Prayer Ponderings

God never convicts us without equipping us. I've been experiencing conviction about my prayer life recently, and God just keeps bombarding me on the subject.

Two of the books I'd already added to my 2014 Summer Reading List are on prayer: Wrestling Prayer, by Eric Ludy, and The Complete Works of E.M. Bounds on Prayer.

Then Bro. Gary mentioned that he is preparing a Bible study on prayer for this fall.

Then I was trying to locate my copy of Wrestling Prayer, and in the process, I came across my sermon notes notebook from this time two years ago.  I flipped it open, and the first thing I saw were sermon notes from my first night at Grace after we decided God was leading us out there.  Bro. Gary was preaching through James on Sunday night at the time, and his sermon that night was on James 5:17-18, on prayer. :)

The notes were just what I needed to read today.  I thought I'd share a bit of them here (in true, sketchy note form :)  If something doesn't make sense...it's just my notes, not the sermon itself. :)):

Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

~James 5:17-18

Prayer is righteous.
Prayer is fervent.
Prayer is passionate.
Prayer is according to God's Word.

Prayer is the most powerful weapon on earth, and we don't use it. We miss the boat completely!

Elijah--1 Kings 17-18
There wasn't anything special about Elijah, but he was God's special man. He was obeying God.

Prayer isn't getting our will done in Heaven, but God's will done on earth. 

~Robert Law

The Word and our prayers have to match up...we can't separate them. We have to know God's promises in order to pray them. 

Elijah believed and obeyed.  (I Kings 18:42-46)  Elijah prayed consistently and persistently.  The posture of his prayer was important.  He kept praying and sent the other guy to look 7 times. 

Matthew 6:5-7 He didn't pray a bunch of "wordy words".  Huge difference between "wordy words"/vain repetitions and true persistent prayer. 

Matthew 26:36-46/2 Corinthians 12: 7ff - Both prayed 3 times, both prayed the will of God. 

We have the same nature as Elijah, "but he was a praying dude." 

Our prayers...often selfish, lazy, religious words.  Our hearts are often not in it. 

We are to be specific in our prayers. Are we really serious about our prayers? Do we really mean it? Never giving up hope...remembering God lives in eternity and we live in time. 

Psalm 108 Worship and praise...God inhabits the praise of His people!

Praying for our country/leaders.

Praying for our pastor..that God will give him the words he needs to speak. 

Praying for cohesiveness as a church. (Acts...the church in one accord.)

Is there something God has been bombarding you with lately?  Has there been a time when you've felt a need to dig deeper in the area of prayer?  I'd love to hear more about it in the comments here or on Facebook.

I'd also love to hear your suggestions for keeping track of prayer needs and answers, both long-term and short term.  I've used various systems over the years, but looking for ideas as I decide what is the best fit right now.

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If a post or posts on Ponderings of an Elect Exile has been a blessing to you, would you do me a huge favor?  Please share the link to Ponderings with your friends using the social media share buttons below or the "pin it" button above.  Thank you! 

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Welcome to Ponderings of an Elect Exile!  Whether you are new here or a faithful friend and regular reader, I'm glad you're here!  If you aren't already following, I'd love to have you join us for the 2014 Ponderings.  It's easy to do, in a variety of ways!  You can follow via  Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest, or  find me on Instagram as Jenbh68. You can also sign up in the sidebar to receive new posts by email.    

Pew Ponderings: Tough Love!

I made it to church tonight by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin, as the Three Little Pigs would say. And I'm SO glad I did! I've mentioned before the Bible Study we're doing right now, Behold Your God.   It is SO good...probably THE best Bible Study I've ever done.  We're almost finished, and I already want to go through it again...there's just so much to take in each week that I need at least another time through to get it all!

More about that soon, but tonight was really excellent.  I took 8 pages of notes on the video!  I was SO glad to be there.  Not just for the Bible Study, but just to be there.  I hadn't been to church in two weeks, and I was having withdrawls!  I need corporate worship.  I need to be fed.  I need to be with my church family!

Paul David Tripp has been doing a series of Facebook statuses on Sundays about the importance of corporate worship.  I often find myself sharing them, because they are all so true!  Corporate worship is so important. And I realize that importance all the more when I miss a few services. 

