Social Media - Sometimes I Don't Get It

Hmmmm....The other day I read a friend's post on Facebook. She (we'll call friend A) was at a restaurant enjoying the food and company of a friend (friend B.) Two posts later friend B (my friend, too) posted that she was enjoying eating at this restaurant conversing with her friend. (friend A)

To be honest with you, I don't get this. Can someone explain it to me? If you are enjoying conversation and food with a friend, why do you feel the need to tell everyone about the moment you are having? Doesn't it rob that moment? A little?

Maybe I'm just getting tired of social media. I hope not. I enjoy, truly enjoy, connecting with folks. But when I read a post like "I have so much to do and I need to get started," of course I think, Well then why are you on Facebook? I recently rejoined the Twitter world, telling myself it would be better if I just didn't follow a ton of people. But I chose to follow an author I enjoy. He tweets often, mostly with pictures of what he is doing, eating, feeling... I guess because he is famous people want to know those details. Right?

I have to confess my rant may be hypocritical. I mean, I am the one who chose to follow this guy. I often get on Facebook in order to procrastinate doing something I should do.

I wonder how Jesus would feel about Facebook and Twitter. I bet He'd love the social interaction, being a proponent of relationships. But would He understand the motivations behind the silliness? Well, He's God. Of course He would understand it. But would He engage in it, too?

I just can't imagine Jesus posting "I'm at a restaurant enjoying a good steak and a great conversation with Robbie."

Or again, maybe He would. What do you think? Leave a comment....or tweet me. :0)

Does God Dance?

(This post is a rewrite of one I did last year)


Do you dance with abandon? Or do you “keep it on the inside?”


Remember that Robin Williams line in The Birdcage? "You do an eclectic celebration of the dance! You do Fosse Fosse Fosse Fosse Fosse! You do Martha Graham Martha Graham Martha Graham, or Twyla Twyla Twyla, or Michael Kidde Michael Kidde Michael Kidde Michael Kidde, or Madonna Madonna Madonna Madonna... but you keep it all inside."


That's me. I love to dance, but my passion is on the inside. Oh, but if you could see me on the dance floor of my imagination you would be in awe. I have unbelievable moves! And ones that don't injure me either.


I guess it helps that I have this great dance teacher,God.


Is that sacrilegious? Is it making God smaller to ascribe an attribute to Him that we usually reserve for the Fred Astaires, the Paula Abduls or children? Absolutely not. Dancing is a universal joy. Of course, Elohim of joy dances!


So how does God dance? If I said He waltzes and doesn’t know the worm that would be putting Him in a box. God knows them all. And one of the joys of my life is that He wants me to dance with Him in every situation, no matter the style.


He just wants to be with us. He yearns for the intimacy of hanging with us.


Today God wants to dance with you. Right where you are. If you are miserable and crying, let Him hold you. Put your feet on His feet. If you are happy, try standing up and putting your nose in the air like Snoopy and do the Charlie Brown dance. Imagine Jesus right beside you. You just might end up laughing out loud. Or dancing with abandon…at least on the inside.


If you danced today with God, what kind of dance would you be doing?

I Got Versed!

Hebrews 4:12 says,
"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."

The word of God is pointed, sharp and cutting. In Ephesians 6 the Word of God is called the sword of the Spirit. It's a weapon.

But like any weapon, if it is used incorrectly it can be hurtful and damaging. Blood can gush out. Or tears.

A couple weeks ago I got versed. That's what I call it. I went to an old student's facebook page and he was talking about not watching Lost, the tv show. I happen to be a big Lost fan and so I commented on his post, "Oh come on over to the darkside. You'll love it." After my comment I put a little sideways smiley face - :0) - an email and facebook way to say "I'm kidding." No big deal, right? In fact, he commented in response to me, "It's all dark." Now I know this kid from way back and I know he's got a wicked sense of humor. Dry. Funny. So I chuckled.

And then...

The next girl who commented is someone I don't know. I will admit this and say hey, maybe she was joking. But I don't know her and there was no smiley face or LOL (laughing out loud) after her comment. She said, "And you know we shouldn't have fellowship with the darkness."

What? I read this and said aloud to John, "I got versed!"

She was referring to 2 Corinthians 2:16 when Paul is talking about being unequally yoked with unbelievers.

