Jesus Jukes And Being Fragile.

 There's a guy I read... John Acuff. 

He is bright, funny and tweets a lot. 

I watched him turn his dream into reality. Now he helps others do the same, and gets paid for it.

 The old, "Do what you love and the money will come" idea.

 It seems to be working for him.

A couple years ago

he posted a picture of himself packing for a family vacation. He has a wife and two young girls.

 He had 13 books in his suitcase. Okay, at least 7. Brownie promise.

He was going to the beach, for a week...

Seriously John?

I found the picture hilarious, recognizing I had been where he was, with young kids.

 Leave the books home.

So... I commented.

I wrote, "Take all but two of those books out. Make the second your book, and give it away. Then go play in the sand."

He had recently published a book and looked for opportunities to give a free copy when traveling. 

A good book. 

A book I bought. I am a fan.

He responded to my tweet. He said I kid juked him. I didn't know what it meant at first, but it sunk in.

A juke is when someone takes a joke and turns it serious.

I don't think he was kidding, but I could be wrong.

    It was interesting 

because

 the dude has tons of followers..

and he has never responded to other tweets of mine.

It was pretty funny, I laughed. I think he did too.

Similarly, the first tweet I ever received was from Don Miller, as in The Donald Miller. Gifted writer and a bit quirky, just the way I like people.

My daughter rolled her eyes at this, "Mom, it figures your first tweet would be from a famous author." 

I think she re-tweeted it... though I had no idea what that was.

The reason Don tweeted me...

I commented on one of his books.

 I said something like, the first part was slow, but so glad I stuck with it as it has turned into one of my favorites. I shared that I read the book to my high school small group and they pretty much fell in love with the ideas in his book. 

So, it was kind of a backhanded compliment.

He tweeted that he was glad I stuck with it. No big deal. No friend request, just a simple comment.

I thought it was cool.

The guy writes like a boss.

My take away...

We all want to be liked, appreciated and respected. We are all fragile and if you put yourself out there with words, be prepared. 

People will cut you and make you bleed in three words or less.

I have seen it.

It's ugly.

Have you been juked or back handed by a compliment lately? 

Do you Jesus Juke?

I have. It's dumb.

It looks like this...

 "Wow, those fans are awesome! They are so passionate!"

Response... "Yeah, wouldn't it be great if they were that passionate about Jesus and read their Bibles like fans."

or one of John's examples,

He tweeted about going to see Conan O'Brien and how big the crowd was and someone responded, "If we held a concert for Jesus and gave away free tickets, no one would come." Waa waa.

Who does this help, uplift, encourage?

No one. It makes us feel superior. 

No one is going to "Come to Jesus" through shame.

I have learned much through men and women I read. I see brilliance, giftedness, that I may never share with them.

Yet, we are not so different. We all want to be heard, validated and we can offer that to one another.

It costs nothing and offers everything.

Listen deeply to each other, offer soft words in response.

And... no juking allowed.