I shared last week that I'm planning a series of Sunday posts on the church. My current plan (which is always subject to change :)) is to start with some posts inspired by Anne Ortlund's Love Me With Tough Love, then probably a few posts from the Behold Your God study, and then a few other church-related posts. 

Love Me With Tough Love, subtitled Disciplines for Living Together in the Body of Christ, was written by Anne Ortlund in 1979.  It's about true Biblical discipleship, learning and loving deep.  

Here are a few tidbits from the prologue:

We need to look hard at the Bible's kind of love.

It's realistic. 

It's tender.

It's aggressive.

It's tenacious.

It's jealous.

It's forever.

It's emotional.

It's total. 

It's unspeakably sweet.

It's tough.

God loves us with tough love. ...and that's the way we need to learn  to love each other. 

There's flak and friction close in there together, because when it's Biblical, it's tough.  But there's also glory in there together, because when it's Biblical, it's real love.

As I've watched God's precious family wrestle with all the relationship issues, both at home and around the world, "the burden of the Lord" is upon me.  The contents of a book is in my heart, and woe is me if I don't get it on paper! [I love this part...I can so relate!  I have blog posts like that. :)]

Part of what I write will appear controversial because it's "tough". I'm praying you won't take it out of context, without the "love"! I tell the Lord I have no desire to seem more tough than loving.  The Holy Spirit is accurate but gentle.  Jesus walked on two feet: grace and truth. I struggle to give this presentation God's balance. 

Ponder those things for a while.  Really ponder tough love in the body of Christ...a tough love that is perfectly balanced with grace.  Does it excite you? Make you skeptical? Scare you a bit?

I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments here or on Facebook.  Or message me via the contact box in the sidebar.  

Next week: "Placing ourselves deeply" within a living, functioning body of Christ. 

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If a post or posts on Ponderings of an Elect Exile has been a blessing to you, would you do me a huge favor?  Please share the link to Ponderings with your friends using the social media share buttons below or the "pin it" button above.  Thank you! 

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Welcome to Ponderings of an Elect Exile!  Whether you are new here or a faithful friend and regular reader, I'm glad you're here!  If you aren't already following, I'd love to have you join us for the 2014 Ponderings.  It's easy to do, in a variety of ways!  You can follow via  Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest, or  find me on Instagram as Jenbh68. You can also sign up in the sidebar to receive new posts by email.    

The Best-Laid Plans Of Mice and Men...

"The Best-Laid Plans of Mice and Men Often Go Awry."

This popular adaptation of a line from Robert Burns's "To a Mouse" pretty much sums up my day.

I got up this morning excited that the only thing I had to go out of the house for all day was to work out at the gym. 

The rest of the day stretched out before me as a canvas of potential productivity. 

A little food prep, a little cleaning, a few cards to write, happy mail to send to a friend, and a good block of blogging time to get some posts finished and scheduled for next week (in an attempt to avoid the "frantically typing a blog post at 10:20 p.m." gig.)

And yet here I am, frantically typing a blog post at 10:20 p.m.

*Sigh*

First Billy and I decided we really needed to go to Wal-Mart.  No biggie.  We'd run the kids home after the gym, head to Wal-Mart, and then Billy would cook supper.

Then a sweet new friend offered to share an extra SCOBY with me so I can try my hand at Kombucha.  Yes, me, making Kombucha.  I know, I wouldn't have believed it either!

By that time, my mom had called and needed me to bring Peter by to work at her house for a while before we went to the gym.  So I dropped him off and went to pick up the SCOBY. (My kids had rather odd looks on their faces when they asked where I was going, and I said, "To pick up some bacteria from one of the moms in the homeschool group." LOL!)

I so enjoyed the visit with my new friend.  First she let me taste her pineapple Kombucha.  Oh, my goodness!  I've been craving it all day since.  SO yummy.  Can't wait until mine is ready!  Also got all inspired seeing her fun DIY craft projects, and enjoyed chatting about essential oils.

Then it was time for the gym. It was a great workout day!  I realized that since I've been doing the hip abduction and adduction machines, my hip pain has been almost non-existent.  Yay!!  And after almost two weeks of having to walk super-slowly (if at all) on the treadmill, today I not only returned to my pre-ankle injury speed, but surpassed it.  Wow!  So thankful for answered prayers, new healthy habits, and essential oils!

