The Best Kind of Friends

I have many acquaintances, and quite a few friends, but there are only a handful that I consider my "best" friends. These are friends with whom there are no pretenses, no trying to impress or outdo one another. Friends who have seen me at my worst--and who still love and accept me.

On Tuesday nights I get together with a couple of my best friends. We take turns playing hostess, with the hostess providing the meal. We dress in what we affectionately refer to as "frumpwear", put our hair up, sometimes take off our makeup, and enjoy a casual evening. Our dogs play together as we eat, talk, vent, whine, and pray. Our outward appearances reflect our inner states of mind--after long days of work, of having to often be on our best behavior and bite our tongues, we are able to unwind and be real with each other. That is a tremendous blessing.

My boyfriend is another one of my best friends. We were friends for five years before we started dating, so we've had ample opportunity to see each other at our best and worst. Granted, I tend to dress a little nicer and a lot less frumpy when I see him (after all, men ARE still visual creatures!), but I know that I can be totally myself with him and that he loves me because of, and sometimes in spite of, that. He's seen me with a runny nose and fever, he's seen me bawl my eyes out, he's seen me cranky and whiny and stressed out. And yes, he's seen me in much more favorable situations as well. But the bottom line is that there's no need for either of us to try to impress the other or to try to be something we're not. Again, a tremendous blessing.

I think that this idea of best friends being able to be real with one another is a universal one, and I believe that it started with God. We are called many things in relation to God--His children, His sheep, His bride--but one of the dearest, in my opinion, is that we are called His friends.

I don't think this refers to casual, "How are you doing?" "Fine, how are you?" friends. I think this is more along the lines of get down and dirty, throw on your frumpwear, call me at 3:00 in the morning if you need to kind of friendship. The kind of friendship where we can be real before God and know that He loves and accepts us no matter what.

Some of the most meaningful prayer times I've experienced have been when I let go of any pretense and allow myself to vent my full frustration, fears, sadness, or whatever other junk I'm feeling. I don't have to "dress up" my prayers; I can let it all hang out--the good, the bad, and the ugly.

How thankful I am that God is the best kind of friend to have!

Reassurance

The unfailing love of the LORD never ends! By his mercies we have been kept from complete destruction.
Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day.
I say to myself, "The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!"
(Lamentations 3:22-24)

Daily Bread

It's been two weeks since the inception of my Publix experiment. Since then, I've been to the grocery store once, and that was only to buy food for my life group this past Sunday. I have plenty of food in the house, so I'm planning to extend the experiment indefinitely, to see just how long I can go before I truly need to do a "big" grocery store run. Hopefully my days of running to the store every week are over.

My desire to spend less time and money at the grocery store is part of a more far-reaching conviction that I've felt lately from the Lord's Prayer, specifically the part about "Give us this day our daily bread." It seems like an inoccuous line at first, until you really take a closer look at it.

Christ wasn't just giving us an example of asking for food--truth be told, I don't live day-to-day wondering where my next meal is going to come from. I think His point was that every hunger (whether hunger for food or hunger for love or hunger for peace and quiet) should be fulfilled only by God. And that requires a daily renewal to seek His favor.

I have a hard time not wanting "more" out of life--more clothes, more shoes, more chocolate, more books to read, more time. None of these things are bad in and of themselves. But too often, I convince myself that I need "more" instead of being content with and enjoying what I already have. I want to approach God daily and ask for what I need for that day, not worrying about tomorrow or next week or next month.

Does that mean that I don't need to buy a 64-roll pack of toilet paper from Sam's? Maybe it does, I don't know. On a deeper level, I do think that it means that I don't strain myself trying to get more of something. When I rely on God to give me exactly what I need when I need it, I experience much more peace, much less striving and worry about the future.

So my decision to eat the contents of my pantry rather than make another run to Publix stems from a challenge to enjoy what I already have and not rush after something else. I'm trying to extend this concept to all areas of my life, but grocery shopping seems like a good place to start.

Work

Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. (Ephesians 6:7)

I am blessed to have a job that I truly enjoy. I work with some wonderful, fun people in a fairly laid-back environment. We work hard, and we play hard (and on days when things are slow, it sometimes seems we do more play than work).

But I don't always work with enthusiasm, as Paul instructs the Ephesians (and us) to do. Sometimes I feel barely awake when I arrive at work, waiting for the caffeine to kick in and wake me up a bit. Some days I'm tired and cranky, or impatient, or short with those around me. I find myself daydreaming about what I need to do at home or what I want to do over the weekend, instead of dedicating my mind to the work that's in front of me.

I find it difficult at times to get into the mindset that I'm ultimately working for the Lord, and that my work, no matter how insignificant it may seem to me, does matter to Him. I do find that when I start my day in prayer and dedicate it to Him, my workday does seem to go smoother and I'm in a better mood.

We All Need Somebody to Lean On

I'm all for bearing one another's burdens, but I like to be the lean-ee, not the lean-er. I don't mind being the one that people come to in times of distress. I enjoy talking to them, praying with and for them, encouraging them.

So why is it so hard for me to be on the receiving end of unburdening? I've boiled it down to a couple of main reasons:

1.) Pure and simple, dumb pride. It's hard to admit that I'm struggling, especially if it's something that I brought on. It's one thing to ask someone to pray that I'll get over a cold (which I couldn't help getting); it's another to ask someone to pray that I'll change my attitude toward money, or work, or my enemies.

2.) I don't want to be a burden to anyone. This is really dumb. It's not a sin to lean on others; in fact, it's a commandment:

Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

But it's still hard for me to follow. I realize that God doesn't tell us to do things that come naturally; He gives us commands because, without them, we probably wouldn't do it. I mean, He doesn't have to command me to breathe or to eat. But I get this idea in my head that I'm going to be too much for someone to handle, and they'll end up rejecting me and then I'll be left high and dry.

