Carrie Daws and The Warrior’s Bride
Today I want to introduce you to a friend of mine, Carrie Daws. Carrie and I both attend the Bible study for military gals at our local base chapel.
Today I want to introduce you to a friend of mine, Carrie Daws. Carrie and I both attend the Bible study for military gals at our local base chapel.Over the years, God rewrote Carrie’s dreams to include being a stay-at-home mom and a writer. She started by writing weekly devotions online before a mentor at the Christian Writer’s Guild encouraged her to try fiction.
After almost ten years in the military, Carrie’s husband medically retired and they now live in Virginia with their three children. Besides writing novels, she stays busy home schooling, keeping up with her extended family and friends, and volunteering within military ministries.
I’m so excited to have Carrie share with you about her newest book, The Warrior’s Bride: Biblical Strategies to Help the Military Spouse Thrive.
I got a chance to chat with Carrie about her latest book just as we were getting ready to launch a new ministry for military women, Planting Roots: Strength to Thrive in Military Life. You can see why I was interested in this book! Isn’t is amazing how God puts things together?
I asked Carrie what prompted her to write this book.
“One of the greatest frustrations about being married to a military man is knowing that you cannot plan your own life. Your husband, and thus your marriage, is owned by the United States Government, and you are forced to accept the plans for the greater good over your own.”
This short passage comes from the Introduction to The Warrior’s Bride: Biblical Strategies to Help the Military Spouse Thrive, and it summarizes the biggest frustration of many military spouses. And yet this commitment to the greater good is also the source of one of the military spouse’s greatest prides too.
It’s a delicate balance, one Kathy and I struggled with for years before understanding it. One we still struggle with from time-to-time. And it’s one we watch every military marriage fight through: who is really in control?
And that’s why we wrote Warrior’s Bride. Because we learned too many lessons the hard way, and we want to save some marriages the grief we had to work through because our hearts and minds were stubborn. Because we learned too many lessons too slowly, and we want military brides to learn from our mistakes and emulate our wise choices.
We’ve sacrificed our husband’s presence at birthdays and anniversaries. We’ve done our best to photograph and video tape our children’s performances that he missed due to training, odd work hours, and deployments. We’ve dealt with broken plumbing, missing debit cards, and moves alone.
And we’ve sat at home wondering if he wanted to come home at all.
Much about the military world isn’t talked about openly, but Kathy and I confront it head-on in Warrior’s Bride. Things like open pornography in the workplace, infidelity within the marriage, fears of him dying on the battlefield, and the reality of when he comes home different.
If this describes your world then know you are not alone. In fact, more than that, the truth is that God wants you to find hope and joy in your marriage. He wants you to do more than survive your husband’s enlistment; He wants you to thrive in your calling as that man’s wife.
Kathy and I do not want you to think that we have all the answers, but we have discovered secrets to finding joy in our trials. We have learned to not only love our own men, but to love the calling of those men. And we have learned to love our calling as military wives.
Join us within the pages of The Warrior’s Bride and let us encourage you.
About the Book:
The Warrior’s Bride: Biblical Strategies to Help the Military Spouse Thrive
The call came down from Command, and your warrior husband is out the door, leaving you behind to handle whatever he has left undone. Whether it’s the day-to-day monotony, the inevitable appliance that breaks, or the months without his presence beside you, being a military spouse brings challenges few appreciate. Yet God sees you and longs for you to boldly step into His plan. He purposely chose you for this moment—for your man. He wants to give you abundantly more than what you have right now and desires you to thrive as your warrior’s bride.
Warrior’s Bride is a must read! While Carrie and Kathy have not sugar-coated the many challenges of military life, they have generously shared the hope they have found and the road map for thriving! ~Kathleen Dees, wife of Major General (Army Retired) Robert F. Dees
I found your life stories and growth in your understanding and commitment to God’s purpose in marriage to be inspiring and insightful! Your testimonies will encourage many military spouses! ~Paula Van Antwerp, wife of Lieutenant General (Army Retired) R.L. Van Antwerp
In addition to The Warrior’s Bride, Carrie has also published several novels. You can find out more about her books here.
Join me in saying a big thank you to Carrie for sharing with us today!
How Do You Make Goals for this Year?
If only…
I’m not sure what’s on your list of goals for this year, but believe me, we’ve all got a list of what we think we should be, what we should have done, and we could go on and on until tomorrow has run out of minutes. Too often I have made New Year’s Resolutions and goals from this place of wanting to make myself better. My lists have been full of if only’s, should’s, and ought to be’s. Too often, my goals have been a little over zealous. Do you have goals like these?