As I was waiting for the girls to finish getting their gear from the locker room, I checked my phone for missed calls.  There was a number I didn't recognize, so I decided to return the call while I was waiting, figuring it was a wrong number.

Nope.

It was my mom's neighbor, explaining that she had taken my mom to the ER.

Mother decided it would be fun to celebrate the first day of summer by hitting her head on the concrete patio and having a CT Scan.  (In case you couldn't tell, I'm kidding about the fun part. I'm not kidding about the patio and the CT scan.)

My mom has the best neighbors in the whole world. They have been the best neighbors in the whole world since the days when my grandparents lived in that house.  They are truly wonderful.

And it was probably a good thing that my phone was in the locker room and I was in the pool when Mother tried to call.  There was lots and lots of blood involved, and Wanda and Bob handled that WAY better than I would have.

By the time I arrived at the ER to take over for Wanda, most of the blood had been cleaned up, and I still had a hard time looking at her.

I'm a wimp, y'all. I freely admit it. I come by it honestly; it's in my genes.  My dad didn't do blood, needles, or gore either.  And I think I'm getting worse as I age.  That's pretty scary.  I may not be able to file my nails by the time I'm 60.

Anyway, long story short, CT came back fine, but my mom is going to ache for a while.  I won't even go into how I called the Neighborhood Market, where she uses the pharmacy, to see what time they closed on Saturday, and was told they were open until 9.  Imagine my surprise, then, when I arrived at 7:24 with her prescription only to find all the metal sliding doors all locked up tight.  Somebody really needs to tell the people who answer the phone that the pharmacy closes at 7 on Saturday. Hmmph!

I also won't go into the fact that when I pulled up at the drive through at Burger King to get food for my starving family sometime after 8 p.m., they spent 10 minutes unsuccessfully trying to process my payment, and then shorted me a burger.  I was fighting tears of exhaustion before I ever started ordering.  By the time it was all over, I was too tired to cry.

Billy and I finally left for Wal-Mart at 9:00.  We made it through in near-record time and walked in the door about 10:15.

As I was pulling out refrigerated stuff for kids to shuffle to the fridge, I was almost in a dream state thinking about putting on my pjs, doing our bedtime essential oil routine, and heading to bed with my book. 

Then I suddenly realized: BLOGATHON!

Not only did I not have nicely finished blog post scheduled for the rest of the week, but I was going to be frantically typing at 10:30 once again. 

I almost decided to just skip it.

And then I thought, "We're 2/3 of the way through!  I can't stop now!  I've got to post something!"

So here it is.  No photos, no editing, not any of the posts I'd planned to type up today.

Just a story of best-laid plans gone awry.

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How was your day? Did you do anything special for the first day of summer?  Have you had any plans go awry lately?  Tell me about it in the comments here or on Facebook!

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If a post or posts on Ponderings of an Elect Exile has been a blessing to you, would you do me a huge favor?  Please share the link to Ponderings with your friends using the social media share buttons below or the "pin it" button above.  Thank you! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Welcome to Ponderings of an Elect Exile!  Whether you are new here or a faithful friend and regular reader, I'm glad you're here!  If you aren't already following, I'd love to have you join us for the 2014 Ponderings.  It's easy to do, in a variety of ways!  You can follow via  Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest, or  find me on Instagram as Jenbh68. You can also sign up in the sidebar to receive new posts by email.

 

Fitness Friday: Never Say Never!

I'm doing something today on the blog I said I'd NEVER do.

For years I've said I would never blog about my weight or fitness.

But here I am, not only posting today, but planning to check in here on future Fridays as well.

*Insert big huge shocked faced smiley here*

So why the change?

Two reasons, actually.  One, I've been tremendously encouraged by some bloggers and Instagrammers who have been willing to share about their health/weight loss journeys.  If I can encourage someone else as they've encouraged me, it's worth my trepidation in posting. :)

Two, I need the accountability!  Lisa Pennington is one of the bloggers who has been an encouragement to me in this area.  I discovered her on Instagram, and then began following her on Facebook.  Lisa has lost over 80 pounds in the last year.  She recently posted 7 Questions Answered About My Weight Loss Journey. 

One of the three things she credits with helping her stick with it is the accountability she has had in regularly posting online. I was encouraged by that to have similar accountability. Hence Fitness Friday!

