Are You an Intentional Friend?

Me neither.

Friendship is the mother of all relationships; ironically. (Click to tweet!)

Without friendship, the human race cannot thrive. We could survive, sure, but we wouldn’t be living at our full capacity. We wouldn’t be tapping into who we really are: Created beings in the image of a relational God.

Now with that, let me say I am a bad friend.

Or at least that’s what my sweet husband tried to tell me. We were watching a video series on marriage and that evening’s topic was on friendship. The pastor said thatfriendship is the foundation of all healthy relationships. Different types of friendships will go to different levels of intimacy, nonetheless, friendship is the required baseline.

At the end of the video, he told us to ask one another how they think we are doing on the friendship scale. When I asked Ty, he replied,

“You’re a good friend babe…when you want to be.”

Of course he was super gentle and compassionate in his response, so much so that I did not feel offended (for long). But he was right. Ty’s words to me that day were both timely and enlightening. I never realized I was that way with my friends. But as I started to evaluate my friendships and the ones that fizzled, I saw a pattern of declining priority among them.

I realized I am what I like to categorize as a “convenience friend.”

When the stars align and my schedule clears up, then we can try to get coffee. It’s not for lack of desire necessarily, but rather ignorant precedence. I love my friends, probably more than they know, but I wasn’t being intentional about showing them their value in my life.

That night I tossed and turned until 4AM, mulling over the many friendships I’ve probably lost due to my unintentional way of being a friend; or convenience friendship. I felt dichotomized because on one hand I felt so much sorrow for the past, and on the other hand I felt motivated to start showing my friends just how much they mean to me.

I was reminded while reading Colossians 3, that friendship doesn’t just consistent of the DON’T's (don’t gossip, don’t backstab, don’t hate, don’t hurt, etc), but more so of the DO’s (love, humility, patience, kindness, compassion, etc).

Friendship isn’t passive and convenient, it is proactive and sought out because it is necessary! We were never meant to be independent and self-sufficient. We were never meant to be alone.

You need them to get through this life and they need you.

So this is my challenge to you (and to me!)

This week, write a card, an email, or a text to a friend you have been “convenient” with. 

First, ask for their forgiveness for not being the friend they needed. 
Second, tell them how much you appreciate them and be specific. They will love it!

“Again, I saw vanity under the sun: one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business. Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!” (Ecclesiastes 4:7-9).

This is What Love Does

We all have a gripping desire to feel loved, valued, seen. The journey may get rocky, vision may get blurry and a refocus may be in order. But at the end of the day, when love leads the way, the world shifts.

Love is patient and love is kind. It doesn’t envy or boast. It is not arrogant or rude. It doesn’t insist on its own way. It is not irritable or resentful; it doesn’t rejoice when things go wrong, but rather rejoices with the truth.

It is the very key that unlocks the door of unity.

Why?

Because love bears all things, believes all things, hopes and endures all things.

Love joins generations. It compels the younger women to reach up for the hand of her older generation. It activates the older women to lift her up in the lessons of faith and bravery.

Love covers multitudes of sin.

Love unifies diversity.

What do we need most to change our corner of the world?

Love.

And by our love, we will shine.

Hume Lake with the Band

Have you ever had the chance to watch someone grow up?

Maybe besides your own children?

It's been a weird and joyful journey watching these friends grow up. Some of us are the same age, so we're growing up together, through college and weddings and bands. Some are younger, so we watched them go through pimples, squeaky voices and girlfriends. But this band is one we love very much.

They were some of the toughest to leave when we moved.

You never know, when you uproot from a place you've been grounded for so long, how the distance will effect relationships. It's kind of terrifying. The "what-if's" were overwhelming for me as we said our last goodbyes and drove away.

But that weekend in September, when we all drove and flew various miles to play together once again, was so full of joy and laughter and unity.

The band was back together. Even if just for a weekend.

Distance makes the heart grow fonder, or so they say. Seeing these sweet lives blossom and flourish under the pressure and changes of seasons has been a sheer joy.

I miss them. I love them. Even from a distance.

