The Importance of Friends

I have all kinds of friends. First and foremost, there are my friends who are also my family - like my husband, my mom and my sister. Then there are the people that I have been friends with for so long that they might as well be my family. There are friends that I see once in a blue moon because they live so far away from me. I also have friends that live within an hour's driving distance, and I still only see them once in a blue moon (thank you gas prices!). Thankfully, I have friends that I see weekly or even more often than that. There's no denying that friends are the most valuable gift God gives us (aside from salvation, but, duh!, didn't we already know that one?).

Seriously, Father puts such amazingly wonderful people in our lives. I have two very specific friends that if something is going on in my life and I need to let it all out, they are just a phone call away. And they don't judge me for my frustration. They don't try to fix my problems. They just listen and commiserate with me, if necessary. Of course, that road goes both ways.

Isn't it fantastic how many different, beautiful people with whom we share this life? I am completely dumbfounded by how blessed I am. I have friends that if no one else in the world thought I was sane because of the choices I make, they would stick with me. I have no doubt that they pray for me just as I pray for them. We uphold each other in the tough times and do the happy dance when things go our way. Wouldn't life be dull without our friends?

My friendships range in age from 31 years to just a few months (that's saying something because I just turned 33 last week!). Some of them were instant friendships like my college roomie, April. The first day we met we were immediately friends and wrangled the system so we could room together. She's on her way back to Mongolia with her husband right now for another term as missionaries.

Some of them took time to develop like my friendship with my sister. You know, we had the "you're a pain, no you're a pain" syndrome growing up. I guess that's what happens sometimes when your less than two years apart in age. But, we've come to appreciate and value each other as more than just sisters. We're friends, and when no one else can understand where we're coming from, we have each other.

There is just nothing else on earth like a friend. A friend is a tender heart, a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, and two arms to hug you. But they are so much more than that. They embody so many of the characteristics we want to see in ourselves and often some of the things that drive us crazy about who we are. No matter where I go or what I do, I know I have an amazing group of friends supporting me.

And wherever I go, I know that Papa will always gift me with a new friend or two. So, to all my friends past, present and future - thank you for being who you are in my life. I think it's important that you know how much you are loved and appreciated. Each of you has made me a better person for knowing you. I just thought you should know.

Now, go hug a friend!

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How Do You Know It's God?

I'm going to jump right into my post without any cute tie-ins this time because my heart is full. So, I'm going to pour it out. The question that is coming upon me with the intensity of a high speed train is this: "How do you know it's God?"

Father is calling our family to do something new and exciting. It will most certainly stretch us and cause us to grow. To be frank, we have already shared with a few (very few) close friends and family what God's next step is for us. There are several people that I want to talk to in person, so I won't spill the beans just yet. However, we have received a bevy of mixed reactions thus far.

I did not expect fanfare or full support for this decision. I knew that from the outside looking in it would appear foolish to some. We have had some friends that have been fully supportive, and those are the reactions that help me make it through the other, less-enthusiastic responses. I have heard rumblings, whispers even of the age-old question. None have voiced it per se, but it has been hinted at, nevertheless. How do we know when God is speaking?

My husband came to me to discuss what he believes is Papa's next adventure for us. I proceeded to explode all over him. God told me all of this before my husband talked to me. I knew weeks beforehand. But, I had sort of pushed these thoughts away as I would shoo an annoying fly. When Dan came to me with this, I let loose all of the pent-up feelings that I had been shoving beneath the surface for so many days.

I think my wonderful, patient husband half expected this reaction, but I did not. It took me a few hours of coming to grips with what I already knew and a heart-to-heart with Papa. His words to me were these: "You can either exist discontentedly in your comfortable life, or you can follow me and discover a new life living in my power and freedom." Now, all of that may seem random and somewhat vague, but it spoke to me exactly where I was living.

So, how do we know that this is God's plan? Well, that is hard to explain, which is why I find myself scrambling to find words to describe the assurance I have. I've always described it as the "you know that you know" phenomena. There is just this deep-down, 100% proof positive, know-it-in-your-knower feeling that is only there when Papa is involved. It think it goes back to the scripture in John 10:3-5. Let's pick up midway through verse 3 where it says:

³The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ⁵A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.

