I took a break from school during Spring and Summer 2009. With the Fall 2009 semester nearly half over, I wanted to take time to write a new, and hopefully insightful, blog.

I wrote once about how I had newly discovered the social network world of facebook and myspace. My favorite network to use is facebook. I have found many friends through that network, friends that I had always wished I had never lost contact with. Tonight, I am reflecting on friends and how important they are in our lives. There are at least six friends I think everyone should have. It is possible to have more than one of teach type of friend, but everyone should have at least one of the following type of friend:

1. The friend who thinks you are funny, even when you are not or don't mean to be. This type of friend reminds you not to take yourself so seriously all the time.
2. The friend who lets you be yourself. This type of friend puts up with everything about you - good, bad or just plain annoying. (Though if this person is a true friend they will not let your attempts to be yourself endanger your life or that of someone else.)
3. The friend who holds you accountable to living a life worthy of being called a Christian. This type of friend corrects you when you need it, but also realizes that they can only direct you to the truths of God's word; the rest is up to you.
4. The friend who prays for you. This friend will go to God on your behalf on a regular basis, not ceasing until they have seen God's grace manifest in your life.
5. The friend who is like family. This friend will invite you over for family gatherings, will care for your children like an aunt or uncle, and will be a brother or sister (mom/grandma or dad/grandpa) when you need one.
6. The friend who never forgot you. This friend, though time and miles may separate you, will be the one person who never forgets what your friendship once meant to them.

These are the six friends I find most important in my life. I am sure there are some I could think of if I gave myself more time, but I wanted to write about these quickly while I am thinking of them. It is possible, too, that one person could be more than one type of friend. However, I think the reason most people will find at least six totally different people to be the friends described above is that God wants us to have that many relationships. God made man to be communal. He doesn't want us to find all our needs met in one person. If we did find every type of friend we needed in one person a couple of things could result. One, we could "worship" that friend and never really trust God the way we should. Two, we would stop looking for friends, and thus minimize the amount of people we can impact in return by being part of their lives as well.

I do think it is possible that one person could be a different type of friend to different people, too. For instance, to one friend I may be the one who holds them accountable and yet to another friend I may be the only person in the world who finds them funny.

In any case, I hope that everyone who calls me friend sees me as at least one of the six on the list. And, I hope it is the type of friend they need me to be. I would hate to be accountability-holding friend to someone who has enough of that type of friend and who therefore needs me to fulfill a different role for them. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit would reveal to me exactly what type of friend I need to be when.

What Does It Matter?

I have noticed an alarming rise in the number of murder/suicides. Particularly disheartening are those involving parents and children. Just yesterday, I read an article about a man who killed his estranged wife, their teenage daughter, and his sister and nephew before killing himself (http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20090408/Alabama.Four.Dead/). Today, the news reported the story of a woman who rented a gun at a shooting range, and after a seemingly enjoyable time together, the woman shot and killed her son and then herself (http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20090408/FL.Gun.Range.Death/). Everyday, there are reports from all over the world of similar happenings.

With so many people hurting to the point that they are taking not only their own lives but the lives of the people they should love, I got to thinking about things and I have to ask, “What does it matter?” I will post a series of blogs, all of which will pose this question. The blogs are not meant to condemn anyone's beliefs or lift anyone’s beliefs above another’s. They are simply meant to make us think about what is most important in the grand scheme of things.

The first in my series will address the issue of Easter Sunday. Future blogs will address other topics as they occur.

What does it matter if people want to continue to call what has become known as Resurrection Day Easter Sunday? I know the history of the term Easter. I also recently read an online article that said part of the reason the Christian holiday of Easter is celebrated in the way and on the day it is has its origins in trying to save the lives of missionaries and tribal converts. The story goes that when witnessing in certain areas missionaries found it expedient to allow certain tribes to keep their rituals, with the understanding that the rituals had to be “Christianized” (http://wilstar.com/holidays/easter.htm). Thus began the combining of the already celebrated time of the resurrection (a celebration that began as early as the time of Jesus’ disciples) and the pagan worship of the goddess Eostre.

