Good Friends keep it Real

Terri (my wife) and I have been blessed with some really strong and solid friendships over the years. And as we have reflected the past few weeks about what makes these relationships so valuable to us we both agree that our friends are all about keeping it real. We've had our friends just show up to our home and pour out their hearts in sincere ways, and in return, we've done the same. In those awkward moments of exposure they are non-judgemental and they speak words of truth into our hearts, or not speak at all. It's hard to describe. There is just "that" connection that happens that is God ordained. We've also learned that you can't let anyone or everyone into your life. There is that sanctuary in which two or three are gathered togther where the presence of the Lord is truly felt. I smile to think that Jesus could have said, "Where two or three hundred are gathered together, there I am..." And although His presence is everywhere, the best of friends are where those two or three walk it together.

So how about you? Do you have those two or three friends in your life that you can keep it real? My prayer for you is that God would enrich your life by such friends and that you never turn back to artificial flavoring.

Those darn Goodbyes

I love hello`s. I struggle with goodbyes. Today is one of those "goodbye" days. Not sure why they put the word, "good," in front of "bye." It never seems to be too good (unless you really despise the person who is leaving). Julia, our Ukrainian friend is leaving today for Ukraine. She has been with us for a whole month - and it will seem strange not having her around. Her love for Christ is so evident and we are already making plans on visiting with her soon. So, we grieve her absence - but it's never really "goodbye."

Up in Your FACE-BOOK

Okay...so I'm a blogger, twitter, and now - booker. The most recent is Facebook. Since I'm terribly new to all of this, I really have not drawn any hard conclusions on this whole cyberspace stuff. It's pretty overwhelming. The only thing that I sense from being a blogger is that there are a lot of us who are either 1) really into ourselves and our activites or; 2) we just love keeping up with our friends - and wanna be friends. Maybe it is both.

So weigh in on it. Are you a blogger? Do you spend your waking hours typing about yourself and your thoughts on life? Is there any theraputic value to this?

In the meantime you can check me out here: Brad's Facebook.