Move Over Facebook, Now There's Myblab!

I hate to admit it, but I am a facebook junkie.  Seriously, I use it to keep in touch with friends, check sports scores, the weather, the news..... you name it, and one of my friends is probably posting about it.  And I use it to communicate with a lot of folks - pictures of my son for the grandparents, life updates for friends who are far away, and confirming lunch plans with friends who are close.    I try not to think about the security issues or who is there, peeping my profile.

Well, now there's an alternative to facebook!  It's called MyBlab (Blab stands for Be Linked As Believers).  I really like the idea of a safer place to 'play' online.  I like the idea that the folks on my social media sight are Christians, and I like to think that makes it safe.  I signed up for MyBlab so I could check it out, and invited a bunch of friends to do the same.  Here's what I discovered.

First of all, it has a lot of the same things that facebook has, such as chat, birthdays, an address book, and most importantly, status updates.  It has apps.  It has pictures.  It even has some cool music features that make MyBlab a great way for Christian artists to connect with fans and get their name out there.  It has MyBlab radio!  I like those things, and they make me want to join a Christian social media organization.

What I don't like is that the pages look cluttery.  I'm not sure if there are too many different fonts, or two many different things on each page, but it makes it look a little messy.  I could get past that, though except for one thing.  I have no friends.  For the time being, it seems, none of my friends want to move from their cozy facebook community to a new town, and I can't really blame them for that.  But I predict that as the facebook novelty wears off people will tire of the security breaches and the constant changes.  And when that happens, I'll be waiting to remind them I'm still hanging out at MyBlab.

www.MyBlab.com

Then Sings My Soul by Robert J. Morgan

Then Sings My Soul, Special Edition by Robert J. Morgan

Then Sings My Soul is a collection of one hundred and fifty hymn stories, compiled and written by Robert J. Morgan in a beautiful paperback gift edition with parchment pages. Each hymn story is comprised of the lyrics, music in hymn format, and the history surrounding that hymn. This book takes you through the seasons of the church year from Christmas to Easter, including patriotic hymns and other cherished gems such as Fairest Lord Jesus, Be Still My Soul, and Little Brown Church in the Vale. The hymns are also indexed by Title, Author/Songwriter, and first line.

Don’t try to read Then Sings my Soul all in one sitting! The details and depth of each entry will bog you just bog you down. Instead, this book is best used as a daily devotional, where you can sit and meditate on the words of the hymns in the context of the author’s life story and enjoy the rich, compact theology in each hymn text . I was pleased to read so many of my favorite hymns in this edition, such as Blessed Assurance, He Lives, and Jesus Loves Me. I was amazed to see how many hymns were born of personal tragedies and difficult life circumstances.

This book is a terrific resource for personal devotional time, as background information for hymn sings and worship services, and as a help for selecting hymns for the worship service. It would make a terrific gift for yourself, your pastor, or your favorite church musician.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

Time for spring!

Love these!