Shiny Brite Ornaments

A couple weeks ago, I found boxes of Christmas ornaments at my mother's house. They were the ornaments we hung on our tree when I was very young, in fact, they were old when I was very young. (They are very old now.) I was surprised she still had them. I thought they were donated or tossed when my parents purchased new ornaments. I brought them to my house and decorated my tree and mantle with them. They are faded and a bit tarnished, but then again so am I. 

However as believers, no matter our stage of life, spiritually speaking, we are not faded or tarnished, we are new creatures in Christ Jesus. Remember that ladies. 

So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away—look, what is new has come!

We are reconciled to God. 

And all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation.  In other words, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting people’s trespasses against them, and he has given us the message of reconciliation. 

We are ambassadors. 

Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making his plea through us. We plead with you on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God!”

Advent 2019

It's December 1, this year has been so long and yet so short. I spent many hours at the hospital and hospice in January and February, Spring arrived on schedule in March, I was semi-aware of it as I began the probate process, cleaning out my mother's house, and battling pneumonia. Summer arrived, it was not so terrible, no horrible drought no horribly high temperatures, just a tropical storm named Imelda. We rolled into fall and have a little fall foliage this year which is very rare down here!

Thanksgiving was a nice day, we took a day trip to the beach, grilled burgers, ate chips, and roasted marshmallows to make smores. My husband had never made or eaten a smore in his life. I find that astounding, I thought all Texas children from our era had straightened wire coat hangers and roasted marshmallows over a fire to make smores. He liked them, he ate 2. We sat there watching the waves break, the pelicans, and a large Great Blue Herron who strolled by while looking for his dinner, he was at least 4 feet tall and watched us watching him. Next year, I will resume all the cooking and baking for Thanksgiving. (Unless I can talk everyone into heading down to the beach!)

And here we are - December 1, 2019. Advent has arrived. a season to wait with expectation and prepare our hearts for the celebration of Christmas and Christ's return. I remember the thrill as a child of lighting a candle in our Advent Wreath each Sunday. Some years, I had an advent calendar, I opened the door each morning after breakfast. So many cosmetic companies have Advent calendars these days, Advent is becoming more secular by the year. (And now people celebrate the 12 days of Christmas before Christmas. I do find that odd.)

I pray I do not take the Advent season for granted and get caught up in the worldly aspect of the holiday season. May this season of waiting and preparation be a time of blessing to you.

 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,  and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”  For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight.’ ”

Daffodils

Over the summer I ordered bulbs for fall planting, tulips (Wintering in the refrigerator as I type.) and daffodils. I'll plant the tulips in early January, there will not be much of a wait for them to grow and bloom, it will be months before the daffodils bloom. I look forward to their cheery presence in my flower beds and a couple of containers next spring. Much of gardening like other areas of life is all about instant gratification these days because we can buy flowers, plants, and shrubs in 4-inch containers, 5-gallon pots, or whatever our heart desires. We do not have to wait for the seeds to grow unless we choose to sow seeds.

I think many times just like in the garden, we want instant gratification in the form of answers to our prayers. (Obviously, if we are in a dangerous situation, we really need an instant answer.) We don't want to wait for a flower to grow and bloom or a prayer to be answered. We want God to act now for many reasons, below are a few:

The situation is serious.
Hearts of loved ones are broken.
Patience is not easy.
We want what we want when we want it.

We profess Thy will be done but it is not what we desire in our hearts. At times, we may be dealing with unbelief or not forgiving others. Maybe we don't notice every day blessings...hello, I am breathing - am I thankful? As we wait for the answer, we need to examine our hearts and lives, we need to give thanks to the Lord for His lavish love, our life, Salvation, and so much more. We need to praise Him. We need to confess and repent. And as I have said in many posts, we need to keep our gaze on the Lord. 

Take comfort from His word while we wait. 

Psalm 130:5 (NET)

I rely on the Lord,
I rely on him with my whole being;
I wait for his assuring word.


Psalm 40:1 (NET)

I relied completely on the Lord,
and he turned toward me
and heard my cry for help.

Psalm 27:14 (NET)

Rely on the Lord!
Be strong and confident!
Rely on the Lord!

Maintaining my Flower Beds

It is that time of year down here, time to cut back summer flowers, fill in areas where the topsoil eroded, plant bulbs - I ordered too many daffodils because they were on sale, plan what winter annuals I want to plant next month, and pull weeds which sprang up after tropical storm Imelda. It is also cool enough to prune shrubs, they have not been pruned since May and need a good trim.

