Recently I started tweeting because I wanted to use it to share thoughts about God and encourage others on their journey to know and love Him. Most of the time I tweet about thoughts that come to me after I've sent the weekly devotional. The tweets I write are also included on the Facebook page. I'm erratic in tweeting. I don't do it all the time. Sometimes I read or think something that must be tweeted.
I've only been tweeting for few months so I have a lot to learn. I noticed that some tweets have the @ sign or the # sign. I asked my daughter what those signs mean. I look to her as my expert in tweeting because she is the only one in our family who uses it. She uses tweeting differently than I do. For her it is a way to keep up with her friends and let them know what she is up to. As a resident expert on tweeting, she answered my questions by giving me this example of something she might tweet: My mom is asking me questions about how to tweet #oldpeopleusingtweeter. When you put a hashmark (# sign) in a tweet it assigns a subject that can be searched. This way other children who are experiencing the frustration of trying to teach their parents how to tweet can find solace in each other. (I want you to know that I was having this conversation with her through texting on my phone, and I'm writing this week's Tea Time on my Ipad while my husband is driving us to Alabama to see her--at least I'm impressed with myself!)
In spite of my daughter's thoughts about my desire to understand more about the new technological communication, I learned an important spiritual lesson. In between texting my daughter, I noticed the # sign at the bottom of the screen where I send my tweets. All on my own, I clicked on it and different categories came up. They were potential hashmarks that were suggested for me. When I read them, I was amazed by how well the program knew me. Unbeknownst to me, the program had a decent sense of what is important to me over those months. I got the sense that it knew me quite well. The potential hashmarks that were suggested to add to my tweets referenced what is important to me: God, prayer, quotes, Jesus, etc.; I have to say, I was impressed. As I read them off to my family, I mentioned people in my life who should know me that well but don't. My son said, Well they don't take the time to listen to you like the computer program does. I later learned that the list actually comes from the hashmarks most commonly used by the people who follow me. (This information came from my daughter--the expert in tweeting.)
The spiritual lesson remains. God knows us better than we even know ourselves. Imagine if I could see the words God would use to describe me. They would be more spot-on than the categories on my twitter program. What if I could see myself the way God sees me? If I could actually take in how much God knows me, I think I would simply be in awe of Him. With all that He knows as architect of the universe, He knows minute details about me.
There is something really special about being known. We all want to be known. But we may not want that when we really think about it. Jeremiah 17:9 says, The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? What is so amazing about being known by God is that He knows the desperately wicked parts of me too. He still loves me though He knows me better than I know myself. We might be surprised that something we have long forgotten and thought worthless is known deeply by God. He uses all that we have in life for our good. That gives me a lot to think about. I am known by God!
Copyright © 2011. Deborah R. Newman www.teatimeforyoursoul.com. All Rights Reserved.
I've only been tweeting for few months so I have a lot to learn. I noticed that some tweets have the @ sign or the # sign. I asked my daughter what those signs mean. I look to her as my expert in tweeting because she is the only one in our family who uses it. She uses tweeting differently than I do. For her it is a way to keep up with her friends and let them know what she is up to. As a resident expert on tweeting, she answered my questions by giving me this example of something she might tweet: My mom is asking me questions about how to tweet #oldpeopleusingtweeter. When you put a hashmark (# sign) in a tweet it assigns a subject that can be searched. This way other children who are experiencing the frustration of trying to teach their parents how to tweet can find solace in each other. (I want you to know that I was having this conversation with her through texting on my phone, and I'm writing this week's Tea Time on my Ipad while my husband is driving us to Alabama to see her--at least I'm impressed with myself!)
In spite of my daughter's thoughts about my desire to understand more about the new technological communication, I learned an important spiritual lesson. In between texting my daughter, I noticed the # sign at the bottom of the screen where I send my tweets. All on my own, I clicked on it and different categories came up. They were potential hashmarks that were suggested for me. When I read them, I was amazed by how well the program knew me. Unbeknownst to me, the program had a decent sense of what is important to me over those months. I got the sense that it knew me quite well. The potential hashmarks that were suggested to add to my tweets referenced what is important to me: God, prayer, quotes, Jesus, etc.; I have to say, I was impressed. As I read them off to my family, I mentioned people in my life who should know me that well but don't. My son said, Well they don't take the time to listen to you like the computer program does. I later learned that the list actually comes from the hashmarks most commonly used by the people who follow me. (This information came from my daughter--the expert in tweeting.)
The spiritual lesson remains. God knows us better than we even know ourselves. Imagine if I could see the words God would use to describe me. They would be more spot-on than the categories on my twitter program. What if I could see myself the way God sees me? If I could actually take in how much God knows me, I think I would simply be in awe of Him. With all that He knows as architect of the universe, He knows minute details about me.
There is something really special about being known. We all want to be known. But we may not want that when we really think about it. Jeremiah 17:9 says, The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? What is so amazing about being known by God is that He knows the desperately wicked parts of me too. He still loves me though He knows me better than I know myself. We might be surprised that something we have long forgotten and thought worthless is known deeply by God. He uses all that we have in life for our good. That gives me a lot to think about. I am known by God!
Copyright © 2011. Deborah R. Newman www.teatimeforyoursoul.com. All Rights Reserved.
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