Every Girl Needs a Sisterhood

A sisterhood is a gathering of women, girls, daughters, who come together with a purpose, great or small, to support, encourage, lift up and love on one another.

That's my Wednesdays. 

Every Wednesday, a couple hundred women and I get together and laugh, eat, cry, gasp, pray and worship the God who is uniquely, yet uniformly, working in each and every one of our lives. 

We are a Sisterhood. 

And while I'm a little terrified to be the new girl, I know I'm welcome. With wide open arms and overflowing generosity.

It's the most amazing feeling in the world. 

If you don't have a sisterhood, get one. I promise you won't regret it. 

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Live in the Austin, Texas area and free on Wednesday nights from 7-9pm? Come hang out with us! I'll personally show you around :) Email or tweet me for more information!

Love is Big(ger) Than Geography

Love is big. Bigger than anything. More powerful than anything. Yet, the most difficult emotion to express. Be it physical boundaries or emotional, love takes effort. Sacrifice. It takes some schedule rearranging and active prioritizing. Neither of which I am great at.

But for the next couple months, I will attempt to do both in a small group of women. We live in four different cities, with six kids, four husbands, two timezones and our own insecurities between us, but we are committing to do this life together.  (Thanking God for Skype the whole way!)

Why?

Because we need each other to remind one another that love is, indeed, bigger.

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Cards by Bold Face Type / Book we're going through: Believing God

If You Have a Friend for Life, Don't Let Anything Pull You Apart

Friendship is a weird thing. It's a commitment that ebbs and flows depending on the season of life we are in. Sometimes cultivating the friendship is convenient. Sometimes it is not.

Sometimes talking on the phone for hours on end about absolutely nothing and everything at the same time is doable. Sometimes it is not.

Sometimes weekly book clubs and Bible studies are inspiring and necessary. Sometimes they're not.

Sometimes spontaneous overnight trips to the city to read and write silently in the same room is refreshing. Sometimes it's just too much work to get there in the first place.

Sometimes friendships are circumstantial, and sometimes, they're not.  (Click to Tweet)

High school, college, marriage, motherhood are the seasons that my friendships have filtered through so far. Some stuck and some didn't. Some were pivotal in their designated season and others have become more so as time moves on.

But regardless, I'm learning my friends are a necessary, not optional, necessary part of my existence.

I need her to push me when I'm lazily meandering through life. I need her to pick me up off the bathroom floor when my burdens are weighing me down. I need her to belly laugh at the totally inappropriate memes I find on Pinterest. I need her to cry tears of sorrow when I lose, and tears of gladness when I've been given. Specifically life.

I need her and she needs me. Otherwise, we might not make it sane in this world.  (Click to Tweet)

She needs you and you need her. Otherwise, you might not make it either.

So, if you have a friend who is turning out to be one of those lifetime friends, don't let anything, nothing, pull that apart. (Click to Tweet) 

Fight for your friendships because it'll be worth it when you're grey haired and reminiscing, "Remember that one time..."

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Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:  If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity. – Khalil Gibran

Better is open rebuke than hidden love.  Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses. Proverbs 27:5-6

Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together. – Woodrow T. Wilson

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17

True friendship is when you walk into their house and your WiFi connects automatically.

Colossians 3:12-15 - (Day Two)

My sophomore year of college, I really began to see the value of Christian community is its messiness. There's something about looking another brother or sister in Christ in the eyes and asking for forgiveness and having them say, you are forgiven. It brings a whole new level of friendship to the table and creates space for authenticity to settle in. 

I flew into Grand Rapids after Christmas break in 2008, and on the car ride, my phone notified me I hadn't read the verse of the day. So I pulled out my Bible and read this verse to all the girls in the car: 

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience, bearing with one another and if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful." (Colossians 3:12-15)

We all "hmm-ed" and "awww-ed" and after a couple minutes, went back to our prior conversation (about boys our vacations). It wasn't until a couple years later that this verse came back around to really sink into my heart and soul. 

As I remembered that car ride of 2008, I was a bit bummed about the opportunity I missed that night. In that car was a girl I'd hurt; not intentionally but it didn't matter at that point. Hurt was hurt. Offense was offense. 

