Life Goes On

This morning I read a blog by Patricia Hickman, an author, explaining how to effectively communicate your faith in fiction writing. One phrase struck me as key; show and tell witness. I think one of the hurdles that many believers find difficult to leap over is knowing that their lives don't mesh with their spoken story. In my personal experience, the most gratifying witnessing experiences have come from someone acknowledging that they see something different and attractive in my life. This provides a perfect opening for sharing my faith story and, more times than not, result in the person taking the step of faith to trust Jesus. In looking at the ministry of Jesus, many of his encounters which led to sharing the Good News sprang from people recognizing a difference in Him that drew them to seek to know why. The woman at the well, the rich young ruler and Nicodemus are all examples of how His life prompted questions about what others could do to experience such a life. A daily...

This past week my 96 year old father passed away. Sitting by his bedside only moments after his passing, I entered my "status" on FaceBook and Twitter. Within minutes I was receiving condolences from family and friends all across the country, and responses are still coming in two days later. Then, I faced the problem of getting my wife to an airport some 75 miles from our home. She had not travelled with me from Florida to Alabama to be at my dad's bedside, but would now need to come for the funeral. I posted on FaceBook and Twitter the need that we had, and before the day was over we had found someone going from Sebring, our home, to Orlando airport. To make it even better, it was someone we knew. I come away from these recent experiences with the realization that Social Networking is a tool that can be utilized in many very practical ways. In addition to renewing old acquaintences, keeping up with friends and family, there is the potential for disseminating import...