Just like the flower beds, our spiritual lives require maintenance. If I look honestly at my spiritual life, I realize my prayer life has been a little sparse over the last 3 weeks. I am not giving the Lord the first fruits of my time, He's been further down the list. I've been avoiding extended prayer time. Most days I pray for friends, family, and the world, but I've not been sitting quietly before Him or praying for myself. I'm avoiding it because grief hit me hard on my mother's birthday at the end of September and there are residual emotions from being a caretaker for 10 years as opposed to her daughter.

Many people think she died 8 months ago, get over it as if we can wave a magic wand and switch off our emotions.  Or better yet stuff it down and don't think about it again which does not work either.

And by writing a blog post this morning, I've further delayed sitting quietly before the Lord. Time to wrap up this post, seriously pray, and then go out and sit in the sunshine as I work in the flower beds.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Plans, a Tropical Storm, and a Lesson in Patience

A couple of weeks ago, I took my first vacation in 14 years. One of my sisters-in-law accompanied me. My husband AKA the Man remained at home with the glamorous duty of dogsitting. His concern was would my sister-in-law and I run out of things to discuss.

I wanted to drive, my sister-in-law Diane wanted to fly, she was not interested in an epic road trip which meant riding over 1000 miles each way in my Beetle. She assured me it wasn't personal, she was not interested in a road trip with anyone, anywhere, in any vehicle.

I rented a 2 bedroom property on the Rio Grande River in South Fork, CO and she took care of the airline reservations and car rental.

The night before we left, my husband took me to her house to spend the night because she lives 30 minutes from the airport. Her husband dropped us off on his way to the office the next morning. It was sprinkling, we checked in, our flight was on time. We sit down United Airlines let us know our flight is delayed because it is still in Iowa due to a battery problem. We know that means we will arrive at least 3 hours later than planned. Planned...planning...plans...to plan - we had many plans for the next week in CO.

The rain increased significantly, lightning strikes were frequent and dramatic. Tropical Storm Imelda was making her presence known. The airport was closed, all roads leading to the airport were flooded. Thankfully due to Diane's travel perks we were in the President's Club so we were seated in comfortable chairs, there were snacks and beverages, and of course, we could recharge our phones and tablets. 8 hours into our stay at the airport, I contacted the property owner and let them know we would arrive some time the next day. 10 hours into our airport stay, we decided to see if we could get to an airport hotel to spend the night. United had our baggage, unfortunately, we could not retrieve it. We managed to book a room a few blocks from the airport, we felt confident the hotel shuttles would begin their routes because it was barely raining. But no...the hotel flooded. My husband called to see if Diane and I had anything left to talk about and check on us. Funny, funny man. 14 hours into our stay at the airport, we noticed a cab arrived.  One lane in each direction of JFK was clear, tow trucks were towing stranded cars off the streets and freeways. We found an Uber driver who would take us back to Diane's house.

Take 2, the airport opened at noon, my brother-in-law dropped us off at 12p, we checked in for our standby flight at 2p and went down the President's Club. The 2p flight was delayed because there was no crew. We were told we would not make it on standby on the 4p flight, however, our luggage was in CO. waiting for us. At 4p we walked to the gate for the 2p flight hoping to make it on the flight. At 7p, we gave up, changed terminals and checked in for our 7:45p flight. We sat down and received texts our 7:45p flight was delayed. The 2p flight took off at 7p. I texted the property owner and told him we'd arrive sometime Saturday. We boarded our 7:45p flight at 9:30p and took off at 10p. We landed safely in Colorado Springs, retrieved our luggage, found an airport hotel (We did not book a room before we left in case our flight was canceled to avoid the non-refundable charge. I'd already lost 2 nights rental in South Fork.) and took a cab to said hotel because we arrived 5 minutes after the rental car counter closed.

Saturday morning, no one would accuse us of being bright-eyed or alert. We powered down coffee and picked up our rental car and stopped at a pharmacy to pick up medication that was lost somewhere between Houston and CO.

I've never been so glad to see South Fork, CO in all my life. We turned onto the old dump road which has been renamed and found our townhouse which was lovely.

