What Does Your Twitter Say About You?

A friend asked for my help with his Twitter. He gave me his password, told me he trusts me, and left the country. True story.

I logged in on my phone, did what he asked me to do (and only what he asked me to do), and moved on with my day.

A few hours later, I was scrolling down Twitter and realized this was not my feed. In case there was ever a question, I am not following Sesame Street, REI, and the Minnesota Vikings on Twitter.

Before switching back to  my own Twitter, I took a gander along his home page, curious about what I would find. It seemed really intimate and stalker-ish. I mean, your Twitter feed is personal to you; no one else is following exactly the same people that you are. What did my friend see when he logged on to Twitter? What was he filling his brain with privately?

Nothing I found surprised me. Amused: Yes. Surprised: Nope. Every person and business that caught my eye fit his personality, his hobbies, his passions, and how he presents himself. According to his Twitter feed, he is who he says he is.

I switched back to my own Twitter and wondered about who I have chosen to follow.

Does my feed say that I am who I am?
Does it represent my passions, my hobbies, and my favorite things?
How often does tasteless language appear on my homepage?
What am I putting into my mind?

Of course, this doesn't only apply to Twitter.

What are you feeding yourself?

Through your Twitter, the blogs you read, the tv you watch, the people you spend time with, the books you read, etc.

If you can tell a lot about a person from what he or she posts on Twitter, then what am I showing? Goodness knows I share a lot.

As I shared last week, a sister in Christ when home to heaven unexpectedly. The world has leapt all over the fact that her final Tweet was a prayer of thanksgiving for another year of life.

We Christians can't help but smile at God's sense of humor and omniscience.

The secular world uses it as a warning that if you Tweet-pray, God might kill you.

Sorry. I hope my last Tweet is a prayer, a scripture, or a powerful song lyric. After I'm gone, I'd much rather everyone see my faith than whatever silly thing my roommates said or the cat did.

Take some conscious time today to objectively pay attention to the following things:

1. What are you seeing? Reading? Inhaling?
2 .What are you posting? Saying? Exhaling?

Are they consistent? Are they consistent in who you are and the Jesus you represent?

<>< Katie

PS: If you see something questionable in my life or on my feed, I trust that you'd be kind enough to call me out on it.

"I know your heart"

Today is Brian's birthday. Brian was my advisor for three years, but he did more than over see my grades. He fed me (homemade popcorn, doughnuts, etc.), supported me, prayed for me, prayed with me, stuck Bible verse in my locker, and let me hide in his office when the day didn't go well.

I remember one day in high school, I needed to collect 15 signatures to support me in running for an office. A mixture of those signatures had to be students of varying ages as well as teachers. I hated working up the courage to ask teachers to sign my paper. It's not that I didn't think they would, it's that I didn't want to ask.

One day, Brian came up to me and wanted to buy a candy bar I was selling as a fundraiser. I put down the piece of paper awaiting signatures and went to get Brian his candy bar. He yanked the sheet off the table and started pulling out a pen.

"Can I sign this?" he asked. Of course, I wasn't going to say no. Normally teachers were supposed to ask students about why they wanted to hold this title, what were their qualifications, could they be objective, etc. The awful interrogating questions that drive me nuts. Here, Brian had not only not asked me the annoying questions but offered to sign my sheet without me having to ask. He then added, "I'm not going to waste my time with the questions. I know your heart is always in the right place."

He walked away with his candy bar, and I walked away with my signature, yet my brain was mulling over so much more.

"I know your heart is always in the right place," his words echoed in my mind.

Was that true? Is my heart always in the right place? Of course not. But apparently it was in the right place often enough to convince them. Ever since then, his words still echo in my mind.

How many people know your heart? Are you being open enough and honest enough with people for them to know your inner-thoughts? Are you allowing them to see your true self? At the same time, is your heart true? Do you strive to make sure it's always in the right place (isn't that something we can all work on)?

Happy birthday, Brian!

In Christ,
<>< Katie

"Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgressions, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:7-8