Friendship

"Dont leave your friends or your parents' friends
and run home to your family when things get rough;
Better a nearby friend
than a distant family."-Proverbs 27:10 The Message Bible
This morning's message at Bethel Community Church was about the importance of friendships and the Bible verse above really hit home with me. Yes, my family is wonderful and they've come to my rescue countless times, and in no way am I saying that my family is not highly valued. What I do want to emphasize, though, is the blessing of frienship. Because I have no family nearby(and most of my friends here are in the same boat) I have had to rely on my friends for a lot of things- things that may inconvenience them- but they have always pulled through and been there for me. In fact, I cannot even think of a single instance where I needed help and help wasn't available. My local frienships through church, military, CrossFit, past eras, and random acts of meeting people, are a big part of who I am. So, thank you to each and every one of you for being straight with me, for building me up, and for helping me raise my children!
Continuing, this morning's message was also a plug for our new Growth Group cycle coming up at church. For this up-coming semester, I'm going to be hosting a small group at my house on Wed nights at 7 pm (starting in a few weeks) AND there is free childcare at the church, just 3 miles down the road. I'm not leading the group, just opening up my home...which I love to do! So, whether you go to Bethel Community Church, some other church, or no church at all, I want to invite you to join this small group of frienship and learning. This is a chance to deepen already existing friendships and make new friendships as well. My friend Terry is going to be leading and our topic is Developing a Healthy Heart. I know I spend a lot of time exercising and keeping my physical heart healthy, but I wonder who I would be if I spent that same amount of time developing a healthy spiritual heart. So, if you're interested give the group a try.
Proverbs 4:23-27 says,
"Keep vigilant watch over your heart;
that's where life starts.
Don't talk out of both sides of your mouth;
avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip.
Keep your eyes straight ahead;
ignore all sideshow distractions
Watch your step,
and the road will stretch out smooth before you.
Look neither right nor left;
leave evil in the dust."