I’m a Facebook Freak

Okay, I admit it. I’m a Facebook freak. I love it. 

Since I joined Facebook I’m more in touch with our daughters and with our grandchildren. I’m better in touch with my siblings who are on Facebook and I’ve learned to know nieces and nephews better and even know what’s happening in their lives. I have somewhere around 95 first cousins, although way too many have gone on to heaven already. (My mom had eleven siblings and dad had six and all except one of Dad’s (a brother) lived to raise their own families). In addition to all these first cousins, all of whom I know and love, I now know my cousins in the second and third generations that I never knew before, but have become their friends on Facebook.

Of course, one reason is that Carol and I have such wonderful families! We are so blessed to have two wonderful daughters, their spouses, and four wonderful grandchildren. We keep in touch so much better through Facebook and added to that, I love being able to email back and forth. This is an amazing time that we live in. I love the information age. I think it’s the best “age” yet!

But we also enjoy our extended families—the Blumenbergs and Aringtons, (my family) and the VanScoiks and Hiatts (Carol’s family). Many of them are on Facebook—and probably many more are on, but we haven’t learned about them, haven't found them and haven’t yet become their “friends”.

I also love families. The family is a creation of God and he liked what he did there so much that he modeled the church after it and made the church just a great big extended family that includes all the “saints” in every state, nation, culture, continent, and every era of time.

I also like that fact that Facebook is a good place for a prayer meeting. I don’t know if Mark Zuckerburg is a praying man, but his Facebook invention now makes it possible for prayer requests, praises, prayers and answers to prayer to skim across the internet almost at the speed of light. I once placed a prayer request on Facebook and had a commitment to pray within two seconds from a niece who lives over a hundred miles away. Thank God for Mark Zuckerberg!

Just yesterday I had a Facebook conversation back and forth with Tammie Tregellas, our Missionary in Malawi. Several months ago, once again through Facebook, I became friends with Emmanuel Masamba, one of our pastors in Malawi, Africa. What an incredible time to be alive!

There are some things I don’t like about Facebook. I don’t like farms, factories and games and if any of you asks me to be involved I just klick on “Hide”. Sorry, but I’m just being honest.  If it was up to me all the Facebook farms, etc. would just disappear. But not the people who farm those farms or run those factories—I still love all of you! I just don’t want to visit your farms, factories, etc., unless they’re real and you’re there to greet me.

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . . and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
:)

The Ultimate Question

It was a typical Wednesday in the church office—the normal hustle and bustle, but basically pretty quiet. The fire alarm went off and I thought “I don’t remember being told we would have a drill today.”

Moments later our executive pastor Greg came running down the stairs and I thought, “I don’t believe this is a drill. Maybe I should check this out.”

No one seemed to know the source of the alarm, so we all proceeded to empty the building as quickly as possible. The normal relaxed, friendly manner that is normal for the office, pre-school and the various activities of the day gave way to tense, hurry-up and get outside, anxiety prone, behaviors. The building was almost empty, except for the Women’s Ministries group, who went right on talking and visiting because they, like me, assumed this was just another drill for the pre-school. That is all except WM Director Sandy Mason. She came upstairs to check it out just in time to hear that it was a false alarm brought on when a child thought the pretty red box on the wall was something that looked like fun to play with. Sandy was still a bit perturbed that the ladies didn’t take it seriously so I gave her permission to give them a good scolding (which I had no authority to do).

Soon an email was sent out by Jennifer to let us all know “Today’s Fire Alarm was brought to you by a 2 year old who thought the lever on the wall looked cool.“

We all agreed it was a better fire drill than the normal drills because no one knew for sure what was happening. Now they’re trying to decide the ultimate question—should they discipline the two-year-old or give him an award for staging a successful fire drill?

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.