On the remaining days of our vacation, we drove across Aqua Ramon and surprised a bicyclist and 2 hunters. Guess they never saw 2 broads in an Escalade up there before. Days later, imagine my surprise when I found out the vehicle was not 4 wheel drive! (I now understand the surprised faces on the Aqua Ramon drive.) We drove to Durango, took a 4 hour ATV tour outside of Creede, visited the Great Sand Dunes, and drove to Lake City. The fall foliage was beautiful and almost at its peak in many areas. Due to our shortened trip,  Leadville and Summitville will have to wait until next year.

Our travel was for pleasure, other passengers missed funerals and weddings. One young lady was standing in the terminal holding a bridesmaid dress. I felt for them.

Patience was necessary, plans had to be changed, and nothing was in our "control" except how we chose to behave. I even managed not to laugh when a woman screamed, "I've been here for 3 hours!"

Now, maybe I'll plan a road trip over Thanksgiving!

Utter Devastation

I am horrified by the pictures of damage in the Bahamas caused by Hurricane Dorian. I've never experienced 100+ mile an hour winds longer than 14 hours. I was 22 and not overly concerned about the house being damaged severely (because I was 22) by a Category 3 hurricane which moved in and was gone in 14 hours. Dorian barely moved for 2 days and was much stronger.

Bahamians need tangible and spiritual help. The recovery will be lengthy. Just past the 2 year anniversary of Hurricane Harvey in my area, buildings still being demolished, homeowners still rebuilding. Due to the number of disasters around the world, people move on to the next one they see on the news.

Please keep them in your prayers and consider donating to relief/rebuilding efforts these next months.

Hurricane Relief

Leisure Time

I've been an avid reader since I was a young child. I was one of those children who asked my parents to read to me at bedtime every night. As an adult, my motto is one more paragraph, one more page, one more chapter. Who am I kidding, finish the book and drink more coffee tomorrow morning...

As my mother declined, I kept buying books but did not notice I was not reading them due to less free time and increased responsibility. As August heated up this summer, I began reading again. It's been a nice respite from the heat and humidity. 

A few pages to go before I finish Mornings on Horseback by David McCullough and Anne Graham Lotz's Book Jesus in Me. I finished The Veil by Blake K Healy and Killers of the Flower Moon & the Birth of the FBI by David Grann.

I will be vacationing in Colorado later this month with my sister-in-law. Flying is our mode of transportation because she does not want to drive 1000 miles in my VW Beetle from the Houston area to southwestern Colorado. She claims she doesn't want to go on a road trip with anyone, anywhere, in any type of vehicle, so maybe it's not my driving or car. 

Hopefully, we will see beautiful fall foliage as well as moose and elk. Sunrise in the Rockies, sunset in the Rockies, pure bliss! 



The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
    night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
    no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.

Now along with my Bible, what books will I pack? 

Patmos

In Revelation, we discover the beloved disciple John was exiled to Patmos. A tough Roman penal colony. Physical labor in the mines was difficult for men in their prime much less for an elderly man like John. Harsh conditions to say the least.

John, the disciple who leaned on Jesus at the last supper, the man who took Mary into his home and cared for her the rest of her life at Jesus' request, the man who wrote one of the Gospels and epistles. When times are hard, do we think about John or more likely why Lord, why? Not so much why me, but WHY??? So many messages preached today leave us with the impression there will never be a storm, we will not become sick, we won't be a victim of a crime because by faith we should be living blessed lives 24/7. If that is true why was John banished to a penal colony by a Roman emperor? If that is true why Hurricane Harvey, why cancer, why violence? Because it is not true.

John continued doing what he did before exile, Revelation 1: 10:  I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day...He was observing the Lord's Day. Faith in tough circumstances, the verse continues on with: and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet,  saying, “Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

The Alpha and Omega proceeded to give John a revelation like no other. Scripture tells us when the day of evil comes, not if it comes.  Ephesians 6:10-13

 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 

How do we stand firm? How do I hold the line? My stability is in Jesus and His promises. He describes our armor, He tells us to clothe ourselves in love, Paul reminds us to pray without ceasing and to rejoice which is not easy in the darkest of times. 

Where is my focus? On the world and atrocities or on the Lord and my eternal home? If I am called home in the next 5 minutes am I prepared to leave here or have I been procrastinating about setting something straight with Him? Do I need to forgive someone or ask forgiveness? Are my words gossip or filled with grace? Do I have time to read a trashy romance novel and not read the Bible? Do I have time to shop but not prepare a meal for a neighbor who lost her husband of 64 years? Of course, we need time for R&R, but we must be careful or our time will be consumed by R&R and we will devote little time to the Lord.