I was too afraid to ask her forgiveness. I was too afraid to bring back up, a conversation we'd both let scab over. And you know what? We never fully recovered. We might exchange Christmas cards and casual Facebook talk, but the relationship was never really re-harmonized. 

Now, 3 years later, even as I'm writing this, I think it might be time. 

It's never too late to say you're sorry. It's never too late to ask for forgiveness. It's never too late to put on compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience. 

Our communities need it. 

The Rumor Weed

Rumors are rarely good. 


And have you noticed when someone tells you they heard a rumor, most of the time it's said in a suspicious, negative way? Like this: "So, I heard a rumoorrrr..." Slowing speech. Crooked eyebrows. Inquisitive facial contortions. It's almost as if they're trying to give you the benefit of the doubt, but not really. Then, if you deny that rumor they're all surprised...like they believe that the information that passed through {4 different peoples} interpretations is way more believable than the information that came from the very lips of the person whom the rumor is about.


I wonder why is it easier for us to ask around rather than ask a direct question. I understand that maybe back in the day immediate information wasn't easy. Cells phones were non-existent and internet speed was dial-up. But now, we can get answers to any question in the entire world in 3.2 seconds. Everything is an email, a phone call, a text or twitter away. Literally.


I know I am guilty of this human plague we call rumors and gossip. And I confess that. There is nothing I want more security in than knowing we are protecting the integrity of friends. I've been on both sides of the mirror and I don't like either side. 


I was reading in Proverbs and came across these verses that totally convicted me in an urgent, transforming way.


Proverbs 16:28: "A perverse man stirs up dissension and a gossip separates close friends."


My heart breaks at the truth of this verse. Gossip separates. Everyone involved. Some people can argue that gossip actually glues relationships because it gives them something to talk about. Something to connect with. But inevitably, you are never immune from being the object of gossip. It separates.

Proverbs 18:7:  Fool’s mouth is his undoing, and his lips are a snare to his soul. 

The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man’s inmost parts.

This is true for both parties. The gossipee and the gossiper. So I told Ty today, while doing my hair in the bathroom, I wanted him to keep me accountable in my words and stories. I don't want to spread rumors [intentionally or unintentionally]. I don't want to break apart my friendships because of stupid choice words. If I hear something, I want to go straight to the source. No matter the awkward confrontation. 

If you hear something that sounds fishy, stop it right in its tracks. Or ask the person in question...not the person next to you. And I will do the same.

"Do not repeat anything you will not sign your name to."

~Author Unknown

Love,

PS. This is a funny childish reminder.

Happy Smelly Ending.

Question: What kind of animal tracks are these? Look closely.

These are skunk tracks.

How do I know, you ask...well I wouldn't normally know that. Those look like deer or rabbit or squirrel tracks for all I know. But there is one key to this puzzle I have not yet revealed.

The key is that at 4:00AM Monday morning my dear friend Cara woke me up from her sofa bed and alerted me that there was a strong smell in the house and it might be a gas leak so we needed to leave asap. As I sat up and when my senses rushed back to me, I was greeted with the strongest, most piercing nasty scent I have ever smelt.

The next morning, her landlord called and after he checked everything out, his conclusion was that a skunk sprayed somewhere in the ventilation system and steamed the entire house. Pee-you. 

So after she googled some "how-to's" about getting rid of skunk smell, we went back to gather our things and did laundry for the remainder of our day. 

It wasn't all a loss however. She lives 10 minutes from Lake Michigan so in between loads we took Ty to see the gorgeous frozen over lake and walked through downtown Holland. This isn't a Cali-type lake. It is one of the Great Lakes. So it's pretty much an ocean with no waves and no sharks. Ty's kinda body of water eh? :) 

I found a little creative shop that I fell in love with [and will soon be doing a Friday Feature on] and Cara took me to her friend's Art Bar. It is exactly what it sounds like. A building full of stuff to make art: from a piano full of beads and jewelry to a wall of scrapbook paper and the like. It was heaven. 

We ended our day with showers, folding laundry and playing Bananagrams. Oh how I love friends and Bananagrams. 

Home now and finding out there's yet another level of exhaustion. 