Every single year I make a goal to be more organized. And although I have made progress in this area, it still makes it onto my personal hit-list…I mean goal list. Too often my goals center around wanting to “fix” whatever I think is wrong with me, whatever I don’t like about myself, or whatever seems to continually cause trouble for me. How about you, do you make goals this way?
Although there is nothing wrong with striving for more and for better, I am beginning to realize that most of these aspirations come from my agenda to perfect myself.
What if we pay attention to what God has been doing in our lives and form our goals in response?
What if we make our goal list our growth list? How freeing could that be?
What’s on your growth list this year?
Grace Defined
Grace is a word we bounce off our tongue with ease. We bandy it about, sometimes carelessly. These five letters pop up frequently in sermons and songs, and in many ways have become part of the Christian lingo. Some might even think of the word grace as cliche’ and over used.
Yet grace is like oxygen; we simply must have it in order to breathe and survive the crazy days on this planet. Like air that fills our lungs and fuels the cells of our bodies, we are often unaware that we are constantly breathing grace.
Like gravity, that invisible, inseparable constancy that keeps our feet on the ground, God’s grace set’s and holds us together.
By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus….We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise. Romans 5:1-2 MSG
Grace Defined
“Amazing grace…how sweet the sound” is the beginning of my favorite hymn. Today I am reflecting on Romans 5, where the word grace is repeated at least five times, but the concept of grace is restated many more.
Reading this chapter in The Message as well as the New American Standard Bible brings even more expressions God’s grace. Take a moment and prayerfully read aloud all of these statements of grace–the sound is indeed lavishly sweet. Click here if you’d like to see both versions side by side.
Expressions of Grace
| New American Standard |
The Message |
| Peace with God | Set us right with Him |
| Hope that does not disappoint | Make us fit for Him |
| Love poured out through Holy Spirit | Wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory |
| Christ died for us while sinners and enemies | Christ’s sacrificial death
Amazing friendship with God received |
| Reconciliation received | Rescuing gift |
| Saved by His life | God’s gift poured |
| Free gift abounds | Generous, life-giving gift |
| Abundant grace | Breathtaking life-recovery |
| Gift of righteousness | Wildly extravagant life-gift |
| Grace reigns | This grand setting-everything-right |
| Eternal life | Aggressive forgiveness |
| Winning grace | |
| Invited into life—eternal life |
Recognizing grace in this day…as it is.
Current decisions and questions pull at my insides with the twist of uncertainty. Wanting to trust God when the future seems uncertain, I push down anxiety that tempts me to worry about this new year. I am all too aware of the gap between my faith and my feelings.
Yet a winter wind blows the first snow of winter as flakes swirl willy-nilly, stirring up magic on this beautiful day. A rare visit with a sweet friend brings joy. I smile watching a neighbor boy help an older couple shovel the icy sidewalk. My children are home and we’ve enjoyed countless blessings this Christmas and New Years.
A task list that seems a mile long weighs heavy as time ticks by too fast. Feeling behind before I have begun, the new year opens in a prolonged season of transition. God is still bringing us through.
Remembering the challenges and joys of a year passed, I wonder what this new year will bring. Grace abounds as anxiety gives way to anticipation. Humility and awe mingle as I recount God’s grace displayed in so many ways this past year.
In all these moments, the good and the hard, I speak truth to my soul as peace settles:
May you have a happy new year overflowing with God’s peace and a multitude of holy moments filled with grace.
With love,
Ginger
Dispelling the perception that holiness is a standard of conduct rather than a gift to receive, Holy in the Moment includes my personal journey in finding help and hope for anxiety, people-pleasing, perfectionism, discouragement, and insecurity as well as biblical insights and simple ideas to enjoy a grace-full life of freedom in Christ.
For the Love of Christmas Sweaters
Every year I wait eleven long months… to wear my Christmas sweater.
You just can’t wear a Christmas sweater just any ole day of the year. There’s just something not right about wearing “Let it Snow!” in July.
And there is something very beautiful about a Christmas sweater. My birthday is in December. Smack-dab-in-the-middle of December, which is just about the worst time to have a birthday because everybody’s too busy to celebrate you. We’re all too busy taking exams, going to kid concerts, and party hopping.
But I digress.
