An annoying question

I have a question. I probably shouldnt be asking it here in this format, but I am going to. Let me give you a warning: the following discussion my cause frustration...if you are concerned abou this then do not continue reading. There, I have warned you. My purpose here is to start a discussion. I want to hear your answers to this question that has recently started bothering me. The question is simply what does it mean when we raise our hands in worship? I do want to set a few parameters for this discussion. I dont really want to hear what you it means to you. I dont really care what it means to you (no offense); I want to know what it means...I want truth not subjectivity. If you can use Scripture that would be great, or if you have heard explanations that made sense feel free to share. I do want to say that I dont have a problem with raising hands, but a little while ago I ran into a bit of a problem. I realized that I didnt understand what I was doing. I didnt know why I was doing it. I found myself asking that if I was never to have seen anyone ever do that, would I have been able to come to that activity on my own with just the Scriptures...and if I never came to that conclusion would I be missing out on some part of deeper and more significant worship because of missing it. The reason that question bothered me is because I realized that I could have found yet another thing that I do in my life that is just parroting what I have seen others do, and never really questioned its purpose or meaning. 1 Corinthians 14:14-15 says, "For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind." Notice that the last phrase that we sing with our spirit and our mind. The point is simply that once again I found myself participating in mindless worship (by mindless I mean without understanding or a personal knowledge of). That isnt acceptable. I also want to say that I hope that this thought doesnt hinder you from expressing yourself in worship to God. But I am tired of asking stupind and boring questions. Let's hit the issue head on. So enjoy, and I hope that you do take time to evaluate this and dig in the Word.

Blogging manners

Are their unwritten rules for this whole BLOG thing? If you would have asked me this an hour ago, I would have foolishly said, "Common Sense should be enough to guide people." Oh how wrong I would have been. I just got off the phone with a friend of mine who had a Blogging horror story. She went on a few dates with a guy, but it wasnt going to work out. It ended and that was the end of that or so she thought. One day she was with some of her friends talking, and the conversation turned to this guy. Her friends were acting funny (more than usual) and she found out that this guy had been putting everything about their dates on his BLOG (along with a few added exaggerations). He was now venting his frustration with her, and to make matters worse her friends had been reading it and even commenting on some of the things, but none of them told her. Of course, she got onto the BLOG and read all about their dates, and for some strange reason she was upset. I have to ask myself a few questions that seem obvious to me, but maybe they arent so easy. Did this guy really think that this was a good idea? He knew that all of her friends read it, did he think that she wouldnt? Do you think that their was ever a point where a little voice came into his head and told him that this might not be the smartest thing to do? I would contend that this guy is an idiot, and has officially joined the ranks of the socially inept (I actually wanted to say socially retarded but that wouldnt be politically correct). I might be turning into a pessimist, but I am begginning to be astounded at the large number of really stupid people that are out there. So my conclusion on the whole matter is this: I cant trust in common sense to guide people, because apparently common sense isnt so common!!