Rules for Decent Behavior

There are rules for everything.
Driving rules, house rules... rules, rules, rules.
Truly the only sufficient rule of conduct for believers is the Word of God.

I thought I'd share a few of George Washington's Rules for Decent Behavior. Some of which are quite funny. I have a lot of respect for the history of George Washington. He was a true warrior who was "as great in peace as he was in victorious conquest." He was "humane, just, magnanimous, and patriotic. Even in retirement he became much beloved for the gentler virtues, as he had been admired for the greatness of his genius, and the splendor of his achievements." Perhaps I am wrong, but I picture him writing this little booklet for his grandchildren. It is a sweet little book with 110 rules. I could even see him chuckle at a few. But it is his last two rules that really struck at my heart. I will list a few of them according to how they are numbered in the book.

Rule#:
11. Shift not yourself in the sight of others nor gnaw your nails.
(in other words, do your best not to show how immensely bored you are)

12. Shake not the head, feet or legs; roll not the eyes; lift not one eyebrow higher than the other; wry not the mouth; and bedew no man's spittle by approaching too near him when you speak.
(in other words, don't let them know how stupid you think they are, nor let them get you so miffed that you get close enough to not only bedew them with your spittle, but likely also, their bad breath)

13. Tis ill manners to bid one more eminent than yourself be covered as well as not to do it to whom its due...
(in other words, I'm confused)

30. In walking, the highest place in most countries seems to be on the right hand, therefore put yourself on the left of him whom you desire to honor, but if three walk together, the mid place is the most honorable; the wall is usually given to the most worthy if two walk together.
(Okay, ummm, could you repeat that???)

36. In visiting the sick, do not presently play the physician if you be not knowing therein.
(Knowing therein I am not the doctor, but my husband is one, why do people ask me questions when my husband is not around as though I am one? My answer is usually "I'm not the one that is the doctor." When people bleed, I want to hurl. I sew material. Unlike my husband, I do not sew flesh.)

54. Run not in the street; neither go too slowly nor with your mouth open; go not shaking your arms, kick not the earth with your feet; go not upon your toes in a dancing fashion.
(Okay, so... this one has left me speechless)

61. ...stuff not your discourse with sentences...
(Wow... this fits well with the blogosphere)

75. ...If a person of quality comes in while you are conversing, it is handsome to repeat what was said before.
(I just forgot that the word handsome could be used in this context.)

90. Being set at meat, scratch not; neither cough, spit, or blow your nose, except if there is necessity for it.
(Necessity being if you have something protruding from your nose, do not hesitate to wipe it)

100. Cleanse not your teeth with the table cloth, napkin, fork, or knife, but if others do it, let it be done with a pick tooth. (In otherwords, brush your teeth so you do not have to wipe them off with the table cloth even when others do it.)

I saved the best for last.

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5 Comments

September 09, 2007

'Tis better to remain silent...

" 'Tis better to remain silent and thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"

You have GOT to go read THIS post. It is excellent.

2 Comments

February 19, 2007

"Are disclaimers really enough?"

Regarding who we link to as bloggers...

***UPDATE***:I have made changes to my sidebars reflecting my recent conviction about the need for disclaimers. I have also made changes to THIS PAGE where I deleted a few things and added THIS BLOG.

_______________________________________

This is actually more serious an issue than I had really thought. A friend wrote that we need to provide disclaimers when we are not sure about a link on our site. Even with services like ClustrMAP or our site meters or our search engines that may require links to sites that we would not endorse... but to use their services these links are required. The questions I have been asking myself are "Is it worth using those services?" and "Are disclaimers really enough?" I originally put my site meter up for safety purposes. There are times I have gotten some pretty rude and fishy commentors. To me, that one is necessary; but it does lead to some sites I would NEVER endorse. My friend wrote: "I think it's just the right thing to do, so that we don't confuse anyone... my grandma always said that you are known by the company you keep.... It works the same way in bloggy land. You're known by who you endorse/promote/link to and that's just the way it is... I still go over my links all the time to make sure if there IS one somewhere that should have some sort of disclaimer, that such and such page is good but I don't patently endorse the WHOLE page - then I pop that in there, or just remove the link. To me, it's just being a responsible blogger."

Challies recently wrote an article called For the Little Guy in which he asks questions like, How many clicks is too many? Am I responsible for people who click from my site to another and see pornography on that site? Am I responsible for people who click from my site to another and then to a third site and see pornography there?.

You will be seeing some changes on my site in the next week as I prayerfully try to discern what needs a disclaimer... and what should be deleted.

8 Comments

February 05, 2007

Weekend Whatever: My 10 Commandments of Blogging

Really Woolly Christmas is an adorable line of Christmas cards and gifts from my roommate, Julie Sawyer, when I worked as a graphic designer and freelance writer at Dayspring Greeting Cards... a VERY long time ago. By the way, not all of the Really Woolly line is Christmas. HERE is a mug... and there are year round cards that are so much fun. I can't tell you how many late night fits of laughter Julie and I shared. Anyway, I just miss her and thought I'd share a bit of her with you all.

