Three Little Words

I Love You.

The first thought to this phrase is: "Aaaaaawwwhh!!" but I want to look at what this really means.

Definition of love: (From the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)
I would like to direct your attention down to number1a and 4a-

strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties
unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another

 I think this should give us a whole new perspective on the phrase "I love you" It isn't just for a man and a woman who are "in love" or even just for a mother and her child, in essence what you are saying is:

I have a strong affection for you based out of my unselfish and loyal concern for you.

In this case I think we should be much more careful about who we say "I love you" to, why we are saying it, and what we really mean. There is a big difference between, 'I love you" and "I kinda care about you"

What people don't realize though, is that most of the time it is the people around you who seem the most happy that need to be told, I love you, the most. Masks are so dangerous, and generally, they look like happy. So today, go tell someone "I love you," and mean it. Because you never know, you might just save their life.

 -Danielle

Facebook Does Not Equal Evil

I sat there, looking at the statuses, looking at the names... I was wondering at what these people were far to willing to tell me. Half the names I don't recognize... More than that I don't remember one memory with. That is messed up. I feel like there is an ocean between me and my Facebook friends, an ocean that cannot be crossed by wall posts, and "pokes", and an insurmountable number of things you can now do that I am unaware of.

I stopped using Facebook a few months ago, more, I was just avoiding... But still, instead of leaving me joyful and fulfilled, it has been leaving me empty,sad, and lonely.

Perhaps this is why so many more people are using sites like match.com, and e-harmony. I promise I don't have 200+ friends, and frankly Facebook reminds me of that.

Instead of being radical and saying Facebook is evil and we should all stop using it, I instead say, Facebook is a great thing, but we should be using it more wisely. Instead of posting a stat about that party you went to last night, post something encouraging, like how God is working in your life. The worst thing about FB to me, is all the useless, unintelligible, and just plain odd statuses. They drive me insane.

So today, remember, Facebook is just like anything else in life, and should be used to encourage.Quick Sidenote is this applies to blogs too... Be careful what you post, and remember who it can affect.

Have a good rest of your day!

-Danielle

The Most Dangerous Word

I have come to the conclusion that the word "we" is the most dangerous word in the English language.

Hear me out on this one.

Example: "Sorry Mom, I broke your favorite vase"
               "Sorry Mom, we broke your favorite vase."

See the difference? Stay with me.

The difference between the two sentences is tremendous and extremely consequential. In sentence one, you have someone owning up to their sin and being totally honest, in sentence two, you have someone dragging another person into a situation that should only be between the vase breaker and their mother. Now even though Brother and Sister Bearenstien might have broken the vase together, (Like my reference there?) they need to own up to the sin separately. The problem with apologizing as a group is that no one really owns the sin, instead, a group apologizes for something individuals caused. You could say "Yeah mom, we are really sorry," and you don't have to be sorry because it is not you that is sorry, the group is sorry. It is the difference of getting a letter of apology from a big company, or a personal letter of apology from the company's president. You would feel much better with the later. 

My point is I feel that all to often, instead of owning our sins as individuals, we wrap other people up into it to make ourselves feel better, and there is absolutely no redemption. Apologies are not about about saying the right words, but the heart attitude, and you can only know the condition of your own heart, never the heart of others. It is all about accountability.

Now I hope you understand why I believe the word "We" is the most dangerous word in the English language.

Goodnight!

Danielle Fife