:: reality ::

lastnight i talked to brian about blogs, facebook, myspace. apparently facebook is the college virtual meeting place of choice. i was just glad i'd heard of it before realizing that one of my friends is using it as his method of screening new friends. fortunately baylor's magazine had just printed an article about this so i was educated. i knew that it was created by harvard students (figures). i also knew that the people who keep this site up have almost every school in the nation in their network... including good ole SDCC.

what i didn't know (which is more important than what i did know) is what motivates a person to have themselves registered in all these online "things." what if you aren't in the facebook? or don't have a myspace? or (gasp!) don't write about your terribly exciting life in a blog?

is it possible that the rules for being popular just got easier?

let me explain: i have a friend who lives on myspace. hers really is great. i think she has something like 147 "friends." she has a great profile picture, posts slightly questionable surveys (the intrigue...), and participates in forum discussions. in the myspace community, she's a pretty good citizen.

but let me tell you about her. she is actually shy, a little reclusive, and never the person you'll find working a crowd. the question i keep coming back to is, which one is the real her? is this myspace personality going to turn into her reality?

reality: the word has changed. the world has changed. mingo and i were talking a while ago about the secret life of teenagers. the question posed is, which one is the secret: life at home or life with friends? it has always been the given that the big secret is the party/friend life. reality is that the home life is now the one that is kept in the closet. the roles have been changed; the secret is now switched. in a way i wonder if this is what happens with these online phenomenons as well. there is a blurry line but people cross it, the line determining which profile is ours. is it the one people see when they're standing beside us or the one we crafted that is sure to include just enough donald miller to sound intelligent and enough postal service to be current.

or maybe it isn't even postal service anymore. i can't keep up. i give up.

:: worth ::

my net worth today, according to wells fargo, is $-2,742.70. that's because i have student loans and a credit card, both of which are "liabilities." and these liabilities do not outweigh my assets.

see what i hate is that terms like "asset" and "worth" are used to describe me and my monetary situation. i defer to donald miller's wisdom on this point and can't remember which came first, the use of those terms for people or for money. but it doesn't matter so much which came first because we have both chicken and egg making a mess of everything. am i really worth a negative amount? say it's not true! and are my savings account and retirement fund truly my assets? (here i thought all along that it was my outgoing personality and strong moral sense)

thanks for clearing that up, wells fargo.

:: meant to live ::

we've all heard it. switchfoot sang it, and it's a good thing they did. that song has been inspiring this generation for the past few years. i'm not sure it's made a huge difference in people's plans, but it sure has been a powerful background song in mission trip slideshows throughout churches across the country.

see that's the problem; we're all in church. actually, that's not the problem. the real problem is that we're all at work. i'm at work right now. it's 5:00 so i don't feel guilty writing this post, but i would have fifteen minutes ago. that's because my hours of bondage are from 8-5, with one glorious hour of freedom in the middle.

and that's why i call it the problem. i was thinking a few days ago that i used to be so critical of my american peers and especially those older than us. they aren't involved in many ministries; they don't give their time to missions; they aren't doing enough things that actually matter. and i know i've heard plenty of sermons to make me think i was right. get off your butts, america, says the pastor. do something with yourself, church. don't waste your time.

and the other day i had a sort of revelation. just what time do you mean, pastor? when exactly is the church supposed to be getting mobilized? during their lunch hour?

yes, that's a very good idea. i mean, it really is one of the only times of the day they have free.

see the problem isn't the church, it's the culture. the culture has taken away all time from people, who are the church, so there isn't room to move even if they wanted to.

"we were meant to live for so much more..."

i think that more is not doing more things in free time but actually being more free with time. america, unshackle yourself! take back your forty hours!