Post by WWJDthrume on Aug 5, 2004 10:45:04 GMT -5
Grace Notes are little accent notes which add flavor to a musical composition. We are adding beauty and flavor to a market which desperately needs it. Grace notes don't have any specified length. They can be a short burst or sustained. I love the word Grace. God is all about Grace. It means undeserved favor. We are saved by grace.
This will be my first column and I wanted to say a little about myself. I am the wife of a Pastor and the mother of a boy and girl (twins) who were our adorable foster babies. We adopted them when were legally free at age 5. They are 18 now. We also raised a third child now a grown up woman who was our foster child from ages 13-16 and she adopted us. That is a long story for another time. I am a singer and songwriter who works as an Artist Associate with World Vision. I present their unique Child Sponsorship program in my singing and speaking engagements. I am also a trader in micro-securities. My trading style is flexible and that is a very good thing given the complexity of the market and some of its' current challenges.
We are living in ungraceful times. People are much ruder today than when I was a child. We would never sit on a bus or a chair while an elderly person was standing, without offering our seat. We called our friends parents Mr. and Mrs. and used their last names. People were generally considerate. If someone was loud or obnoxious they would be noticed because that was not common. Swear words had shock value. Love scenes in a movie would be a passionate kiss with closed mouths. Men would open doors for women and they appreciated it. As a musician I will sometimes be bringing in guitars and sound equipment and young men will sit and watch. They might not even open the door. They can watch a woman try to carry an elephant without offering to help. But if there is an 80 year old man around; he will pick up and carry the elephant without hesitation and carry the woman's purse too, if it looks heavy.
This column idea came to me when I got an email from a poster I had exchanged posts and emails with on another site. He had a bashing, taunting, style of writing his distaste for a particular stock. Because of this he was often called names. Sworn at. Made fun of and threatened. Some of the posts that ranked on him had some funny one liners. This guy was a pill. I have to admit his posts were infuriating. And he would say such venomous things. Retaliatory, Rude, and bitter. I stuck up for him a few times because I knew a little about him from our emails. But even that was difficult since his actions made me want to agree with the people who were calling him a basher. Suffice it to say he needed and still needs Jesus very much.
We agreed not to disagree on the boards and to keep things pleasant. I sent him an email every now and then but he recently stopped responding. We had previously been friendly enough that he had invited me for lunch with him and his wife anytime I was in the area. Tonight the email I got from him was very bitter and angry. It had to do with the stock I like and he hates. He was ranting about the thread on the board he frequented. He hadn't been there in a while. I think the administrator asked him not to post on it. The board was so much nicer without him. But I also want to help him meet Jesus.
So back to the nasty email. It was rude. I wanted to strike back and zing him with some good ones. Well, they aren't really good ones, if they have no goodness in them. I wanted to give it back to him. I was on the other site and saw the venom he was spewing at others. Oh boy, I could have him on the ropes and really give him the knock out punch he seemed to be begging for. He was saying things that could be given back to him in such funny ways I was laughing just thinking about it. There is something funny about a bully getting his due. But what would Jesus do? Oh Brother! Why did I have to pick a name like WWJD-thru-me? I should have picked minnow-swimming-with-sharks or maybe something tough like StockasaurusRex. (Actually, it is a good thing I post as WWJDthrume. It helps keep me accountable).
There are some things I am pretty sure about. One is Jesus would love this person and see his need in spite of the barbs and needles he is jabbed with. He would see the lost, out of control person who needs him. He would offer Grace. That undeserved favor. In this case a kind word may not be appreciated. But not entering into the arguments, refusing to add fuel to the flames of gossip, turning a deaf ear to his insults and praying for him would be undeserved favor.
We all get to interact with so many people on message boards every day. Lets leave them Grace Notes. -Debi
This will be my first column and I wanted to say a little about myself. I am the wife of a Pastor and the mother of a boy and girl (twins) who were our adorable foster babies. We adopted them when were legally free at age 5. They are 18 now. We also raised a third child now a grown up woman who was our foster child from ages 13-16 and she adopted us. That is a long story for another time. I am a singer and songwriter who works as an Artist Associate with World Vision. I present their unique Child Sponsorship program in my singing and speaking engagements. I am also a trader in micro-securities. My trading style is flexible and that is a very good thing given the complexity of the market and some of its' current challenges.
We are living in ungraceful times. People are much ruder today than when I was a child. We would never sit on a bus or a chair while an elderly person was standing, without offering our seat. We called our friends parents Mr. and Mrs. and used their last names. People were generally considerate. If someone was loud or obnoxious they would be noticed because that was not common. Swear words had shock value. Love scenes in a movie would be a passionate kiss with closed mouths. Men would open doors for women and they appreciated it. As a musician I will sometimes be bringing in guitars and sound equipment and young men will sit and watch. They might not even open the door. They can watch a woman try to carry an elephant without offering to help. But if there is an 80 year old man around; he will pick up and carry the elephant without hesitation and carry the woman's purse too, if it looks heavy.
This column idea came to me when I got an email from a poster I had exchanged posts and emails with on another site. He had a bashing, taunting, style of writing his distaste for a particular stock. Because of this he was often called names. Sworn at. Made fun of and threatened. Some of the posts that ranked on him had some funny one liners. This guy was a pill. I have to admit his posts were infuriating. And he would say such venomous things. Retaliatory, Rude, and bitter. I stuck up for him a few times because I knew a little about him from our emails. But even that was difficult since his actions made me want to agree with the people who were calling him a basher. Suffice it to say he needed and still needs Jesus very much.
We agreed not to disagree on the boards and to keep things pleasant. I sent him an email every now and then but he recently stopped responding. We had previously been friendly enough that he had invited me for lunch with him and his wife anytime I was in the area. Tonight the email I got from him was very bitter and angry. It had to do with the stock I like and he hates. He was ranting about the thread on the board he frequented. He hadn't been there in a while. I think the administrator asked him not to post on it. The board was so much nicer without him. But I also want to help him meet Jesus.
So back to the nasty email. It was rude. I wanted to strike back and zing him with some good ones. Well, they aren't really good ones, if they have no goodness in them. I wanted to give it back to him. I was on the other site and saw the venom he was spewing at others. Oh boy, I could have him on the ropes and really give him the knock out punch he seemed to be begging for. He was saying things that could be given back to him in such funny ways I was laughing just thinking about it. There is something funny about a bully getting his due. But what would Jesus do? Oh Brother! Why did I have to pick a name like WWJD-thru-me? I should have picked minnow-swimming-with-sharks or maybe something tough like StockasaurusRex. (Actually, it is a good thing I post as WWJDthrume. It helps keep me accountable).
There are some things I am pretty sure about. One is Jesus would love this person and see his need in spite of the barbs and needles he is jabbed with. He would see the lost, out of control person who needs him. He would offer Grace. That undeserved favor. In this case a kind word may not be appreciated. But not entering into the arguments, refusing to add fuel to the flames of gossip, turning a deaf ear to his insults and praying for him would be undeserved favor.
We all get to interact with so many people on message boards every day. Lets leave them Grace Notes. -Debi