My 10 Commandments of Blogging:

I. Thou shalt never use the Lord's name in vain, cuss words nor curse words... ever.

II. Thou shalt carefully ponder thy post prayerfully before thou publish it so as to bring glory to God alone.

III. Thou shalt not write an entire post in ALL CAPS even though it seems LOUDER.

IV. Thou shalt edit any quoted text down to the minimum thou needest.

V. Thou shalt read thine own post thrice before thou publish it.

VI. Thou shalt never purposely plagiarize.

VII. When in doubt, save thy post overnight and reread it in the fresh hours of the morning AFTER much prayer.

VIII. Thou shalt never post comments out of frustration.

IX. Thou shalt never repond in like manner to a hateful person.

X. Thou shalt know that thy words, in light of God's sufficient word, are more likely deficient than not.

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October 14, 2006

Blogging for God... an audience of One

Blogging to Worship God is the best post about blogging I have ever read. If you are a blogger, which if you are reading my blog, you more likely are than not, so take time to read it. It is something I wish I had read when I first started blogging. I was a blogging idiot when I first started blogging. By the grace of God alone, I have learned that blogging is not about me... it is about bringing glory to the Lord... even if no one reads it or leaves a comment.

2 Comments

September 01, 2006

I have gone temporarily insane

Let us just hope it is temporary.

A word of advice:

DO NOT BLOG WHEN....

1. You have not slept
2. You are on sudafed

Wikepedia Rules of appreciation regarding the insanity plea: (okay... so I kind of re-wrote them a bit)

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8 Comments
May 09, 2006

Top 12 Proper Posting Etiquettes to save you from learning the hard way

Tim Challies wrote something way better on blogging advice: The Wisdom of Solomon when Blogging
Mine is more of an exposure of my hard earned mistakes...
I tend to learn things the hard way and thus have had to sing songs like this, so learn from my mistakes:
(some of these mistakes I hope I have never made... some I have and might still if I am not especially fastidious... some I have witnessed on my own blog and other blogs I have read.)

1. Never use expletives nor ESPECIALLY take the Holy Lord's name in vain... If you do, BEWARE! This could be an indicator you are on a path straight to hell.

2. Never break the first rule while claiming to be a Christian... OUCH!!!

3. Never reply to an anonymous comment that is doltish or nefarious... or actually any comments that are, as such, bedraggled.

4. Never be pellucid at the expense of the Gospel.

5. Never miss the bounteous opportunities to be silent... as a woman without excuse, this one is my greatest challenge. (Particulary take this opportunity when you are sleep deprived and haven't had your morning coffee yet)
NOTE TO WOMEN: There are certain times of the month that we can be even far less discerning. Make note of those times and AVOID BLOGGING!

6. BE VERY CLEAR and don't forget to tell people you are being sincere because sometimes it does not come across that way.. Maybe S-P-E-L-L it out... like when you are being sarcastic.... For example, you do not want to have to write "I was trying to be funny" way after you have made a post or comment. If you have to write it later... it was either never funny or it has lost its potential to be funny. So put one of those sideways smily faces like this :-) or :-D. But try to avoid this ;-\ or this :-(

7. Do not compromise truth!!! ... but also learn when to shake the dust off your feet. Carry and USE the Sword... the Word of God, but be careful that you are not yielding a sharp tongue that will eventually cut your own throat.... in this blogoshere as in our daily life, being equipped with the whole armor of God is a REALLY GOOD IDEA!!!

8. Embrace the 5 points of Commentivism: (PRAY before you write and then PUSH "PREVIEW", PRAY again, and then "POST".) If you are only a 4 pointer, which in this case would be failing to pray after pushing preview, you will likely regret what you have posted.

9. Do not BLOG at the expense of your... life. Do not let it take away from your much-needed time in the Word of God!!!

10. Refer to # 8 before doing this, but it is good to post comments... but avoid asking irrelevant to the original post questions that make you look silly and then go on and on about it after you have been told to get a clue. (if you do keep going on and on refer back to #5)... and if you still do not get it, read the sidenote below.

SIDENOTE: I have had people get mad at me for not posting their comment not realizing I am genuinely trying to protect them from displaying their ignorance and rudeness of which, if they are genuine Christians or ever are truly drawn to God, will be one of those things you would regret if I did display it. Some, however, would display rude, lack of discernment comments without hesitation.

11. Try not to write a "book" when commenting on another person's blog especially whe it has alot of spelling errors. If your fingers keep on typing... cut and paste it into your own blog and make it a post. Then maybe put an excerpt in their comments about your post inspired by their post. Some don't like that , but I appreciate their thoughtfulness. (I have failed at this one... and am possibly up for an award for the longest comment on any post ever seen.)... and remember to use spell checker (you do realize I am saying that to myself...)

12. Never post or make comments when you are in the midst of an MS exacerbation. I tend to have problems with my memory during those times especially and find that I repeat myself too much because I forgot that I just wrote that very same thing either yesterday or a few minutes ago or a few months ago... can't remember. ha.

Please feel free to add more proper posting etiquettes for the sake of those new to the blog world. I have only been doing this since January 2006. Perhaps someone more seasoned will have better insight.

6 Comments
March 27, 2006