Now I grew up in the 80’s so my mother gave me a new Christmas sweater every year from 1985 to 2005, when she finally decided I just might have enough. I had an entire wardrobe of candy cane and reindeer infested sweaters.
Oh the bliss!
Until…
My teenaged girls started making fun of my beloved Christmas sweaters. Please try not to be shocked. They really are nice girls…most of the time.
They don’t realize it, but they’d be even cuter in a Christmas sweater. Their loss.
Well the sweater I’m wearing is my last one, my last hold out against the stigma of anti-Christmas sweater frenzy that has taken over the fashion sense of otherwise good Americans. My teenaged girls, Lord bless’em, have convinced me… NO they’ve brainwashed me…that these works of art are NO LONGER in style!
Can you imagine?!!!
Call it pride, but being the mother of teenagers, I really don’t like to go places and have my girls embarrassed to be seen with their mother. I do plenty enough of embarrassing things without wearing my Christmas sweater.
So I have down-sized my Christmas sweater wardrobe and this is the last one. It’s only 15 years old–it’s still got a lot of life to it, cause I only wear it in December, right? You know, I just can’t figure out how something this cute can go out of style that fast.
It might be a little dirty but I can’t wash it or all the bling will fall off. And I’ll keep my sparkle, thank you very much. Just a little spritz of perfume and no one will know the difference. And that old chocolate stain blends right in with the little felt packages next to gingerbread man.
And as soon as these girls are out of the house, I’m going to get some more Christmas sweaters. I’m just going to wear them anyway cause I like them and that’s that.
The Christmas Sweater Come Back
Funny enough, just yesterday one of my girls wanted to borrow my Christmas sweater. Finally! I thought they have seen the light. You know, if you wait long enough, things will come back in style.
They wanted it for an Ugly Christmas Sweater party.
I’m not going to even begin to describe how offended I am.
There is a glimmer of hope for the resurgence of the Christmas sweater. Oddly enough, it is the men who have caught the love of Christmas emblazoned on a sweater. Yes, you read that correctly. And as men often do, they just have to one-up the women, taking the Christmas sweater to the suit. Of course they aren’t brave enough to say how they really feel, calling it The Ugly Christmas Sweater Suit.
Men are just a little slow to catch on to the love of the Christmas sweater. We can think what we like, but these fashion statements sold out on Cyber Monday and they are now taking pre-orders for next year.
For those that are not over the top, or just have to have a Christmas sweater to wear this year, they still have some of these sweaters at the store…in the men’s department no less. Can’t find a Christmas sweater in the women’s section. For shame!
So here’s my last stay-joyfully-sane-this-Christmas tip.
Don’t let anyone guilt you, harass you, or embarrass you out of fully enjoying your Christmas sweater this year. <Tweet.
This month is crazy enough without having the joy of your favorite Christmas sweater. So that’s it, Sister, head on up to the attic and unpack that lovely sweater you’ve secretly been longing to wear. I know you didn’t have the heart to get rid of yours either. So let’s wear them with pride!
Because we’re taking back the Christmas sweater.
In fact, I just might wear mine all winter long…because I’m just a fashion renegade.
Because everything is better in a Christmas sweater!
Give the gift of a laugh today and share these posts with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest! Missed some of the Christmas fun around here? You can find all the Christmas humor right here:
Get Ready, Get Set, Get Christmas!
Stay-Sane Tips for This Christmas
Stay-Mostly-Sane-This-Christmas Tips
All Wrapped Up With Stay-Sort-Sane-This-Christmas Tips
Get a free Christmas devotional from Ginger when you sign up for my newsletter! Enjoy this beautiful ebook to spark hope in your life this Christmas. This is my Christmas gift for you.
Enjoy the Best of Christmas from Ginger
A curated collection of Christmas content from award-winning author and blogger, Ginger Harrington. Take the Christmas Worship Challenge, read inspiring devotions, download free gifts, gather ideas for family fun, make a special gift, and chuckle with Ginger’s Christmas humor. Read the story of Ginger’s Christmas miracle in a free chapter from her book, Holy in the Moment. Enjoy the best of Christmas that you’ll want to come back to year after year!
Get Your Free Chapter!
Read the story of a Christmas miracle I experienced in the first chapter of my award-winning book, Holy in the Moment. You’ll read a poignant story from one challenging Christmas in my life at the end of the first chapter. Read the story of what happened here. Give the gift of holy this Christmas–Holy in the Moment makes a wonderful gift to encourage faith in a practical way. Learn more about the book here.