For today, a little introduction.  I've never been athletic. Other than some serious kickball in the neighborhood during my grade school years, and many hours spent riding my bicycle over the childhood and teen years, I've avoided "exercise" like the plague most of my life. Part of that, I've realized in recent years, has been due to equilibrium issues that truly did make many kinds of physical activity uncomfortable. Part has been due to the fact that I hate to sweat. My friend T and I used to say that most southern girls perspire; we never have. We sweat.

The last nine years have included chronic pain/health problems that have led to a pretty sedentary lifestyle.  However, in the last couple of years I've lost almost 40 pounds and kept it off, but gotten "stuck" at that point.

Not long ago, I decided something had to change. Our family was able to join the fitness center affiliated with the hospital where Billy works, and we've been going faithfully since the first of June.

For the first time ever, I'm enjoying working out! As I've said to several people, I know that that is God's answer to my desperate prayers for my health.  I'm having to start out very, very slowly, but right now, I'm just determined to keep at it and make slow, gradual progress.

Right off the bat, I had a setback...a week after we joined the gym, I had a nasty fall, and twisted my ankle badly.  Although I was terribly thankful not to have broken it (BTDT 3 times before), I was awfully concerned that I would lose the momentum I'd built over that first week.

At any other time, I would have taken full advantage of the "excuse" not to work out. This time was different. Although I couldn't do the cardio machines, I was still able to do most of the weight machines and exercise in the pool. (And thankfully my ankle has healed much more quickly than I expected.  I think that is in large part to the essential oils I've been using.  Watch for a post on that soon!)

We've been going to the gym for 3 weeks.  Week 1 I worked out 4 days, Week 2 I worked out 3 days (missed one day due to my ankle), and Week 4 I've worked out 3 days so far, but I'm planning to go tomorrow, which will bring that to four. :)

My goal is to go at least 4 times a week. I'm working right now on a workout plan.  I'll be posting more about that in the coming weeks.

I know next-to-nothing about fitness, but I'm learning!  The researcher in me is studying up, and I hope to share about what I'm learning in the next few weeks as well.

I'm excited about this journey, and excited (if a bit nervous!) about sharing it with you.

Have you lost a significant amount of weight and kept it off?  I'd love to hear how you did it!  Do you have tips for gym newbies? I'd love to hear those, too.  Leave me a comment here or on Facebook, or message me through the contact box in the sidebar. 

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If a post or posts on Ponderings of an Elect Exile has been a blessing to you, would you do me a huge favor?  Please share the link to Ponderings with your friends using the social media share buttons below or the "pin it" button above.  Thank you! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Welcome to Ponderings of an Elect Exile!  Whether you are new here or a faithful friend and regular reader, I'm glad you're here!  If you aren't already following, I'd love to have you join us for the 2014 Ponderings.  It's easy to do, in a variety of ways!  You can follow via  Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest, or  find me on Instagram as Jenbh68. You can also sign up in the sidebar to receive new posts by email.

Understanding in the Unthinkable: A Call to Action for the Body of Christ

My heart is breaking as I type right now. There is actual, physical pain...the kind of pain you have when you've been punched in the stomach and you aren't sure you're going to be able to take another breath.

Just a few weeks ago, during a brief discussion with some other moms about child sexual abuse, I said, "It seems crazy, but you have no idea how many Christian families out there are dealing with this in some manner or another. I really think this is one of Satan's great weapons against families seeking after Christ."

I'm hearing it more and more often these days, and today heard yet another story of a family reeling from this trauma, bringing tears and a literal ache as always.  A family dealing with the anguish of a child being violated by someone close to them, someone they trusted, someone who claimed the name of Christ.

That trauma in and of itself is bad enough.  Anyone who has been there knows that.  But as so often happens, the original trauma is compounded by inappropriate responses on the part of the body that should be offering the most support: the church.

When a family is in crisis, particularly when that family is part of the Body of Christ, the church should be a haven for them, a place of safety.  Corporate worship and fellowship and prayer should be a comfort and a hope.

And yet again and again, there is additional, albeit generally unintentional, pain from the very Body that should be providing love and care. 

Churches simply must learn how to appropriately minister to families in this type of pain and crisis.  No longer can we excuse ourselves with "we don't know how".  No longer can we pretend it doesn't happen in our churches, to people we know.