Be back full force this week.

Love,

Saturday Obsession: My Very Own Travel Kit

Tuesday night a friend of mine texted me to ask if she could come over. I told her I'd be home in 20 minutes and of course she could come over. What I thought was going to be a girly convo turned out to be a cry fest and a big box of travel goodies. 


She made me my very own travel kit! Just because she loves me.


Here's some pics I snapped before I tore into it. 

Adorable right? 


She even wrote verses on each item to encourage me in the truth during my fast-paced time. With the crazy busy week before, emotions going crazy and running on bare minimum hours of sleep, this sweet gift was so perfectly timed that it made me cry. [I know, babyish of me, but it's just the darn truth.]

So thanks Kandis for making my day. 

Happy Saturday. Tomorrow Ty and I are going to this church. Worship review to come. 

:)

Love,

Oh Whatta Man.

It's here peeps. It's finally here. This is the song we performed for my best friend's wedding. Joanna {Bride} is in the middle, Emily {Matron of Honor} is on the right, and I {Matron of Honor} am on the left. 


Prepare yourself. This is epic. {And I'm sure we'll laugh harder @ this the older we get.} 





Good memories. 


Love you Jo!


-JM

These College Days.

So many people I know are moving back into their dorms this week. An equal amount are moving into their dorms for the first time. I remember that day. I was both scare and excited about what was to come. The unknown of college life. But I loved it. 

College taught me much more than textbooks and literature.

It taught me the messiness and shakiness of life on your own.

The road less traveled is always funner with the right company {and good music}.

Pranks are always good. 
Both as the deliverer and recipient. Always good. 

I very quickly found out that Freshman class always gets pranked...we're considered the "Grace Babies". Hence, the diapers on the ceiling. I also got baby powder in my blow dryer.

Breakups aren't as hard when you have these goofballs around.

I had just broken up with a guy from back home and they took me to the beach because they know me...Cali girl through and through. Even though it was 30 degrees, it was still sand and water. 

Yes, I can kick a soccer ball away from the goal. 

No, I cannot kick one, into the goal. 

{The beginning and end of my soccer career @ Grace. It was a glorious two years}

If you're nice to your professors, they'll drive you 6 hours to Indianapolis for an NBA game.
True story. John Spooner drove 8 of us students to a greatly anticipated Sonics vs. Pacers game. That's my Pacemate KC. 

Everyone wants to leave their mark. 
You wanna be known for something, whether its as the president of student council or its etching your name with your crushes last name under your bunk. {but i never did that one...}

j

Educational internships are sometimes weird.

Yes, I chased and caught that chicken at a smart kids school in Michigan.

Graduation comes and goes like your birthdays. So take good pictures.

 There's plenty more where this came from. 
 

It's true what they say: 
The friends you make in college are your friends for life.

They'll be in your wedding. 

They'll be the first people you call when you're preggo, or buy a new house, or change jobs, or go through a traumatic event. You're stuck with them for life :) In a good way. 

I loved college. I miss it. But i will forever cherish the memories made.

-JM

PS. Make alot of videos! Those are the best to watch years later :)

Going to the Chapel of Love

It's a beautiful thing when a dear and best friend walks down the aisle towards the love of her life...to the sound of her bridal party playing kazoos.

Seriously. It was fabulous :) 

The whole day was fabulous. From her ruffled ivory dress to her "mismatched" spring colored shoes. But most of all, it was the spirit of the Lord present that made this day memorable, honorable, and precious. 

I have known Jo for a couple years now. I met her @ Rancho on the first day she came. We hung out a couple times after that and I knew we'd be kindred spirits.

My husband and I like to think we are primarily responsible {after God of course} for their blossoming relationship. But details are just details.

The best part of the wedding was that myself {M.O.H.}, Joanna {Bride}, and Emily {M.O.H} graced the evening reception with our own version of "Whatta Man" by Salt & Peppa. 

Oh yes we did. {Video coming}

Our musician husbands were quite impressed :) 

So thank you dear Jo for letting us take part in your beautiful day of holy matrimony. We were greatly honored.  You are going to make a phenomenal wife.