Have you ever been versed? Like that? I think that's like taking a dagger and tossing it into a crowd. Scriptures are for teaching and convicting, but not like that. Not willy-nilly. Not to judge someone you've never met. I think the best use of the Scripture is when we allow the Spirit to use it to convict ourselves. Or when we use it with others who have our permission, be it in a church setting or a Bible study. Yep, I'm not all that excited about street corner preachers, but if God wants to use them, He's not gonna ask my permission. :0)

Scripture is used inappropriately and out of context all the time. I'm sure I've done this. But I hope I don't "verse" others. If I do, tell me. John told me he hates it when Christians verse each other with Romans 8:28, "All things work together for good." Say someone has a tragedy, and some well meaning? but ignorant Christian recites Romans 8:28. Not wise in most situations. It's like saying "This is God's will" after someone dies. Maybe it is true literally, but it's the last thing the grieved want or need to hear.

So I'm ranting a little bit. But brothers and sisters in Christ, watch how you use our Lord's words. Make sure love is behind your comments. Don't make someone leave you and say, "I got versed!"

And by the way, Lost is on tonight. If you think I'm fellowshipping with the darkness by watching it, keep that little judgement to yourselves. :0)

My Thin Place

My thin place came through a dream. Real. Startling. Life-changing.

I am swimming in a pool of clear blue water. The sensation of the sun’s warmth and the water’s chill fill me with contentment. This is my favorite place in the world.

I begin to feel oozing and stickiness around my legs and my torso. In an instant, the pool is filled with black tar. I’m stuck. The stench is nauseating.

God’s voice resounds. “Robbie, do you know what this is?”

I know immediately.

My husband’s addiction to pornography has ripped our home apart. We are trying to recover, but no amount of counseling or prayer can take away the anger. Anger has moved into our home, a roommate that sits with us at meals, lies in the middle of our bed and casts a spell of silence in our car.

It is unfair. I am a Godly woman who does not deserve to be paying for his mistakes.

“Yes, God, I know. This tar is John’s sin and I am stuck in the middle of it.”

“No, Robbie. It is your sin. It is all yours. But I can help you out of it.”

I see a hand at the side of pool.

“Let me help you.”

I wake up sweating. Conviction from the Holy Spirit dampens my skin and squeezes my heart.

That was the beginning of recovery for me. My thin place became the genesis of a discovery of self, forgiveness and hope. Seven years later, my husband and I swim in the waters of grace.


259 words

This post was written in response to a challenge by Mary DeMuth. Mary's new memoir, Thin Places, has just released. In this spiritual memoir, Mary reflects on the "thin places" of her life; places where she was acutely aware of God's presence.

This challenge I participated in is also a contest to win a Kindle. You’ve got until midnight tonight to submit your entry.

Tea with the Father

You are here.

You sit among the ladies grouped together at three tables. Their red hats and bright purple pins, lovely accents to their silver hair. They eat their spinach salads and yeast rolls telling stories of earlier days. Chasing children and lovers lost. One woman talks about her mother of 94 years who got married last month. Another chats about taking care of Oprah’s dogs while she vacationed in Aspen. Bragging about grandchildren peppers the conversation and seasons it with laughter. I feel You smile. You love these ladies.

Father, You are here.

You walk with the teenager server and her practiced smile. She pours tea delicately, carefully. Her quick attention to the needs of her customers delights You. As thoughts of young love or plans with friends cross her face, You gently remind her of her duties. You smile as You see her two little boys, yet to be born. Her service today will help her serve them. You know this. You are with her.

You are here.

You are with me. I sit at a table for two sipping ginger peach hot tea in a charming tea cup painted in tiny yellow roses and olive leaves. The joy of being a girl, sipping water from a goblet and resting in Your love overwhelms me. I can almost see You sitting across from me. You are smiling.

And the phone rings.

“Hello.”
“Mom?”
“Hi Noah, what’s up?”
“Remember the sucker sale?”
“Oh, that’s right. I was going to give you a dollar, wasn’t I?”
“Yeah.”
“When is it?”
“In fifteen minutes.”
“I’ll come by.”
“Okay. Bye.”

And God, You are with my boy.
And You smile.

Is He with you? Look around. Feel His smile.

We Need Elbows

“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:4-5

Sometimes the “edit button” between my brain and mouth doesn’t work. I have many stories of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. With maturity, I’ve gotten better at using self control but I still hear inappropriate words fly out of my mouth willy-nilly.

Once when I was teaching, I stood before an auditorium of students to make an announcement. A fellow teacher had just gotten married, so I congratulated her. I heard myself saying, “Yay for marital sex!”