Good News that Lights Up Your Dark Night
When Angel’s Sing
Shepherds stand on the dark hillsides outside Bethlehem, working a job few wanted and none respected. The glory of God cracks open the night sky with news that will change the world.
“Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased” (Luke 2:14).
No ordinary night.
Shocked to the core at this unimaginable sight, the shepherds respond with urgency,”Let us go straight to…and see.” Wonder turns to action as they leave in haste, seeking to find this child, born to save the hearts of men.
Tucked away in this familiar account of the birth of Christ is a practical example of worship.When God shows up, in the deep of our night, in the midst of our watching, He meets us right where we are.<Tweet. Worship gives glory to God as we respond to His worth…who He is, what He says, and what He does. These humble shepherds heard great news and they responded.
They heard. They wanted. They went.
Searching for the gift of Christmas.
Sometimes we make things, including worship, far too complicated.
God’s story would have continued, but the story of the Shepherds would have come to a dull end if they had shrugged their shoulders and found an excuse not to act. What do we miss when we neglect to give God glory?
How much more exciting for them to have the adventure of seeking and searching to see if what they had been told was true. Responsive worship brings us into the thick of what God is doing–it gets us involved and participating.
How will you respond to God today?
A meaningful idea for the kids this Christmas.
Each year when we put out our nativity set, I would gift wrap and hide the Baby Jesus figure. When our kids were little, they loved reading the Christmas story and moving the figurines around as they acted out the story. Some years they dressed up as angels, Mary, or the shepherds–so crazy cute! These are some of my favorite Christmas memories.
As part of our Christmas Eve tradition, we would search for the first gift of Christmas…Christ. It was great fun for one of the kids to find the Baby Jesus figure and add it to the Nativity.
What traditions are meaningful for your family?
This post first appeared on 5 Minutes for Faith.
Get a free Christmas devotional from Ginger when you sign up for my newsletter! Enjoy this beautiful ebook to spark hope in your life this Christmas. This is my Christmas gift for you.
Enjoy the Best of Christmas from Ginger
A curated collection of Christmas content from award-winning author and blogger, Ginger Harrington. Take the Christmas Worship Challenge, read inspiring devotions, download free gifts, gather ideas for family fun, make a special gift, and chuckle with Ginger’s Christmas humor. Read the story of Ginger’s Christmas miracle in a free chapter from her book, Holy in the Moment. Enjoy the best of Christmas that you’ll want to come back to year after year!
Get Your Free Chapter!
Read the story of a Christmas miracle I experienced in the first chapter of my award-winning book, Holy in the Moment. You’ll read a poignant story from one challenging Christmas in my life at the end of the first chapter. Read the story of what happened here. Give the gift of holy this Christmas–Holy in the Moment makes a wonderful gift to encourage faith in a practical way. Learn more about the book here.
Download your free chapter here.
All Wrapped Up with Stay-Sorta-Sane-This-Christmas Tips
What next when it comes to those ridiculous Stay-Sane-This-Christmas tips?? The wrapping of the gifts! I love wrapping Christmas presents. I can put Martha Stewart to shame with my breath-taking creations of paper and ribbon. And don’t...
Stay-Mostly-Sane-This-Christmas Tips
This time of year, a gal needs a little help to prepare for all the holiday cheer. Incorporate my Stay-Sane-Tips to help your Christmas run smoothly. Join me today for Stay-Mostly-Sane Tips you can’t afford to miss.<Tweet.
When festive turns to frantic, a little organization can save the day. Let’s get organized with our Christmas To-Do List.
The stay-mostly-sane to-do list tip:
This time of year my to-do list gets a little long–like a mile or two…
Use a roll of toilet paper for your list and you’ll have plenty of room to write down all those tasks that need doing.
Here’s my list as of today.
Let me just read you my list so far.
Take Christmas card photo.
Write Christmas cards…late already.
Bake 50 dozen cookies.
Shop for presents. What to get Aunt Gertrude?!
Don’t forget the paper boy this year…
Wrap presents.
Shop for groceries.
Select teacher gifts.
Attend children’s band concert.
Run down the hall to catch the chorus concert.
Sing in the church Christmas program.
Are those Christmas cards out yet?
Plan and attend all the all the kid’s classroom christmas parties–scour Pinterest for the best party ideas.
The Sunday School party.
Attend husband’s work party…do we have to go this year?
The neighborhood party.
Bake 15 dozen more cookies. Slice and bake will do!
Clean the house again.