And Danny, you are one lucky piece of trash ;) Jk. Love you too!

~JM

How do we know God's Will?

This is a questions many many people ask themselves on a daily basis. God how do I know whether or not this is from you? Can you just show me...give me a sign?

For me, this is a frequent conversation. In the shower. When I'm driving. Eating. Sleeping. You name it, I've had it. Then a couple weeks ago, a dear friend of mine spoke something that I could of sworn was God himself speaking into my heart. 

In conversation with our wifey study about a friend's situation where we didn't know exactly what to pray for, she said, "Well, we know what we are asking for is God's will because it says so in His word. Very Clearly. So there is no question as to whether this situation will or will not be resolved. It will. We just don't know when. That is what we should pray for."

Amen sister!

It is like a light bulb went off in all our heads and beamed through our eyes. That ushered us into a powerfully transforming time of prayer for our dear friend. I know the Holy Spirit was present because the prayers that fled from our lips were not of us. They were fashioned by the confidence of Christ. Tears were shed. Hearts were moved. And we were impacted. We were brought together, closer as a community of wives lifting another up to our heavenly Father. 


All this to say, I have learned to frantically search the Bible. Answers are in there. Not all of them, but most. And the ones that seem to not be, maybe, just maybe it is because the wrong question is being asked. 

Matthew 6::31-34

“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I love love love it when the Lord reveals new truthes to my heart. I overflow with joy because I get to live a new day with new perspective. 

Just one more day.
One more truth. 
One more chance to acknowledge and be moved by my God. 

~JM

The Fab Five

It is crazy to think that I am now of the age where I can say, "Back when I was in college..." This blog goes out to my college girls for life. We only spent two years together but they were full of fun and crazy memories...as you will see. There were five of us and we liked to believe we were hilarious. We were inseparable.

-These girls made me break the dorm rules the very first night of school...we snuck out to McD's for some ice cream...and got caught of course.

-We would watch scary movies and then try to see who could scare the others the most.

-Freshman year, we sat and talked for hours about the boys in our classes.

-We would predict who we thought the others would marry...none of us were right :)

-We would dance all the time, in our rooms and down the hallways.

-Pranks were inevitable, mostly on the freshman. One time they got my room baaaad. Chips in the bed, baby powder in my hairdryer, diapers ducktaped to the ceiling, and a big sign that said, "We love you!"

-When the sun didn't come out for 3 weeks, I began to feel droggy and sad, and they made me a giant sunshine and posted it in my room before I got home from class.

-They took me to the beach [in January] to cheer me up after a breakup.

-We threw each other in the shower...fully clothed. All the time.

-We cheered each other on @ our school basketball and soccer games.

-We went everywhere together...meals, church, classes, chapels, road trips.

-We argued...alot. But always made it through still loving each other.

-We felt the liberty to speak truths into one another's lives.

-We cried together when times got tough and life was hard.

-We laughed with each other about nearly anything and everything.

Now we're all split up in 3 different states, some graduated from college, others still pluggin' through. Some married and some almost married. No kiddos yet, but I'm sure it won't be long. We're all grown up but will never forget those days. [especially after they see these videos :)]


Sleep over @ Amanda's house, in the middle of the country.



Valentines Day/Amy and my birthday celebration. We bought those shorts because we thought it'd be fun...and it was. This is also proof about the dancing part. And note, Hannah's kicking Amy in the face.



This is what people do for fun @ the beginning of winter in MI. We slide on the snow in the parking lot.


I love you So, Amy, Hannah, & Mandie. Always will.

~Julie

Friends: [We All Need Them]

Every Tuesday night I have a group of married girls [both newly married and seasoned wifeys] come to my house for food and study. These are the sweetest girls you'll ever meet and they are even sweeter wives to their lucky duck husbands. Each of us are so different; we come from different backgrounds, different lifestyles, different hobbies and gifts, but when we get together it is like we are the same. I think it is because we have the same mission: To be the wife God has called us to be for our husbands.

