The Power of Friendship: eMpowering Mondays

I am just returning from a second weekend away with great friends. I know what you are thinking. I must have an awesome husband to allow me to getaway two weekends in a row to do girl stuff. You are right. He is awesome. But he's also smart. Aside from me being exhausted when I return, he knows that there are great and lasting benefits of me spending time with friends.


When asked recently what I like to do in my spare time, my answer was, "When I have spare time, I love to spend it with friends...that's it. We could have coffee, lunch, dinner, or dessert; go walking or shopping...it doesn't matter. I just like to be with my friends."


I am blessed with many friends. In fact, Facebook tells me I have over 700 of them. Wow. But I can tell you this...reading a status update and writing Happy Birthday once a year on someone's wall does not make me a friend to someone else. To have friends, I must be intentional about nurturing those friendships. Solid relationships with friends will not happen by accident. There are times I fail at this miserably. But it is definitely my goal and desire to be a good friend to others.


So, after two weekends with friends, what have I learned?  There is POWER in friendships. Friendships grow us, strenghthen us, encourage us, and empower us. We are able to continue when we didn't think we could. We are able to fight when we thought we were ready to quit. 

Though one may be overpowered, 

two can defend themselves. 

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. 
Ecclesiastes 4: 12

We need friends! Friends are like a good LATTE...


L   Laughter happens when we are with friends. Whether we laugh until we cry, or we cry until we laugh, laughter usually occurs and it is so good for us!
A   Accountability is necessary. We need to have someone in our lives who will remind us of the goals we have set, the promises we have made, the people we were called to be. 
T   Truth must be spoken in love. Good friends don't just tell us what we want to hear, but what we don't want to hear as well. And then they are there to encourage us to work through our stuff.
T   Trust must be present to be good friends. Without trust, we are just acquaintances because we will never share our deepest thoughts and concerns with each other.
E   Encouragement abounds in friendships. We promote each other, listen to each other, and give each other courage. We pick each other up when we fall or fail, and we walk alongside each other to provide more stability.


What's better than a good latte? A good friend enjoying a latte with you!




Do you see the power in friendships? Can you add to this list of attributes? I would love to have your comments. And I thank you for being a friend and reading this blog!




Unwrapping the gift of friendship,




Kelli

These ladies are gifts to me!

So Glad I Don't Have to "Like" God to Follow Him

Although I do LOVE God, I am grateful that I didn't have to click a "Like" button to follow His newsfeed or @mention Him on Twitter to get Him to recognize me. 

A few months ago I had all but written off social media. I was fed up with Facebook, and not willing to figure out Twitter or Google + or anything else. I felt like it was meaningless, time-consuming, and honestly, irritating. I didn't want to update my status when I was doing laundry, watching paint dry or going to the grocery store. The only time I wanted to post anything was when I felt I had some great contribution to society (which was rare.)  

And then it happened. I decided to start blogging....again. I had started a couple of years ago, and my sanguine personality started with a bang and ended with a fizzle. So, here I go again. If anything, this blog could serve as a journal for what God was doing in my life. One of my first few posts was How God Used the Food Network to Speak To Me . I had such a great time writing it, and then found out that others enjoyed reading it.  Really? I was asked to guest post for a popular Christian speaker and author Sheila Gregoire . This was crazy. My She Speaks Conference friends encouraged me to create a Facebook page and join Twitter to have links to my blog. Whaaaaa? When I had a publisher show interest in my book idea, her next question was, "Do you have a platform?" Platform meaning how many social media followers or readers do I  have.  My answer of "60 or so" did not seem to impress.  (Ha!) So, I officially joined the social media craze. Not because I really wanted to, but simply because I felt it was a necessary evil.

My distaste for the internet and social media stemmed from the idea that I felt the enemy had gained ground because of these things. Consuming our time. Focusing our minds on "un"lovely things. Distracting us from our priorities, especially God. However, when I began to dig deeper and I read more blogs, joined Twitter, and followed others' Facebook pages, I realized something. 

"(The enemy) meant to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." Genesis 50:20

Now I know that the enemy is still using the Internet to gain strongholds in peoples' lives, but God is using it to accomplish His good! Christians are utilizing the Internet and social media to encourage, equip, empower, and evangelize. What a method for His message! The first time someone commented on my blog and asked for prayer, I was thrilled. What a way to minister! So my sour reaction to social media has now turned into a enjoyable challenge to determine how I will share God's love and story through the keyboard each day. I have titled my blog, Unwrapping the Gifts of God in hopes of helping readers understand that  we can see the gifts of His presence, purpose, and power in everything if we are willing to unwrap those gifts. I want to pray with and for readers, get to know them, encourage them in their walk, and help them see God. I am just a messenger for the King. 

So, I am thankful that I don't have to click a "Like" button to follow God's Word or @mention Him to get him to notice me on Twitter. I am so grateful that my God "hears when I call to Him." Psalm 4:3. I love it that He knows what I am going to say, even before I say it. And I enjoy the gift of His presence...at all times.  And that's what I want to share with you through this avenue of social media. So that if you choose to tweet, Facebook, read blogs, that is great. But when you turn off the computer, I want you to know that God loves you very much and He is always there for you. A "Like" button is not required.

Please allow me to minister to you today. Comment below so that I can pray for you. Or if you want to comment about social media, feel free.  

Thank you for the gift of your readership.  I do not take it for granted.

Kelli