Here are some things we can do:

1. Realize that this is not something that happens to "other people".  It can happen to anyone.  ANYONE.  If it can happen to a family in which both parents worked in child protective services, in which one parent taught prospective foster and adoptive parents how to identify and prevent abuse, it can happen to ANYONE. 

2. Realize that perpetrators are not creepy scary people.  Perpetrators come from all walks of life.  There is no way to identify a perpetrator by sight.  A perpetrator may be well-educated, well-dressed, and hold a professional job.  They may be active in church.  They may be leaders in the community. In all likelihood, they are well-liked and charming.

3.  Realize the only time you can be sure your child is safe is when they are in your sight.  That sounds dramatic, but it's true.  We cannot guarantee the protection of our children.  We simply can't.  This was a hard, hard lesson for me to learn. 

4. Realize that children and families who have experienced this type of abuse are in deep, deep pain.  Abuse = trauma.  Children who've experienced this type of abuse are dealing with extreme physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual trauma.  Parents of children who've experienced trauma are dealing with a whole new world of worries and concerns. They may be experiencing a new and disturbing distrust of pretty much the entire human race.  They may very well not be sleeping, either due to their own stress, or sleep issues in their traumatized child.  If the perpetrator was someone the family was close to, they are dealing with betrayal issues on top of all the rest.  

5.  Realize that forgiveness and restoration do NOT equal "everything going back to the way it was before".  Even when a perpetrator expresses true repentance, that does NOT mean that contact with the victim or victims is in any way appropriate.  In rare instances it may be, but generally only after much time and healing have occurred.  Victims (particularly child victims) and their families should not be expected to have contact with the perpetrator, even (or especially) in the setting of the church. 

(For more on this subject, see the book linked below, Rid of My Disgrace.)

6. Realize that if abuse hasn't already impacted your church (and you might be surprised), it almost certainly will at some point.  Be prepared.  Be educated.  Here are some resources to get you started:

Rid of My Disgrace, by Justin and Lindsey Holcomb ~ This is the best resource I have found on this issue. Justin and Lindsey Holcomb deal with this subject Biblically and gracefully.  I firmly believe that every pastor, every staff member, every Sunday School teacher, every Christian should read this book.

Thin Places, by Mary DeMuth ~ Mary DeMuth's writing has ministered to me greatly.  Her story is one of hope and healing through God's grace.  

  
From Awareness to Understanding to Ministry...Abuse and the Body of Christ ~  *
"We can't all go outside our city, state, or country to do missions...and we don't have to.  There are so many people right around us...even sitting by us in church...who are hurting and who need to be ministered to.  Children and families affected by abuse are among those.  There is a huge mission/ministry field ripe for harvest that doesn't require travelling a mile or spending a dime.  Hurting children and families need to know that there is hope...that there is healing and comfort in the Father who holds us close to His heart as a Shepherd cradles a baby lamb.  We need to share the Gospel with those who are unsaved, and we need to minister to the injured members of the Body of Christ.  We need to let God's love flow through us to them; we need to be the hands and feet of Jesus to them.  Church needs to be a haven for those affected by abuse...a place where they can feel the safety they need to heal and grow.  "

We All Hurt ~ This doesn't deal with abuse per se, but is a good, short reminder about hurting people in general.

Desiring God: Interview with Justin Holcomb, author of Rid of My Disgrace. (EXCELLENT interview) 

Bugs Bunny, Facebook, and Stewarding the Story *

Protecting Children, Part 1*

Protecting Children, Part 2*

Protecting Children, Part 3*

(Resources marked with an asterisk * are  posts here at Ponderings of an Elect Exile.) 

For more information on child protection resources and hope for those dealing with abuse trauma, see the complete list of Child Protection Resources here.  

If you or someone you love has been affected by child sexual abuse, please know that there is hope.  For more information or prayer, please contact me through the contact box in the sidebar on the right. 

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If a post or posts on Ponderings of an Elect Exile has been a blessing to you, would you do me a huge favor?  Please share the link to Ponderings with your friends using the social media share buttons below or the "pin it" button above.  Thank you! 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Welcome to Ponderings of an Elect Exile!  Whether you are new here or a faithful friend and regular reader, I'm glad you're here!  If you aren't already following, I'd love to have you join us for the 2014 Ponderings.  It's easy to do, in a variety of ways!  You can follow via  Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest, or  find me on Instagram as Jenbh68. You can also sign up in the sidebar to receive new posts by email.  