We are going through a book right now called The Sacred Influence and it is quite good. It is a book for wives written by a husband...cool eh? I mean we have books a plenty on being wives that are written by wives, but I have never read one by a man. He is very thorough and detailed proving that he understands "Woman Language" : )

A couple weeks ago we were discussing certain things we tend to do when communication in marriage goes sour. He is not understanding what I am saying, needing, wanting, asking. What are our tendencies? Or in other words, how do we make our husbands crazy? Thinking that I'd be alone in this, I shared a story about what my tendencies are. When Ty and I are having a "quarrel" [aka. a fight] right before bed time, he pushes to resolve before we go to bed. Most times this works, but sometimes it doesn't. On those times that it doesn't I end up laying awake in bed, fuming in my mind, thinking up a million other conversations we need to have. Turns out that guys, on the other hand, can fall asleep when they are mad. So to prevent him from doing so and to let him know I am still awake and upset, I do any and/or all of the following:

-shift non-stop so he can't fall asleep.
-slightly pull all the covers on to my side.
-breathe really heavily.
-start crying.
-turn on the light and read in bed [that way he really can't fall asleep].

Now, I know none of you have ever done this before. I just know it. :) BUT for those of us that have, as funny as it is to talk about it now, it is so wrong. I confessed this to my group and they all laughed and said they do similar things! What is it about women? So we decided that next time any of us is in bed angry at our beloveds, we would call or text the others for accountability [whether or not we were right of wrong].

Well, a week later Ty and I had had a disagreement that could have turned into a monstrous late night argument, but [totally against my natural impulse] we agreed to disagree, I turn the light out and grabbed my phone to text the girls. This is what I wrote:

"Hey girls! I'm laying in bed, frustrated at Ty but I'm not turning and tossing! :) "

Then the amazing happened: one by one I started getting texts that made me laugh and appreciate my dear friends. I gave Ty a kiss on the head and smiled myself to sleep. You see, we need each other. We all need friends, but not just friends that will tell us what we want to hear when we want to hear it. Those are not friends.

We need friends that will keep us accountable.
Friends that will tell us when we are wrong.
Friends that we can call or text in the moment of uncertainty.
Friends that can pray for us or be there for us in a moments notice.
Friends that point to the Word of God before they give you their opinion.
Those are friends and I am so glad I have them.

"Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:

If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!

Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

-"Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.

Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
but an enemy multiplies kisses."

Proverbs 27:5-6


Who do you have in your life that is this kind of friend to you?


~JM

Some Things Never Change

So this weekend I took a bit of a road trip (6 1/2 hour drive) to Mesa, Arizona to visit a recently engaged best friend. You know how you have those friends that are in your life forever? I know especially with girls, our girl time with our girlie friends make some of the best memories in our lives. Well this friendship started the end of freshman year at Grace Bible College and has not dwindled since. She is definitely one who makes me laugh, no matter the situation we are in. One time we ran out of oil on our way to take her to the Chicago airport (3 1/2 hours away), so we pulled over on the side of the freeway, in the middle of the snow and traffic, and changed the oil. We were complaining…yes, but with laughter in our voices and smiles on our icicle faces.

But just like every relationship, there comes a time when conflict makes itself present. And though they have been few, Elyse and I have had our share of conflicts. However, we never let them get the best of us. After a big one, she knocked on my dorm room door and asked if I could help her eat this pint of Dove’s Double Chocolate ice cream. What girl says no to chocolate?? So I did and over that pint of delicious unhealthiness (I’m pretty sure the label advertised for love handles), we apologized, forgave, and laughed until way to late.

There’s a verse in Ecclesiastes (4:9) that says,

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!”

That is Elyse! In so many ways, she has shown the love of Christ to me. We never have a meaningless conversation. And I can tell the Lord is the center of her life and of her will. We have a freedom in our friendship to rebuke, a love to support and encourage, and the confidence that it is all done with a heart of gold. And so my friends it is my hope and prayer for you, that you would surround yourself with people who love you for who you are. But also, that you would be the friend you wish to have. Is Jesus Christ the center of your life? Is He the center of your relationships? Does He radiate off your face so that others know you are a child of God? Do not live life so busy that you lose time for the friends and family that truly care about you. One day, they may be all we have, and if so, then there is great treasure that needs to be polished.

~Julianna