Well, the key to that one is for me to have more than one person to lean on! (Genius idea, I know.) But sometimes no one is available to talk or vent to. It's then that I realize that God is the One who I should be going to first to unburden myself. There's nothing too big, too dramatic, for Him to deal with.

It's been a troublesome week for me, and a big part of me wanted to keep that to myself. But over the past couple of days, I've swallowed my pride and shared my troubles with a few people. Their encouragement--through words, phone calls, and most of all, prayers--is making such a difference in my outlook.

I've also opened up more to God and prayed more about all the things, big and small, that are troubling me. I can't yet say that I'm able to completely lay my burdens down without picking them up again. But I'm getting more used to this leaning thing.

Looking on the Bright Side

I don't like to subscribe to Murphy's Law--I don't automatically assume that everything that can go wrong will. In fact, I consider myself more of an optimist, trying most of the time to see the upside of life.

Today has been a challenging (an optimist's word for bad) day by several standards. After a frustrating e-mail exchange earlier today, I had a much-needed phone conversation with someone tonight. However, I'm still feeling frustrated by my lack of communication--I feel like I did a poor job of expressing my feelings and expectations. (Doubly frustrating for me considering that I was a communications major in college, for pete's sake.)

To top things off, the gate leading into my backyard broke this evening. I just opened it to wheel the trash can down to the street, and instead of it opening as it normally does, some of the brick holding it in place crumbled and the gate came unhinged. I was able to prop it up, but I'll have to have it repaired soon. The gate and the brick are probably both original to the house, which would be 50+ years, so it may be best to replace the gate as well as the brick. I cringe at what that may do to my savings account.

I'm feeling quite overwhelmed right now. But I'm able to look at the bright side. The day wasn't a total loss--I had a very good, productive day at work. A friend took me to lunch. No bills in the mail today.

And, in the midst of the frustration that I'm feeling both physically and emotionally tonight, I know that God already knew all of this was going to happen, and that He wouldn't have allowed it if He didn't know that I could handle it with His help. I suppose this is a real opportunity for Christ's strength to shine, because I'm feeling awfully weak right now.

Another bright side--it's bedtime, which means the day is over and a new, hopefully better, one awaits!

Challenge for Today

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:29

Yikes! That's a big challenge for me--not that I go around cursing like a sailor, but my language is not focused on edifying others. This verse has been rattling around in my head the last few days, which means that God wants me to concentrate on it and put it to work. Today, at least, I'm going to make a conscientious effort to watch what I say. Care to join me in this challenge?

The Publix Experiment

Last night after church I made a run to Publix. Forty bucks and a nearly full grocery cart later, my fridge and pantry are now well stocked. I've realized that I've been making way too many trips to the grocery store lately; if I just ate what I already had I could probably last close to a month without roaming the aisles.

So I'm determined to not go to Publix, or any other grocery store, for at least the next two weeks. That is, unless I run out of something crucial, like milk or coffee. It's really a shame that I have so much to eat at home and yet I continue to run to the grocery store every week. Thus, my Publix experiment. I'll keep you posted on how it goes...

Unexpected Revelations

I grew up in the church. From the time I was infant up to the present, I've attended church nearly every time the doors were open--Sunday school, Sunday morning worship, Sunday night, Wednesday night. I've drifted at times in my walk with God, but I've never had a period of time where I was separated from God.

In short, my spiritual life has been boring. Or so it would seem. Especially when I compare it to others who came to know Christ later in life. They always seem to have some deeply heart-wrenching story about the moment they turned from sin and gave their lives over to God. Now, I'm not at all resentful of having been raised in a Christian home, but I'll admit there have been times when I've been...well, somewhat jealous of those who have a really exciting testimony to give.

But it's foolish of me to think that only those who have big "Damascus Road" moments get to experience God. When Elijah was on the run from Jezebel, he found himself holed up in a cave, searching for God's reassuring presence. Let's take a look at what he found:

There he [Elijah] went into a cave and spent the night. He replied, "I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too." The Lord said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" (I Kings 19:9-13)

Elijah saw and felt a series of natural forces--powerful wind, earthquake, fire--but God was not in any of those, as he might have expected Him to be. Instead, God revealed Himself through a gentle whisper, a quite unexpected way for the Creator to show His presence.

God can and does choose at times to reveal Himself through big, powerful moments, but He also (and perhaps more often) shows up in quiet, unassuming experiences. If we only look for God's in the "wow" moments, we'll end up missing His true presence in the quiet, gentle moments.

If you, like me, don't feel like you have much of a conversion testimony to give, don't despair. Rejoice in your salvation, and continue to seek God in everyday moments. You don't have to see a blinding light or a burning bush in order to experience Him. Today He might come to you in a gentle whisper.

Braves, Bobble Heads and the Bible

I recently reconnected with a friend of mine from college, Brent High. During my senior year of college we worked together in Lipscomb's sports information office, arguably one of the most fun jobs I've ever had. Getting scholarship money to attend sporting events? Talk about a dream job!

Brent is now the President of Third Coast Sports, a company that organizes faith nights for various sporting events. They've done a lot of work with minor league baseball teams and indoor football teams. Now they've organized several faith events with some major league teams as well, including the Atlanta Braves.

The great news is that the company has garnered widespread media attention, including a recent front-page article in the New York Times. God is really blessing their efforts to provide a fun, family-friendly, Christian activity in unlikely places.

Check out the calendar on their website and try to attend one of the events they have planned. (And no, I'm not getting paid to endorse the events--I just love that they're combining faith and sports.)