FRIENDSHIP

DEFINING THE ROLE

This picture expresses the definition of friendship as, 

"Friendship is a single soul dwelling in two bodies.  

What comes to your mind as you reflect on this picture?  

I see the differences are uniquely knitted together

Different hair color, skin tone but woven in heart. 

Embracing and complimenting each other. 

There is a close bond that ties them together. 

Is this what your friendship look like? 

Who do you share that kind of friendship with? 

I am blessed to share this type of friendship with my blood sisters, some church sisters and a few others.  

As women, we crave for girlfriends that can share our hearts-whether they are celebrations, sorrows or even secrets.  

Today many friendships come with a price tag.  It's more like, "what's in it for me", rather than how can I be a friend to you.  Perhaps it's time to do a friendship evaluation.

TODAY'S FOCUS:  FRIENDSHIP CHARACTERISTIC INVENTORY 

Let's begin by reflecting on this scripture: 

There are “friends” who pretend to be friends, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Proverbs 18:24 TLB

Are your friends true friends?  

As you read and reflect on the following, determine if they measure up to the definition of the picture above...

A true friend - not just in good times, but when you are down and out

Genuine - not fake or force the relationship
Loyal - not inconsistent or unreliable
Honest - not lying or misguiding,
Lends a helping hand - not just suggests solutions
Gives time - not just gifts or money
A listening ear- not just talk and or voice their opinions
Offers you grace - not judge or condemn you
Respects your values- not ask you to compromise your standards
Honors your beliefs - not try to covert you to their way of thinking
Keeps your secrets - does not share them or gossip about you
Appreciates you - not take you for granted
Adds to your worth - not depletes, deprive, or diminish your strength and resources
Admires your talents/gifts- not compete with you or sabotage you
Goes the extra mile - not thinks you are a burden
Comforts you - not create/apply stress to you or your situation
Believes in you - not questions your vision or innocence
Understands who you are - not try to belittle, discredit, humiliate or embarrass you
Invests in the friendship - not just make demands, oppress or inconvenience you
Trusts you - not suspicious or questions your motives, actions, and or trust
Walks with you - not against you or let you walk a journey alone
Happy for your success - not envious or jealous
Lets you be yourself - not ask you to pretend or mask your identity
Loves you unconditionally - not for your status, what you can give or who you can connect them to
Loves God - not criticize your religion or discourages you from going to church

Friendship should not be a burden or a stress.  True friends should be reliable, dependable and understandable.  

If they are leaning heavily on what friends are not, it’s time for a friendship evaluation of your friend inventory list.  

God has blessed us with angels, we call friends. I am thankful for the ones that have been placed in my life, and that I have been able to count on through the years.

While this saying is relevant to me... the best friendship is having Jesus as my friend!

Your friends should also have a relationship with the Friend of all friends, Jesus Christ. When He becomes their friend and lives within them, they will become a true friend.

Remember, your friendship list should be audited to ensure that your inventory of friends match up to the image and definition.  A friend is woven at the heart and not at what they can receive from the friendship.  Remember, also, to be the friend you want others to be to you!

God Bless you and Keep the Faith!

Virtuous Jewel

POP UPS

POP-UPS

We apologize for our absence as we were restructuring and preparing for our 2018 identity conference.  We will be doing a new face to our blog which will be tailored more to our women's ministry soon.  

By definition a pop up is...

• "an unrequested browser window, especially one generated for the purpose of advertising."
• 
  

This can create a distraction and must be closed immediately to inadvertently affect the project you are working on and or make you lose your work.  

Some people pop up to your house, party or other places uninvited.  If it's not someone dear to you, it's not a very welcoming experience.  It causes rifts and whispering through out the event as people go around greeting, pointing out the uninvited guest to others.  Sometimes that person is allowed to stay to save face and can cause some to be uncomfortable.  However, at times they can become a nuisance and thrown out.  In some instances damage may have been done before the person(s) are thrown out.  

Similarly there are things that pop up on the screen of our lives that come to distract us from seeing a clear view of our purpose and or assignment.  

They may come in the form of thoughts, images, words or demonstrated actions of others.  Pop-ups main intent is to rob us of our joy and distort our purpose.  

TODAY'S FOCUS: POP-UPS STEALS YOUR JOY 

Perhaps you had every intention to pursue a dream (go back to school, start a business, write a book or do something special for the day), and immediately begin to have those self pop-ups that tell you, you're too old, you don't have money, or nobody likes what you have to offer....  You probably decide to share it with a friend who immediately gives you 20 reasons why you shouldn't or maybe you see a commercial or another business and begin to feel intimidated.  This makes you drop the ball and abort your pursuit for your happiness. 

Maybe in the middle of your planned day, you get an unimportant phone call which interrupted you, and you were too engrossed in the conversation to remember your schedule. Or... perhaps like me, in an experience I had while leading a group of women,, had a pop up that tried to tell me what I was doing was a waste of time-simply because the result I expected was different to what I received.  

Sometimes instead of closing the pop-up that comes in the browser, we tend to let it steer us away from what we are doing.  This creates other pop-ups as one window leads to another and another.  As you navigate from your original work, you find yourself on another course.  Perhaps on another website that gets you into trouble like shopping and buying things that were not in your budget.  You may also see something that may steer and tempt you into sites that are not within your standards or ethics.    

Sometimes it could be the innocent or subtle suggestions or actions of others!

  

Be mindful...

POP-UPS STEAL AND ROB YOU OF YOUR JOY AND CAN BE A DISTRACTION ON YOUR JOURNEY OF PURPOSE!  

Let's discuss: 

What are some of the pop-ups that can occur as you pursue your dreams/goals? 

What are the pop-ups that you are presently experiencing? 

What's your strategy to eliminate and close the browser? 

What can you do to keep your focus on your assignment? 

Remember, you must control your thoughts and utilize the sword of the Spirit (the word of God) to fight every attack of the evil one.  He is a joy thief who does not want you to experience joy!  Immediately close any pop-ups that come up in your mind, and avoid at all costs those that show up as uninvited guests, suggestions, views, recommendations, discouragements, evil or well intended actions of others!  While others contribute to joy, don't rely on anyone or anything to prevent you experiencing joy.  YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR JOY! 

God bless you and Keep the Faith!

Virtuous Jewel