10 From the Tabs

Worth reading from the tabs this week: 

ICAD: Kid's Version! ~  Index Card a Day for kids!  Looking for a creative challenge for your kids this summer?  Check out ICAD for kids.  Ammah Grace has been having a blast with these this week.  And if you haven't already, check out ICAD for adults, too. :)  Fun, low-key creative challenge!

Happy Janssens: Family Friendly Fifth Wheel Tour ~ This is just one of those fun, eye-candy posts.  I have a crazy idea that someday I'd love to live in an RV.  It's part of my "small house" obsession, I guess.  And Sara Janssen was one of the original inspirations of that obsession.  I adore her decorating style, and I love her creative, efficient use of space, whether in an RV or a traditional house.  This Happy Janssen home may be my favorite house ever.

5 Ways We Experience the Power of the Gospel in Community ~ Really, really excellent article from the Resurgence on the importance of the Church for every Christian.  

Why You Should Brake for Possums ~ I've always had a soft spot for possums.  Apparently there's a reason for that!

Project Life Calendar Printables ~ Although I'm not doing Project Life, I love these calendar printables.  I have all kinds of ideas for them! Aren't they cute? 

Stories of My Dad ~ Such a great Father's Day post by Ray Ortlund, Jr. about his dad.  

4th of July Free Printables ~From my friend Tauna at Creative Confetti...fun printables for the 4th!

Moralism is Not the Gospel (But Many Christians Think It Is) ~  Powerful article from Al Mohler:      "Hell will be highly populated with those who were 'raised right.' The citizens of heaven will be those who, by the sheer grace and mercy of God, are there solely because of the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ.  Moralism is not the gospel."

Love Your Brother, Fair vs. Just ~  One of those posts that's been hanging out in my tabs for a while...a great parenting post from Lisa at Pennington Point.

Journaling Cards Free Download ~ Another fun free printable. :)

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If a post or posts on Ponderings of an Elect Exile has been a blessing to you, would you do me a huge favor?  Please share the link to Ponderings with your friends using the social media share buttons below or the "pin it" button above.  Thank you! 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Welcome to Ponderings of an Elect Exile!  Whether you are new here or a faithful friend and regular reader, I'm glad you're here!  If you aren't already following, I'd love to have you join us for the 2014 Ponderings.  It's easy to do, in a variety of ways!  You can follow via  Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest, or  find me on Instagram as Jenbh68. You can also sign up in the sidebar to receive new posts by email. 

Tech Tuesdays: Social Media {Etc.} for {Not-So} Techy People

Just a quick introduction today for another new series I've been planning for a while.

But first...a disclaimer:  I'm not a techy person.  I don't know a lot about computers or technology.  I do tend to jump in to social media and related things and dig until I figure it out.  But there is MUCH about the topics I'll be covering here that I don't know.  If you're looking for advanced technical info on these subjects, you'll need to look elsewhere. :) 

However, I do get questions, often, about various aspects of social media, blogging, photo editing programs, etc.  So I decided that some simple introductory posts with a few of my thoughts and tips thrown in would be a way to answer those questions in an easily accessible place.

Over the next few months, I plan to address Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, PicMonkey, Pocket (formerly Read It Later), Evernote, and blogging, among other topics.

I'll give some basic info and how-tos on the topic of the week.  I'll also talk a bit about my thoughts on social media and the whys behind my use of it. 

Are you a super-techy person?  Or not-so-techy?  Do you have questions about social media, photo editing programs, or blogging?  I'd love to hear them in the comments here or on Facebook!  Maybe I can answer them in a future post, or at least direct you to someone who can. :)

What is your favorite social media program?  I'd love to hear about that, too!

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If a post or posts on Ponderings of an Elect Exile has been a blessing to you, would you do me a huge favor?  Please share the link to Ponderings with your friends using the social media share buttons below or the "pin it" button above.  Thank you! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to Ponderings of an Elect Exile!  Whether you are new here or a faithful friend and regular reader, I'm glad you're here!  If you aren't already following, I'd love to have you join us for the 2014 Ponderings.  It's easy to do, in a variety of ways!  You can follow via  Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest, or  find me on Instagram as Jenbh68. You can also sign up in the sidebar to receive new posts by email.