John a senior citizen, living in a penal colony, days filled with heavy labor had time to keep the Lord's Day. He had time to worship the One Who is, the One Who was, and the One Who will be. 

Holy, holy, holy - Lord God Almighty! 

Let's stay focused on Him and living out the Gospel instead of the latest political poll, news broadcast, or sensational headline on a magazine cover.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Lessons from Haman

Who was Haman? In the Book of Esther, we discover Haman was a descendant of Agag, the king of the Amalekites. He was a chief minister to King Ahasuerus AKA Xerxes, King of the Persian Empire.  Xerxes gave him a seat of honour higher than all the other nobles. Everyone at the king's gate knelt before him, well almost everyone.

I have a few thoughts about Haman, in my opinion, his ego was big and his skin was thin which is many times a deadly combination. I don't know if he was always conceited or wormed his way into his elevated position and became conceited. I've always imagined him as an Eddie Haskell type on steroids type mixed with pure evil. Of course, my thoughts are just thoughts not necessarily true. 

 He was disgusted that Mordecai (Esther's uncle) would not bow to him. He is a favorite of the king, has money, in today's world he would exit a limo and people would be clamoring to take pictures of him. Alas, Mordecai would not honour him. 

Haman became enraged and decided to exterminate Mordecai and his people the Jews not knowing Queen Esther was Jewish. He talked the king into issuing an edict to kill all the Jews throughout the empire. He built gallows in his yard, 75' tall on which to hang Mordecai. 

From a Christian perspective, we see sin in his life just as we have sin in our life, however, the sin took control and grew. A small flame on the tip of a match became a fire devouring everything in its path which is why we need to take sin to the Cross and pray so we don't become consumed by sin destroying everything in our path.

In Esther 6 we read:

And the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king's palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for him.  And the king's young men told him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” And the king said, “Let him come in.”  So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?” And Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?”  And Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor,  let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, and the horse that the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown is set.  And let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king's most noble officials. Let them dress the man whom the king delights to honor, and let them lead him on the horse through the square of the city, proclaiming before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.’” Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry; take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king's gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned.”  So Haman took the robes and the horse, and he dressed Mordecai and led him through the square of the city, proclaiming before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.”

I can't help but think of the verse from Proverbs at this point: Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. I have not built a gallows in my yard, had murderous rage in my heart that I fan into such a fury I want to kill a person or an entire group of people, but I have been haughty, prideful, and angry (not the be angry but sin not type of angry, but hold a grudge type of anger) not to mention a committed a host of other sins too numerous for this post. Haman was humiliated publicly and Mordecai was still alive. His family as much as told him he was ruined:

Then Mordecai returned to the king's gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered.  And Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him.”

In Esther 7, Haman returns to the palace for a private feast with the king and queen. The fall is imminent. 

So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. And on the second day, as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king again said to Esther, “What is your wish, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.”  Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request.  For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.”  Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has dared to do this?” And Esther said, “A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.  And the king arose in his wrath from the wine-drinking and went into the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm was determined against him by the king. And the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, as Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. And the king said, “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” As the word left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman's face.  Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, “Moreover, the gallows[b] that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing at Haman's house, fifty cubits[c] high.” And the king said, “Hang him on that.” So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated.

Haman's words and actions are at odds with the way the Lord wants us to live our lives serving Him walking in love, forgiveness, and dying to self. When we choose to live for ourselves, we become distant from the Lord and our hearts harden as we extinguish the Holy Spirit in us. 

Let's not be Hamans, let's be women who seek and serve the Lord.

Favor

Have you ever done a favor for someone that drags on and becomes time-consuming, complicated, and downright inconvenient?

If the answer is yes, what is the condition of your heart as the simple act requested by a friend or family member turns into something you did not envision?

I find myself in that situation as I type. My heart condition began with positivity, sure I can do this for you. Happy to help. Then...I noticed as I invested more time than anticipated, 1st hours then days, resentment started to creep into the picture. Now a thought passes through my mind I should have __________________________. Fill in your own blank. Yesterday I rolled my eyes as I realized I was 2 1/2 weeks into it.

So what were my motives when I said yes to the request? Were they pure or did I feel obligated to say yes for future harmony? If the answer is pure, did I think the favor should take an hour or two and then I was done with it? If I answered yes for future harmony was I resentful at the beginning and decided an hour or 2 was generous enough?