The question remains, though, what does it matter if children innocently want to collect Easter eggs or eat sugar-coated marshmallow bunnies and chicks? Yes, these things symbolize the worship of the fertility goddess. But, fertility also represents life, something only God can give. Instead of worrying about our being pagan or heathen-like (heathen being a word I would never recommend one use in front of the non-believer; the dictionary specifically says it is intended to be an insult, something a believer should never do) because we practice certain Easter traditions, why not teach our children that the symbols they see at Easter represent the life Christ has given us. Really, take a moment and ask yourself, “What does it matter?” Do non-believers come to Christ when we are adamant about not calling a particular day Easter? When we are so hard-nosed on issues that do not affect our salvation do we accomplish our goal of showing God’s love to others, of loving them in spite of our differences of opinion? Are we harming believers or non-believers, either one, if we allow them to keep their childhood Easter traditions? Personally, I think the answer to the question at hand is, “It doesn't matter.”

The Change of Christ

I had an interesting conversation with someone today. She is a very sweet lady with whom I always enjoy talking. Today, she had the opportunity to hear my life story. I did not intend to tell it to her, but she kept asking questions about my childhood and my life. So, after answering all her questions, it turned out that she got most of my life story summed up in an hour-and-a-half-long conversation.

At the end of my talking with my friend, she was in shock. She said she never would have guessed that I had led the life I did. I come from a broken (and what I call fragmented) home. I had a child at 17, was sexually abused and raped by various people, and married a man I wanted to love, but wasn't sure I loved him at the time. My friend said that I am so confident and sure of myself and religious that she never would have thought all those things had happened to me.

I said to her that's why I am the way I am now, that it was the change that Christ brought into my life that makes it hard to believe. She had made the mistake of assuming I was always religious or had it all together. I explained that without Christ, I would have continued the life I grew up with, and it would be obvious to everyone, because that is the way my life was headed.

When we are open with people and let them know that we are real people who have had the same problems they do, we don't need to worry so much about sharing the gospel with them. They will want to know more when they compare what they hear us share about our past and what they see in us now. There are times that God wants us to specifically voice the good news of the Gospel. Then there times like today when we get the privilege of being a living example of the change that following Christ brings into our lives, obeying Christ's admonition in John 12:32 to lift Him up so that He can draw all men unto Him. How marvelous it feels to not only experience the change Christ has brought to my life to be a visible witness of it by which others can be blessed and saved.

First Blog

This first post has been very difficult for me to write. I have thought about it for days. I believe it to be one of the most important posts I will ever make.

See, I know that if it is too long it won't get read. I know because if I see a post that is more than just a paragraph or two I skip right through it. I also know it has to be intersting or you won't come back to my blog again. I know because I don't revisit the blogs of people who have a habit of making boring posts or, worse yet, posts that ramble and never make a point.

One thing I would like to discuss is the issue of finding old friends. I have recently joined the many thousands of people who use online social networks. (In fact, I am part of so many I lost count.) Online networks have allowed me to find many old friends. These friends are not necessarily constantly in my thoughts, but they are often in my memories. It makes me wonder if our old friends think of us as often as we think of them. It is nice that they remember us when they hear our name. But, when telling their children stories about their own childhood, do they remember our names as well as the times they spent with us? Or, do they say, "I spent the summer playing with this girl, but I don't remember her name"?

As Christians we want people to remember us. It is human nature--God made us to be social creatures. More importantly, though, we want people to remember the message of God's love for them. I encourage you that as you move forward in your life, making new friends and possibly leaving others, to make the effort to leave your friends with the memory of God's love. Perhaps, you will be able to show them God's love in such a way that they can't forget your name. Even if they do forget your name, cause them to remember the most important name of all: God.