Friends...

... are there to listen to you when the world tells you to be quiet.
... are there to hold you when everyone else pushes you away.
... are there to encourage you as you pursue your dreams.
... are there to bring you back to reality when you're about to run amuck.
... are there to give you good advise, whether you want it or not.
... are there to love you even though the world says you're worthless.
... are there to lend a helping hand.
... are there to teach you when you don't understand.
... are there to help you to hang on when all you want to do is let go.
... are there to help you let go when all you want to do is hang on.
... are there to comfort you when it seems the world is against you.
... are there to celebrate with you when a battle has been won.
... are there to stand by you through thick and thin... to the very end!

(author: me, 4-18-06)

"A friend loves at all times..." (Prov. 17:17)
"There's a friend who sticks closer than a brother..." (Prov. 18:24)
Jesus said, "You are My friends..." (John 15:14)



To all my Friends, Peeps, Browncoats, Drunkin' Monkeys, & etc.:
Please know that you are loved, and thank you so much for being a part of my life. Your friendship means more to me than you'll ever know!
Blessings, now & always!

V-day blues?

Ah, Valentine's day...
the day that can consist of cards, sweets and flowers,
the day that can make people feel like they are loved or unloved,
the day that can make people extremely nervous or extremely depressed,
the day that is filled with either regret or hope,
the day that either shows someone that they are special or forgotten.

I tend to find that people either hate this holiday or love it (9 of 10 who hate it are single*. *This is not an official survey, just my personal opinion and observance.)
This is the one day out of the year that sometimes seems to rub it in your face that you are single and have no one special to love you. This holiday can make people feel very bitter about their present martial status (lack there of) and for the longest time that's how I felt about Feb. 14th.

But not anymore...
Though I may not be married or even dating someone, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am not alone, that I am not unloved, and that I am not forgotten.
Take a look:

Isaiah 43:2 - God said, "When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you."

Hebrews 13:5 - "For God has said, 'I will never fail you. I will never forsake you.' "

Jeremiah 31:3 - God said, "I have loved you with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to Myself."

Romans 5:8 - "But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners."

James 1:18 - "In His goodness He chose to make us His own children by giving us His true word. And we, out of all creation, became His choice possession."

John 15:16 - Jesus said, "You didn't choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name."

If you are still not convinced that you are loved by a perfect Heavenly Father, then please read this poem/conversation (Psalm 139) that a man named David wrote thousands of years ago that perfectly pictures what you mean to God.

1 O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my every thought when far away.
3 You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am.
4 You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD.
5 You both precede and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to know!
7 I can never escape from your spirit! I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night –
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are both alike to you.
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous – and how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God! They are innumerable!
18 I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up in the morning, you are still with me!...
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.