Be a Friend

My husband and I were discussing with our girls about having friends. One of them was complaining that she didn't really have any friends. So, we discussed the importance of being friendly to others if you expect the same back.

A few scriptures that come to mind that deal with this very topic are:

Luke 6:31
And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

Proverbs 18:24a
A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly

Friends

I'm so thankful I get to spend time with friends today! Make the time to be with friends. They can be a most precious gift and just talking with them can be just what the "doctor" orders.

Friendship

Proverbs 27:5-10 KJV

5 Open rebuke is better than secret love. 6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. 7 The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet. 8 As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place. 9 Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel. 10 Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.

God created people with a desire to have relationship with others. We were not created to live this life alone. Some women find a friend(s)when they are young and continue to be close friends for the remainder of their lives. Others have friends that come and go. Still others wait for what seems a lifetime for a close friend.

If you are married, your husband should be your best friend, but that doesn't need to stop you from having a best girl friend.

A friend who truly loves you will tell you what you need to hear and not just what you want to hear. She will care enough to help you feel better when you are down. A true friend is a blessing in deed.

If you don't have a friend like this, pray for God to send you one. If He doesn't answer the prayer right away, keep praying. It is definitely worth waiting for the friend God has purposed for you!

Friendship

Friends!

A great post about friends--near and far--can be found at (in)courage.

Merry Christmas!

Jehovah Jireh!

"An Abraham called the name of the place, The Lord Will Provide; as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided."
--Genesis 22:14

I love the name Jehovah Jireh for my God! He truly is the One who provides for me and although I shouldn't be amazed, I am constantly amazed at not only what He provides, but when and how He provides it. I could recount numerous stories of how He provided for us, but I want to share the latest with you today.

Just last week we finally finished up the meat we had in the freezer and I had to go out and buy meat. I cooked my first beef purchased from the store on Saturday and was quite disgusted by the amount of grease that came from it. I told Chad that we needed to save up and find a way to get at least part of a butchered cow (much better quality!). Saturday afternoon I received a phone call from my friend asking if we were going to be home that afternoon. When she arrived, she asked Chad and I to come out to her car because she needed help carrying something in. When we opened the car door, we saw two big boxes of meat (butchered, not store bought). She told us that a friend of her was cleaning out his freezer and needed to get rid of some of the meat because he couldn't possibly eat it all since he lived by himself. My friend didn't need it because her freezer was already full of meat so when he asked if she knew anyone who could use it, she told him about us. I would venture to guess that there is about $300 worth of meat!

I never would have imagined that God would provide us meat in this way--especially from someone that we had never even met! God continues to amaze me with His wondrous works! "To God be the glory for the great things He has done!"

Proverb for the Day

"Faithful are the wounds of a friend,

But the kisses of an enemy are decitful."

--Proverbs 27:6

And

"As iron sharpens iron,

So a man sharpens the coutenance of his friend."

--Proverbs 27:17

If we know our friends have something they need to hear (for their own good) and think it might "hurt" them, we still have an obligation to tell them. It is better for them to hear from a friend something that needs to change than to have someone else lie to them and they never better themselves. We are to "sharpen" our friends just as they are to sharpen us. We become better people because our friend help us become better people. The people who are closest to us are the one who will see when we are living in sin and don't realize it or need to make changes to live healthier, happier or whatever. Don't get offended when a friend tells you something you really don't want to hear. Thank them for loving you enough to be honest with you. And love your friends enough to be honest with them.

In closing, I hope everyone who reads my blog feels free to "wound" me by telling me if I have written something inappropriate or if there is something I could change to make the blog better. I consider you my friends and hope that you will "sharpen" me just as I hope I can help you become better women with what I have to "say".

Friendships

The following is something an on-line friend shared in a forum on the discussion of friendships. We had been discussing whether any of us have close friends or not. I came to the conclusion that most women have a hard time having close friends because they had been hurt in the past by "friends". I don't understand why, but it seems that women have either an extremely close friend or just "friends".

I thought my friend (who moved away) and I would be best friends forever.
We matured so much over the years, shared extremely intimate details of our lives with each other, and shared many hardships together. You would think that would bind us for life. well...it didn't.
It just goes to show you, that the one true friend we have that will NEVER leave, and I mean NEVER!, is JESUS CHRIST!
God placed wome/people/friends in our lives at certain points. perhaps to teach us a lesson, perhaps to prepare us for something else, perhaps just because he saw a need there that we hadn't.
what I've learned through my separation of friendships, is that it is truly a blessing to forgive them. no matter what happened.
I held a grudge for years, and all it got me was heartache. now that i have forgiven her, i am at peace with the whole situation.

I guess I needed to hear that sometimes my friends are placed in my life for a reason. I can't dwell on the fact that I don't have a close friend. I need to appreciate and be thankful for every friend I do have. God has placed each one (past, present or future) in my life either because I needed them, or because they needed me.

So, thank you to all my friends. Thank you for being there when I needed you. Thank you for praying for me even when I didn't know you were. Thank you teaching me things. Thank you for letting me be a part of your life. If you are a friend who I don't see very often anymore or don't talk with, please know that I still think about you and thank God for making you a part of my life. If you are a friend who parted ways because of a hurt done to you and/or me, please know that I forgive you and want only the best for you.

Love your friends. Let them know you love them. Cherish them and pray for them.