Go to the grocery again…must they eat every night?
Give donations.
Post office. Wait in long lines. Scratch that and order from Amazon instead.
Oh goodness. It’s enough to drive you right next door to crazy!
And can we talk about the Christmas parties…
Now I love to have fun, but have you noticed that there are fifty thousand, million parties every Christmas? Hello… are there not eleven other months in the year? I’d like to go to a party some other time…like in March when I’ve recuperated from the Christmas frenzy.
What’s wrong with a white elephant exchange in May? What a great way to celebrate graduation… And on that note, can anyone tell me why stealing from your friends and re-gifting has become part of the Christmas party tradition? Just curious. I’m really not sure what any of that has to do with white elephants…
The stay-mostly-sane Christmas party tip:
Limit your family to twelve parties. Ten is too few and fifteen is too many. After all you’ve got to carve out some family time, right?
Now how about Christmas cards?
I’m pretty sure that whoever invented the idea of sending Christmas cards was secretly plotting to push mothers over the edge of reason during this blessed time of year.
First of all, no family Christmas photo is taken without blood, sweat, tears, and a good tantrum or two. Christmas-card-photo-stress is not just for the two year olds.
The stay-mostly-sane Christmas card photo tip:
Your children will never out-grow that Christmas-Card-Photo Rebellion! Just accept it and pay your dues. If you want a good family photo, you’re going to have to earn it the hard way.
The day is never going to come when you mention Christmas card photos and your children jump up and shout, “Yippee!” Nope–it’s not going to happen. It is an unwritten law between parents and children…
Last year my son turned 21 and went missing for two hours when it was time to take our family photo last year. We nearly called in a missing person’s report.
You think I’m kidding…
Two years ago my kids meekly submitted to dressing up, but secretly plotted to take over the photo shoot. I should have known something was up when they wore coordinating colors without being nagged.
Family photos gone bad.
There’s just something not right about a chainsaw in the family Christmas Photo.
What about the pressure to get your cards out before Christmas…as if you don’t already have enough to do.
“Honey, have you sent the Christmas cards yet?”
No, I’m STILL playing Candy Crush…
Another stay-mostly-sane Christmas card tip:
Send Valentine’s Day cards instead.
On the scale of holidays, Valentine’s day could stand to have a little more attention.
You can still send lot’s of heartfelt greetings–after all Valentine’s day is all about love, right? Take your family photo at Christmas–everyone will be already wearing red, and that fits perfectly with Valentine’s day.
I might suggest you don’t take the picture in front of the Christmas tree–a sure giveaway that your Valentine card is really just a late Christmas card. Avoid the Christmas decoration photo bombs and no one will be the wiser.
These are some of my best tips to simplify your life this Christmas. Cause Christmas can make you a little crazy, can’t it? What’s the craziest thing on your to-do list today?
Get a free Christmas devotional from Ginger when you sign up for my newsletter! Enjoy this beautiful ebook to spark hope in your life this Christmas. This is my Christmas gift for you.
Enjoy the Best of Christmas from Ginger
A curated collection of Christmas content from award-winning author and blogger, Ginger Harrington. Take the Christmas Worship Challenge, read inspiring devotions, download free gifts, gather ideas for family fun, make a special gift, and chuckle with Ginger’s Christmas humor. Read the story of Ginger’s Christmas miracle in a free chapter from her book, Holy in the Moment. Enjoy the best of Christmas that you’ll want to come back to year after year!
Get Your Free Chapter!
Read the story of a Christmas miracle I experienced in the first chapter of my award-winning book, Holy in the Moment. You’ll read a poignant story from one challenging Christmas in my life at the end of the first chapter. Read the story of what happened here. Give the gift of holy this Christmas–Holy in the Moment makes a wonderful gift to encourage faith in a practical way. Learn more about the book here.
Download your free chapter here.
The One Gift We Really Need
Good things come in small packages. We are all familiar with this over-used cliché, and yet, this time of year, we might be pretty excited to see a lovely little package under the tree, gift-wrapped with our name on it. The gist of this cliché reveals that value is not measured by the size of the box, and true treasure is often disguised in small ways.
For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.
In this short verse from John 1, rich treasure is wrapped in 12 simple words.
Everything we could ever need is provided for in this one sentence. Every lack, every problem, every resistance, every emptiness we will ever experience is filled in Christ. Let’s back up just a verse or two:
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus is the fullness of God–all that God is and all that God has.
