The air up there in the clouds is very pure and fine, bracing and delicious. And why shouldn’t it be? - it is the same the angels breathe. - Mark Twain.

This sums up my excitement for the upcoming trip! Words cannot describe (they probably can; I’m just too lazy to delve into my vocabulary) the building anticipation of getting onto an airplane knowing that the proceeding times will be filled with endless (and by “endless” I mean “nine”) hours of long awaited movies that I was too proud (although some may say cheap) to see in the cinema on account of my desire to keep Toy Story 3 as the last cinema-experienced movie I’ve had the pleasure of seeing. 

I think I’ll stop typing. 

someone get me a box of tissues. 

I may just be obsessed with the 50s right about now. Oh, the glorious days of high-waisted bikinis and flared skirts. 

Please don’t hate on me but…

I don’t even understand why Taylor Swift is even nominated for the CMAs every year, and I don’t understand why people are so upset she didn’t win an award for a genre her album doesn’t fit in. 

I LIKE her winning awards. I think she’s sweet and genuine and beautiful and talented, but don’t you think it’s a little excessive that she’s nominated for awards in the COUNTRY MUSIC scene when she doesn’t even write any true country songs anymore? She’s all pop, guys!

That’s all. 

untitled observations

Let me preface this first by saying that 1. I don’t claim to not be a hypocrite but this is something that’s been made apparent to me time and time again through the vehicle of Facebook, 2. I’m not sorry if I offend you, because honestly if you are, you probably do this, 3. I don’t intend for this to be an expository sermon or a biblical exegesis - these are merely my observations. 

Two-facedness. Let’s face it, if you’re a girl you’ve been there and done it. If you deny that chances are (except for the 0.000001% who you’re probably not - remember you’re always the rule never the exception) you’re probably still doing it now. Ha. Controversial already? I hope not, I’m just starting. I’ve been there. I’ve done it. Year 9 - 10 were the most terrible years of my existence, and I say it already with the unnecessary melodrama edited out. Honestly, I remember so many friendships ruined, words thrown across, lies and rumors spread. I don’t ever want to revisit those years again. But thankfully, we’ve grown out of it, right? 

I don’t know about you, but two-facedness doesn’t just happen in the secular society but it happens within Christian circles. Some call it trolling, others call it joking (it has a sting though!). Well, what is two-facedness? 

According to thefreedictionary.com (I know, my research efforts constantly earn me a HD in my reports) it defines two-faced as deceitful, insincere, hypocritical. 

Huh? When does this ever happen? Well, Facebook is a vehicle for trolling and for “joking” (which is a mask for putting people down and being able to be free of the consequences). To be perfectly honest with you, I’ve done it too. Although it’s not usually in my normal Facebook habits to look at people’s statuses and rejoice in an open opportunity to comment with an unnecessarily untasteful phrase in order to conjure up “likes” to fuel my ego. Sorry, that was a bit of a rant. I’m probably going to take the link to this post off Facebook because that was a bit pointed. 

I’m going to pull the bandaid off as quickly as I can. 

What’s the point of writing something like “how much money did you find?” or “cool story bro” or “you’re really cool” (complete with a sarcastic tone) or something equally unloving/unproductive/disencouraging/misleading/silly/trivial and then writing an encouraging “Christian” message on someone else’s wall/status/post that’s completed by a Bible passage, “praise God”, and “God bless”? I don’t know. Does it show that you’re a child of God if with your tongue you’re unnecessarily cutting down people to the glory of yourself and the joy of yourself on a few people’s Facebooks, and also praising God on others? (Sound familiar? It’s from James 3:9-12. Not the Facebook part.) 

Regarding genuine messages of encouragement, let’s take it a step further: Do you really need to be posting stuff like “I’m praying for you <insert further Christianese> God bless man!” on such a public domain? Again I say: I’ve done it too. Please don’t call me a hypocrite because I recognise I’ve also done the same thing (just puttin’ my defence in first before you attack me). But it’s just a question that hits home; I mean, what can I say that is meaningful on a friend’s wall that can’t be said in a private message or e-mail or text message or face-to-face? The answer is nothing really.  

My exhortation to you and to myself? Let’s not put down others - especially those whom we call brothers and sisters - for the sake of mustering “likes” from others or for the sake of some easy shot at a cheap joke (witty intelligence is always a good thing - thank you, Good Will Hunting, for that trivial lesson in life). Let’s not make this double art of trolling/Christianese happen (just like “fetch” never quite did). And you know what? When you stop chances are people will notice and will see that James 3 holds true in your life. What’s the worst that can happen? You save someone from humiliation and hurt. What’s the best thing that can happen? Your Father in Heaven looks down at you and is delighted with your growing fruit of self-control.