Shorter Version

Hey, everyone!

How could we not praise our Lord for this awesome day? We oughta praise Him even if we were having a snow storm today, but since we're not, and we're having a beauuuuutiful day instead, praising Him today will be a chip shot! It's official! "Mostly sunny, pleasant and warming with highs in the lower to middle 70s on Saturday, then upper 70s to near 80 by Sunday!"

Awesome!

Y'know, with the weather and sometimes sports commentary, I've realized these Friday emails, including an encouraging thought for the week, have gotten a little lengthy! I mean the Gettysburg Address was only 272 words and Abe was sitting' back down after a couple of minutes and some change! There is no photograph of him giving that famous talk because by the time the camera was set up and ready, the Prez was done!

I've decided I need to tighten up and get to the point a little quicker. Discipline is what I need! I've been looking into ways to limit my words and I remember an article I read about the haiku. A haiku is a Japanese poem that is only three lines long. The first line has to have only five syllables. So does the third line. The middle line has to have exactly seven syllables. The reason it has to be like this is…well, I'm not sure! But it does make you get to the point in only three lines and seventeen syllables!

Maybe a good Friday email would be…

"Hey, ev-er-yone!

It is good to praise the Lord!

See you this Sunday!"

Or how 'bout...

"Don't complain about

Stuff that might happen to you.

Phil. two, verse fourteen!"

or maybe...

"If your words are few,

you don't say "I'm sorry" much.

Proverbs ten, nineteen"

I've been thinking that another possibility to make these shorter, is to basically make this into a Friday "tweet"! 

A tweet can have only 140 characters in it. You say it and done! Tweeting is a little hard for us old fellers to learn. I was just getting used to instant messaging. But maybe I could learn!

The closest you get to tweeting in the New Testament was a letter written by an old guy (surprisingly!) 90-year old John wrote a couple of letters that are one chapter each and just like a tweeting epistle, he gets to the point, says it, and signs off.  In fact, 2 John could be called a “twistle”.

“It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love!”

"He tells us to love. 

When you love, you obey Him. 

Love is what He wants!"

(Yikes! I can't stop haiku-ing!!)

So a tweet has only 140 characters?  I’m gonna try one. Ready?

The other day, I was jogging down the road by my house thinking about stuff. My best thoughts come to me while jogging. This thought was my best yet!! Ready? I thought to mys