I saw some shocked faces but mostly just heard the laughter. Then I spied my principal’s face. He was not happy.

Last night I attended my writers’ meeting at Barnes and Noble. I’d never met the speaker and I was quite interested in her topic. In the middle of her speech I was in deep thought about what she was saying and apparently my face showed some confusion. She looked at me, mid-presentation, and said, “You look like you have a question. Your face is wrinkled.”

The “edit button” was broken. I said, “It’s gas.”

My mother used to tell me “Robbie, think before you speak.” She said that a lot.

Last night I heard laughter and I also heard my mother rolling over in her grave.

My personality and my personality defects are all one big, happy package that God wants to prune and use. He loves my humor, I’m sure of it and He probably giggled last night. But sometimes I have a problem reconciling my personality and my desire to be a Godly woman. See, when I picture a Godly gal I envision an impeccably dressed, wise, confident and tactful lady. I don’t see a large woman who interrupts a guest speaker’s presentation with wise cracks about flatulence.

You know what? I AM WRONG. God loves me just like I am. He made me. As I grow in the Lord, I want self control to be a more evident fruit of the Spirit in my life. But I also want to glorify God through the way I am. If you have committed your life to Christ, you are part of His body. And in the body of Christ, I am like the elbow, needed to support and move the arm. I will never be a hand, like Mother Theresa who touched so many. I was not made to be an eye, like Billy Graham who saw straight into peoples’ hearts and identified what they needed. I am an elbow, where the funny bone is located, and I thank God for it. I pray that as you read this you will be encouraged to identify yourself as a precious part of the body of Christ, needed and loved.

Just like you are, “edit button” or not.

This is this week's Joyvotion, a free devo I can send to your email box once a week. Just let me know by emailing me at robbieiobst at hotmail dot com

Is God in Haiti?

I love Jesus and I try to follow God's teaching in the Bible. But I don't know God's mind. Isaiah 55:8 says "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.

So when I look at the TV and see the devastation in Haiti, I wonder "What are you doing, God?" So many people dead. So much destruction. So much pain.

I believe that God is completely in control and so when I hear someone say God had nothing to do with this quake, I don't agree. I also cringed when I heard Pat Robertson imply this earthquake happened because Haiti is under a curse because of a pack with the Devil the country made years ago. Really, Pat? Seriously? I don't think so.

What I do believe is that God is a weaver of a tapestry. A beautiful masterpiece. We cannot see the front, just the back and the mess of knotted threads. Corrie Ten Boom wrote about God's tapestry after she visited a man dying of polio. Why would God allow this man to suffer so much? Only God knows the beautiful tapesty He is weaving through this man's misery. Only God.

I believe that part of God's weaving is what is going on in Haiti. Do I believe He caused it? I believe He either caused it or allowed it. But of course, He knew it was going to happen. He's God. He can take this horrible earthquake and make some wonderful things happen, even as He is comforting those in tremendous pain.

I watched two people die, including my mother. I've lost my father and other relatives. I have counted and I've been to twenty funerals, all of people who I knew
well. Friends when I was in school died. I've had two close neighbors commit suicide. Students I've taught have died. I am a little acquainted with grief and death.

And last year, I spent a month wondering if my husband was going to have brain damage for the rest of his life.

True, I've never had my house crumble or lived through a disaster like those in Haiti. I don't claim to understand what they are going through. But I know what I have experienced. I know that God uses pain and grief like threads weaved to make a beautiful picture.

So is God in Haiti right now, right this moment? ABSOLUTELY. He is comforting and loving so many. He is sitting right now with a mother who lost her child. He is holding a woman who doesn't know where her husband is. He is giving strength to a man's arms to move rubble and find folks. He is stroking the hearts of the orphans who are wondering what's next? He is gathering with the MANY Christians in Haiti laying His hands on them to do His work in the flesh. He is whispering to those who don't know Him that He is there and wants to have a relationship with them. He is on the planes landing with supplies and food. He is giving faith to those close to the Archbishop who died, assuring them that His Grace is dancing with the King. He is there! I believe this with all my heart.

May those in Haiti realize His presence and embrace His love for them. May those like you and I, sitting safely in front of our laptops, PRAY for them and GIVE money to the Red Cross or reputable organizations like New Missions. May our Lord pour out His strength and grace upon all those dealing with this tragedy.