It takes practice and listening. There have been times when I have foolishly followed my own desires claiming them as Father's. But there is a sureness and a certainty that only comes with His voice. There is a peace that only encompasses me when I know I am in the center of His perfect will. Today as I type this, I have that certainty and that overwhelming peace.

That, my friends, is how you know it's God. You just know it in your knower. If you are His child, you will learn to recognize the voice of your Father. There aren't any fancy tricks - no lightning bolts or booming voices from heaven (at least not in my experience). Often, what He has asked you to do may not seem as attractive as your plans for yourself. Then again, my parents always told me that veggies were good for me, but when I was 5, I thought M & M's and twinkies would make a fantastic dinner.

If we act only based on our view of circumstances, we are destined to falter frequently in this journey with God never truly walking in His fullness. However, if we relinquish our death grip on these things we hold so dear and reach out to Papa and all He wants for us, we will quickly find that there is much more to this life than what we convince ourselves is important. So, "He who has ears, let him hear" what Father will say to you.

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Balance

Well, the Olympics are over, so I've come back to the real world. Actually, I've pretty much been back in the real world since the first week ended. It just seemed like everything was anti-climactic after Michael Phelps won the 8th gold medal. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the other events. There just wasn't the same drama involved.

In honor of the ongoing controversy surrounding the gymnastics events I thought I would talk about balance. You know, I think the event that amazes me the most is the balance beam. The rest of it looks intimidating as well, but there's something about the thought of having to do all those flips, twists, twirls and jumps on a little 4 inch beam that stands 4 feet from the ground. These days I would be doing good to finish a cartwheel on the ground without landing on my bottom in embarrassment never mind trying to keep it on a beam. Those pint sized gymnasts do mind-boggling gymnastics on that narrow little beam - simply astounding!

I feel like I've been doing a little balance beam of my own in life lately. I'm trying to balance my daughter, my husband, my house, blogging, my music, photography, reading everything I can get my hands on about photography, learning Adobe Photoshop CS3, biking, scrapbooking and all the other little things that fall in between. To be honest, I don't really feel I have been excelling in any of these areas. The problem is that I feel inexplicably drawn to all of them - well, the "inexplicably" refers to the photography, blogging, etc. not to my family responsibilities. Those are extremely explicable.

In any case, the challenge now becomes: How do I balance all of these different areas of my life without neglecting any of them? Some might say that I need to downsize - you know, streamline a little. No one needs all of those things in his/her life, right? I might disagree with you on that point. Oh, some of those things can slide a little, but I truly believe that Papa has put each of these things in my life for a purpose (again this is not referring to my family - obviously, my family is number 1 on the priority list). I may not understand the reasons right now, but I feel that it is important for me to pursue each of these endeavors to the best of my abilities.

Where does that leave me? Well, it kind of leaves me on the balance beam of life. Those incredibly gifted athletes have to work not only to master each move of their routine. They also have to work to not let the pressure of the situation impact their performance. And I think that is one area where I have faltered as of late. I have allowed the pressure of daily life to distract me from the truly God-appointed things in my life.

It's funny but sometimes I get so ahead of myself that while I'm completing one thing, I am already thinking ahead to the next. That is not the best way to approach a task or goal - thinking past it to the next thing. I heard the commentators during the gymnastics (especially on balance beam) say again and again that it looked like the gymnast had tried to move on to the next element before completing the one they were performing. It resulted in everything from slight balance checks to 100% falls from the apparatus. So, it's proof-positive that I should keep myself reined in and complete one step at a time.

The scripture that really came to mind as I was writing this is John 15:1-5. I think it is an important reminder to me, and hopefully, to you:

¹I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. ²Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ³Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. ⁵I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

In any case, I am purposing in my heart to put away the unimportant to focus on the Father-given passions in my life (family, blogging, my music, photography, etc.). The time-wasters will bear no fruit in my life, but if pruned and tended properly, the goals Papa has dropped into my heart will bear bushels of spiritual fruit. And I pray that as I walk this balance beam called life I will become more adept at keeping that balance with minimal wavering.

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