"Finished with Facebook, etc. Part 2" (Or, How my Hiatus Became a BYEatus, Lol)

 

 

This is the 25th anniversary of the movie "Groundhog Day," where Bill Murray was trapped into reliving the same day over and over but gradually became a better person.  Facebook began to make me feel like that, only I was not growing there recently (see last post.) So finally, here are more things that helped me decide to leave my primary Facebook page for good  (Please read the last blog FIRST if you haven't already, as it will help you understand this one better. Thanks.)

 

*  On Oct. 26th, 2017, my first wife, Beth, who died in March of last year, would have been 70. Many of you know that Scripture identifies 70 as the average lifespan for us sinners these days.  I am "only" 62 (I'll be 63 on Feb. 12th, Lord Willing) but that "70" milestone got me thinking about my OWN mortality. 

*  On Oct. 31st, 2017 it was the 500th anniversary of Luther's role in the Reformation.

*  In late November of last year, George H.W. Bush became the oldest living former U.S. President in history.

 * In early December, the celebration began for Billy Graham's 100th year, which takes place in 2018.

( Also, R.C. Sproul, prominent Bible teacher, died in December 2017.)

All of these things have me thinking what MY legacy will be when the Lord takes me and frankly, with the encouragement of my new bride-to-be, Mercedes (who I will marry, Lord Willing, in April of 2018), my legacy can be far, far MORE than just being "Mr. Facebook" (again, see last post).

So, I'm starting the new year by going back to blogging.

I was a blogger for 5 years on Xanga before coming to FB in 2009, and yes, I'm going BACK to blogging...but only at the pace of 1-2 blogs a week.  In my mind, blogging is far more permanent and meaningful than Facebooking.   Yes, I tried doing NOTES on Facebook (as my Notes section bears abundant witness) but, to me that is just not blogging as it's tied to the rather shallow, superficial medium known as FB.

Sometimes, we just have to move on to what God will have for us NEXT!!  And, I am.  More soon!!

Next: The problems with Political Correctness

"Finished with Facebook...Back to Blogging, Part 1"

 

 
Many weeks ago, I did my last Facebook post on my primary FB page.  Considering that I'd averaged 6-9 posts a day, 7 days a week, for several years that is quite a long time to be away!  But even though it was originally said to be just a temporary break,  I'm not coming back to FB "like old times."  From this point on, I will use that page only to link to other places such as my new BLOG page (called "Chetitorials") which you are reading now. (Note: Mercedes and I are starting a "Jones-Jelinski Wedding Page" on FB where our April wedding will be live-streamed.)

Anyway, considering how involved I was with that primary FB page, I thought a brief explanation might be in order as to why I'm leaving.  Admittedly, my departure has seemed somewhat sudden, but it really was inevitable (more later.)

First, let me set to rest the rumor that I did not leave FB because I was depressed that our Yankees missed the 2017 World Series, Lol!! Yes, I took a hiatus for exactly the reason stated.

 

As mentioned in my (last) November 2nd FB post, I was asked to teach the Men's Sunday School class in our church because an emergency need arose.  At that time, this commitment was "only" for a 12 week period but the Lord has blessed me and I have since decided to take the position permanently even though it's my first-ever recurring teaching role.  The amount of study and meditation required to teach this class effectively precludes a constant, day-by-day involvement in Facebook...at least for ME it does because I'm an "all-or-nothing" guy.  Therefore, my FB hiatus has now become a BYEatus, Lol!!

 

Secondly, my decision to leave Facebook was actually inevitable once my wife died in March of last year.  Losing a spouse of 38 years makes you realize how short life is, and frankly it's TOO short to spend the amount of time I spent on Facebook each day.  I want to do more for THE LORD, you see. I have a new sense of urgency to "work while it is yet the day, for the night is coming when no man can work," as Jesus said.  I want to write more books, and I want to aggressively market some of the 11 I've written and self-published already. My lovely and very gifted  new bride-to-be, Mercedes, is ready, willing and able to help me with that!  Please note: I judge no one who CONTINUES to post frequently on FB...it's just not for me anymore (regarding doing anything now but linking to my blogs there.)

 

And, I didn't quit Facebook immediately after Beth's death last year because I wanted everyone who prayed for me during those preceding 2 years to know I was doing okay, and going on with God despite the difficulties. I wanted everyone to see how faithful God was to me, how He has UPHELD me.  But the recent occasion of beginning teaching the Sunday School class triggered the hiatus, 8 months after she passed...the Lord has now given me a NEW way to glorify Him (with this class.)
I hope that my upcoming remarriage (on April 28th) shows that I'm joyfully going on with God, with life, and with a new wife.

 In short, I have nothing much more to say on Facebook, but I'm going back to blogging, where I started out in 2004 before coming to FB in '09.                      I will only blog 1-2 times a week, if that.

I sincerely thank those of you who've read my FB posts, especially those who were "with" me, and prayed with me, for those two years as Beth was dying. However, it's time to move on to better things for me. My FB page will only be used now to link to my blog page...I regret that I can't comment anywhere on FB, either on my page or anywhere else anymore.  Time is too precious now, but please don't think that I don't value YOU guys, especially any of you who've cared enough to read this here to the very end.  More about why I'm finished with Facebook, and going back to blogging, in my next blog...next week!!

 

(Continued next blog)

 

BTW, this page was designed for me by my dear friends Brian and Jennifer Hanley. The blog BENEATH this one was posted by Brian (not me) to test the page, but I like it so I'm leaving it.

 

Fighting The Good Fight!

FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT

It's no secret that the Rocky movies have, in some sense, mirrored the career of the man who wrote and starred in them all. In the 1970s, Sylvester Stallone was a struggling actor who got his shot at the big time by writing, on spec, a screenplay about a struggling boxer who gets his shot at the big time—starting with the original Rocky, which won an Oscar for Best Picture in 1976. In the 1980s, as Stallone was at the height of his box-office power, Rocky was transformed, quite abruptly, from a hoodlum with a heart of gold to a wealthy celebrity who enjoys his fame and riches but fears that he may have lost his edge. And then, in 1990, as Stallone's star began to fade, Rocky lost his fortune—again, quite abruptly—and retired to the low-income Philadelphia neighborhood where his story had first begun.