I can say at this point, repentance is required of me. The person asking the favor is not in error, I am. I am not doing the favor so I can pat myself on the back and think myself fabulous, I am assisting someone who needs it.

It is not about me, it is about loving people and being Christ's hands and feet here on Earth.

Gifts from God

Most of this week, before noon the temperatures have been well over 90 and by noon 100 or more. Not unusual for southeast Texas, but certainly disliked...by me!

Shortly before 9:00 a.m. I went outside to water potted plants and hanging baskets.  I was not wearing my glasses or contacts so I could not see well, I will say everything was beautiful in a Monet way. As I watered I thanked the Lord for this day and a few other things. I turned around to say goodbye to my husband as he left for work when a large butterfly appeared and stayed near me, it was large enough I could see it clearly. I thanked the Lord for the butterfly and then a cool breeze blew over me. Unexpected to say the least It made a hot humid morning much more pleasant. I thanked Him for the breeze too. The breeze stopped as I turned off the water and coiled the hose. Just a butterfly and breeze or gifts from God? I think they were gifts from God.

Spree Free House

To the best of my knowledge, there is not a Spree left in our house. Hopefully, Wayne will send more next June for my birthday.

We've had a 2-day break from the summer heat, a cool front moved through a couple of days ago and lowered the temperature and humidity, 89 for a high at the end of July is as unexpected as it is wonderful. It was so pleasant, I sat in a lawn chair watching butterflies flit around the yard. Except for yard work I generally avoid the outdoors at this time of year unless I am on a mountaintop in Colorado. 

I began thinking about what else I've avoided the last couple of weeks. The list includes but is not limited to:

Unpleasant People

Finishing the job of selling/donating all my parents' belongings. 

Gathering clothes at my house to donate. (Pride tells me at least I boxed up miscellaneous kitchen items, but procrastination is procrastination and a pat on the back is the last thing I need.)

God - many days I've given Him the leftovers of my time, emotions, and love. Instead of first He has been in last place some days.  I don't know why. I know in His mercy when I ask for forgiveness with a sincere heart, He forgives me. His love is unconditional and perfect. He alone can give us solace in a time of trauma or sadness. I should avoid everything until I've spent time with Him each day. 

If you feel stalled or stuck, remember these words from the Gospel of John:


Jesus said, "I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.  I and the Father are one.”

He holds us in His hand. We need to seek Him and keep our focus on Him. We must turn away from distractions the world throws our way, be heavenly minded, and pray for forgiveness. Ignoring things or sweeping them under the rug does not free us to pray for others and the world. 

Live today in the freedom we only find in Him. 

Spree

My cousin Wayne and I have had a joke about Spree candy for fifty years. The 1st time we ate Spree we were sitting on his back porch, splitting a roll while his younger brother napped. Wayne popped a red one in his mouth and said this tastes like a rose smells. Red Spree still has a special place in my heart.

For my birthday, Wayne donated to my online fundraiser benefiting the Lone Survivor Foundation. So, I was surprised to learn a package from him was on the way, it arrived last night. 5 LBS of Spree, yes you read that correctly, 5 pounds of Spree. My husband and I broke into it before dinner. (We probably need to schedule dental appointments and check into Spree-hab.) 

Wayne and I differ wildly in our political views but we love one another. We always respect one another and do not speak rudely or harshly to one another which does not seem to be the norm in today's culture. 

No one is perfect, we all fall short, but it hurts my heart to see Christians rudely and cruelly expressing their opinions for or against the President, for or against a topic appearing in the headlines. We are to be known by our love not our self-righteous angry defense of being pro-life or pro-choice, pro-death penalty or anti-death penalty, pro/anti (fill in the blank)________________.  At times the idea of being a hermit living off the grid has merit.

The Bible has much to say about the condition of our hearts and our words. Below are a few verses in the ESV:

Ps 34:13-14

Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

Eph 4:29 

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

1 Pet 4:8

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins

Matt 7:2-4

For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye?

So instead of being huffy and pointing out what is wrong or spending time rebutting posts on Facebook, why don't we pray for the Lord's will to be done? We must choose to remain focused on Him and not others and their faults. If social media brings out behaviour which is anything but Christ-like, take a break! Step away from your device and get some fresh air. Turn off the CNN/FOX/MSNBC and go outside and love your neighbor.