Happy almost June sweet friends!
The plan this month is over something that I think is one of God's greatest gifts:
Friendship
When I speak to women’s groups I always talk about my sweet friends (because they are AMAZING and PRECIOUS and such a huge part of my life and my story). I am blessed to have friends that continually remind me of God’s promises and plans and truth and point me to Him- always. They show up in good times and bad and make me laugh so hard I almost pee in my pants! Every time I speak about my friends, I hear the following statements when I finish speaking from those in the audience:
• Gosh, you have such exceptional friends!
• You sure are lucky to have friends like that.
• I wish I had friends like you and like your friends.
And what I always respond with is that I believe the best way to have amazing friends is to read what God says about friendship and loving others, and then DO IT! I tell them to practice being the friend they long to have in order to grow precious friendships. To show up for their friends- in good times and especially in bad times. I always remind them that the most important thing is that God must be at the center of those friendships because no matter how fabulous and wonderful a friend is, a friendship is between two imperfect people who will fail and mess up and let each other down at some point. Friends who remind us of what God says in His word and points us to Him are truly the biggest gift.
God designed us for friendship, but friendships can often be difficult to navigate, and they definitely take work and love and care. I believe community is essential and Christ-centered friendships are truly key for us to live out the purposes God has for us. Friendships are a large part of how God wired us and what brings us joy because He uses our friendships to accomplish mighty works in and through us and because he designed us to support, love and encourage each other.
Think about friendship as a beautiful flower. If you buy a new pot of roses and bring it home, give it the right amount of water & sunshine, prune it and take care of it, it will grow beautiful and produce tons of beautiful blooms and bring you great joy. But, if you buy a new pot of roses and bring it home and set it in a dark closet, never watering or giving it sunshine, it will no doubt wither and die. You can’t expect beautiful blooms from something you don’t care for, nurture and love- it’s just not possible- and it is the same for friendships.
I pray that this month as we read and write verses on friendship, we are reminded that our friendships should bring honor and glory to the Lord and that we should always point each other to the truth and salvation only found in Jesus. I pray that we are reminded to hold friendships loosely and let the Lord direct them. I pray that we are reminded that friendships in the end are not about us but about glorifying God and displaying the love of Christ to those around us. I pray that this month we would thank God for our friends, praying for each of them by name and asking Jesus to accomplish His perfect will through these relationships and that through them Jesus Christ would be glorified and His kingdom advanced.
FYI: I make all plans 31 days long so that they can be
done any month-not just the month I write them for.
done any month-not just the month I write them for.
TO PRINT: You can find a copy of the plan in the folder HERE.
