Three months of flooding across the nation has left more than 500 dead and one-quarter of Thailand’s 76 provinces still feeling the effects of flood waters. For three weeks, much of the nation’s capital, Bangkok, has been submerged under waist-deep water.  The sad part is that the water has nowhere to go and is predicted to remain for several more weeks.

Currently, the Australian dollar is relatively strong on the world currency markets.  However, Australia’s increasing reliance on exports to China concerns some experts. In recent years, Chinese companies have been hoarding metals—especially copper—to use as collateral.  With the slumping value of copper, Australian exports to China are predicted to drop drastically, which will negatively affect the Australian dollar (Money and Markets, October 22, 2011).

Saturday, November 5, Oklahoma was hit by the largest earthquake on record in the state—a quake of 5.6 magnitude.  While the quake did little damage, it scared many people who are used to tornados, but not earthquakes.  The quake was felt as far away as Washington, DC, and South Carolina—1,000 miles away (Reuters, November 6, 2011).

Launched in 2004, Facebook has exploded to a reported 1.71 billion active users. Facebook’s stated purpose is to help users “connect and share” with the people in their lives. The ubiquity of Facebook and other social media, and the fact that the expressed purpose of social media is to “share” about ourselves, our life and our interests gives Christians the opportunity—and the responsibility—to ask ourselves a very important question. What do we “like”?

Paul Harvey once told a story about a tough lumberjack who went to town one weekend, fell in with a religious group, and was baptized. He went back to the lumber camp—much to the concern of his preacher, who worried that others would make fun of him. When he went back to town the preacher asked him how it went. He said, “They never caught on.”