I am, in fact I have FB friends that I met via games here. But yet I have gotten to know them. So FB is a place I come to relax, unwind, keep in touch. Many times friends near and far will make a post letting their FB world know of something going on. It allows us to pray and wish them well. Prayer can move mountains and certainly travels quickly.  I have also made friends nearby because FB allowed us to find out we had some common interests. In particular there is one couple that I knew from my church with small children - being allergic to small children I didn't really know them (or their kids). Well once we connected on FB - we found out we have a lot in common even if my "kids" are 4 footed. They (and their kids) are a whole lot of fun. Without FB I might never have known that.

Recently I find myself irritated by posts of some friends that come from very different beliefs. Now most of the time you can look at the headline and say - oh - not interested. But I have found that it is easier to ignore something from a person not related to me as opposed to those in my extended family. This morning I really wanted to post articles that basically would be rebuttals to other posts- possibly creating friction. While related; as there is distance, and the fact that I keep many things close due to my husbands work as a pastor, they might not know where I stand. So am I being false to my beliefs if I don't post links? I don't make comments and I don't "like" anything that I don't really like. But am I shirking on my duty when I don't lay it all out there.

I like having friends and family from many areas, beliefs, and backgrounds. Is it wrong to want to share joys with them as well as support in times of trouble? But yet keep back parts of me? Facebook is a hobby and a tool. For now I will strive to keep the peace, keep my friends and hopefully not ruffle too many feathers. There are many ways to support what we care about.

When You Don't Live Up to Your Own Expectations

Today I am trying to finish up a project for an organization I am in. I am awaiting a couple of return phone calls and I am hoping to "put it to bed". It should have been done long ago. I am disappointed in myself, there are reasons for the lateness of the project but I continue to beat myself up. So how do you get past something like this? I guess that once it is done, be glad that it is, look at why it didn't go so well and put safeguards in place to prevent it from happening again. And gee whiz - a pint of Ben & Jerry's just might make it better as well.

Walmart & Controversy

Who would ever think that a slight "bashing" of Walmart in a general conversation would be controversial? Well I found out that it certainly can be. We were at a dinner and I brought up the topic of our local Walmart and it's bid to purchase a liquor license to set up and sell in a package store area. I had signed the petition but upon really thinking about it I was kind of sorry and really didn't think they needed to. Well the man sitting next to me is a "free market" thinker and jumped on me. So what about the "little guys", etc. In this case - yes I want to see the little guys succeed. I don't like that most of my grocery shopping is done at Walmart - I do try to shop other places but as a pastor's spouse I also have to be a good steward of the funds we have. I can't afford to do all my shopping elsewhere so I am glad that I have the Walmart. I would bet that most people in town do a large majority of their shopping there. So if they could also buy their liquor would this adversely affect our alcohol problem - and yes I think there is one? And again yes I think it would. Now to purchase alcohol someone must go to a separate store and most of these do close. Walmart doesn't close. Now there are city/state laws that regulate hours - but the current major retailers close earlier than that. Plus many of us go to Walmart more than once a week - would the easy availability of the alcohol lend it to people purchasing more? I don't have these answers but No - I don't want to purchase my alcohol at Walmart along with my eggs and milk. But now - what can I talk about?

Does Money Make the World Go Around?

Money seems to rear it's head in practically all we do these days. If you google "money songs" you will come up with multiple money song lists. It is interesting to see the songs that make multiple entries. But does it really need too? Every day we get national news on the deficit, the weak dollar, money we owe China and so on and so forth. To have even the most basic things we need it usually takes money to get them. Some forms of bartering goods and services have taken hold but for the most part the a bank of some sort wants money for a mortgage, or a land lord wants rent. For food even if we have a garden - it only produces a certain portion of the year. And to have that garden you need the land, water - which usually you pay a city or other government agency money for. You need to buy seeds or plants at some point. It just goes on.

But what about our "down time", leisure, recreation - do these things have to cost us money. There are some that don't. We can go outside and play with our kids and dogs, take a walk, enjoy the snow or the sunshine. Many things. Of course we also can choose activities that will cost us money.  But what really bugs me is when things that don't have to be about money - become that way.

I used to play a game on Facebook called Farm Town. I still have my 3 farms, I named them Shalom Acres, Midsummer's Naucht, and Hidden Lake. I carefully bought things that I liked, placed flowers and trees on them. I tried not to cram fruit trees too close together - I wanted some similarity to reality. When I was first playing you coulse send gifts to your farmer friends - you would select a gift and they would send ones to you. Now you could sell it if you didn't need it - but it wasn't just something to add to your riches. But apparently I missed the point of the game. The creators have continued to add new levels, things to buy, gifts can now be "exchanged" , you have to have the big farm vehicles so you can harvest your and others crops in just a few clicks, and it's all about money. You go to someones farm and it's just a big page of crops. There is no thought or character. I find this sad. I may go back but for now my fields sit fallow.

So should everything be about the money? I certainly hope not. I have some more thoughts on this but will leave it here for now.

Nutty Things We Do

Well I decided it was time for my first blog entry. I previously hadn't done one as I couldn't quite decide where to start. Logically it seemed like a first entry should be serious and create a solid base to jump from. But that wasn't happening. So here on this last day of 2010 I'm just going to ponder on a few silly things I and I am guessing some of you do.

Today I was getting old magazines that I have read ready to take to the exchange table at the library. I like to put them into chronological order and those that I subscribe to I take a black sharpie pen and black out the label. Most magazines in a pile like this have the same markings. Why? If it needs to be a big secret that I subscribe to Real Simple, Fitness, and Self magazines then I probably don't really need to be putting them out. And what does it matter if somebody finds out that I went to the University of Northern Colorado and my husband University of Arizona. So I didn't do it! Oh the danger and excitement. Loaded them all up but the library was already closed for the day and the year. But they are in my truck and I will drop them off next week.

Since it's New Years Eve there are all sorts of things people do. I actually just heard of one familys tradition and it I really like. They have a master calendar that they write various appts. on and such. But they also record anything else that happens. At the end of the year they take that calendar and go back through it and see what has occured in their lives. Those years where maybe things didn't go so well they might burn the calendar month by month int he fireplace. No it doesn't erase what happened - but it sets them on the new years path. I really like that idea. My personal thing with calendars is I won't put up a new one until the actual first day. That goes for each month - I won't flip until the first. Go figure.

Of course New Years eve is also the time of making resolutions for the new year - usually to better ourselves in one way or another. This blog is going to be part of my path as I journey on. Hence the title Two Steps Forward & One Step Back - cuz that's the way it goes sometimes. So welcome. I hope you enjoy and together we'll look at this world of ours.