This divine completion is what He offers to us. The fullness of God is given to us through grace upon grace—the favor of God in a cumulative supply—over and over. His offer is to fill us, to level up our empty places and fill our hearts like a net, bulging with so many fish that not one more can be added.
Born as a tiny infant in humble circumstances, the fullness of infinite God, the ultimate good thing came in a small package. That Jesus would empty Himself of his God-glory and choose to contain Himself in the tender skin of an infant should make us catch our breath.
It should stop us short in absolute awe.
Grace upon grace…
You may have read past this phrase many times and not fully considered the wonder of its meaning. Grace is the favor and mercy of God; His blessing, His gift, His joy, His abundance, His pleasure, His forgiveness… One grace-blessing heaped on another grace-provision, heaped on yet another grace-gift.
All of this incredible, lavish grace is what God provides for us. There is only one word in this short phrase that asks anything of us.
Receive.
Believe and Receive
The gift of grace is given, but our job it to receive it, to reach out and take hold of this treasure so lovingly given. We can only receive by believing.
Faith is the energy that empowers our hearts to take hold of grace.
Unwrap the Gift and Use It
Grace of God given in Christ is a gift to be unwrapped and lived in. How often have we left this precious gift unused on the shelf of our self-sufficiency?
How often have we received the fullness of God with mental belief, but denied the power of the gift in the way we choose to go about our day?
How many times have we simply forgotten, task driven and heart empty, that we have received grace upon grace and the fullness of God?
How little we functionally understand this grace upon grace, the divine multiplier of our soul.
The True Gift Under Your Tree
Take a look at your Christmas tree, covered with lights and cherished memories. More than likely there are a few gifts, beautifully decorated, waiting to be opened on Christmas day.
What if we never opened those gifts?
What if we merely left them decorating the tree?
What would we miss?
Wouldn’t it be a waste?
Wouldn’t it be a shame?
Prayerfully open the gift of God’s fullness with hands tearing at the wrapping of joy, eager to understand more of what is in the box of God’s grace.
How could this Christmas be different if we stay focused on the fulness of God’s grace each day?
Tweetable:
Faith is the energy that empowers our hearts to take hold of grace.
How could this Christmas be different if we stay focused on the fulness of God’s grace each day?
Social Media: Everything We Need to Know We Learned in Kindergarten
Remember when social media first hit the scene? My kids were into it long before I had a clue what to do with social media. There have been times when I’ve been overwhelmed by all the various forms of media and what to do with them all.
What’s a tweet and where is my wall, I wondered as I was confronted with facebook, twitter, pinterest, google+, instagram, and on and on. At first, I dabbled with Facebook realizing it was a fun way to reconnect with old friends and keep current with family.
As I got more deeply involved in ministry and began writing seriously, all of the experts agreed that social media is a must for building a platform to share your message. At that point, I began to be more open-minded about using social media.
Don’t let the title of this post fool you, when it comes to the technical details of social media, we didn’t learn that in kindergarten. I still have a ton to learn. Today’s tot’s may be learning to tweet their abc’s and pin their favorite story books, but for those of us over 30, there is a lot to learn.
However, when it comes to the etiquette of relating to people through social media, we really did learn what we need to know in kindergarten.
How to Play Nice: The Value of the Golden Rule
Be friendly and personable and treat others the way you want to be treated.
The goal of social media is to engage with people, build relationships, and share information. It is important to get beyond self-promotion and share personality in your communication.
1. Introduce yourself, say hello before sharing information or asking for something in online interactions.
You would never meet a new colleague and before even saying hello ask them to promote your ministry. Don’t overlook basic manners when interacting online.
2. Treat others the way that you want to be treated.
This covers a lot of territory. If you want others to be kind, be kind first. If you want someone to share your posts, share theirs. If someone leaves a comment on your blog, return the favor. When folks are gracious enough to mention you on twitter, say thank you and check out their feed for something to mention. Responding and returning the blessing lets others know that you care.
3. Respect others in all that you say online. <Tweet.
Sticks and stones do break bones and words can hurt deeply. There are many folks who somehow believe that the somewhat anonymity of online communication makes it okay to be rude and opinionated in a disrespectful way. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, just read your FB feed during elections or check out the comments on a child’s piano recital on youtube.
Next Thursday’s social media post will share 4 more Golden Rule tips for interacting online.
How are you building relationships through social media?
Photo Credit: Social Media Laws of Attraction. Mark Smiciklas via Creative Commons. http://www.intersectionconsulting.com/
