Motto Monday - Stay Connected

Monday Motto : Stay Connected


Proverbs 18:1 He who willfully separates himself and estranges himself (from God and man) seeks his own desire and pretext to break out against all wise and sound judgment.

I read this verse and it just caught my eye.

Considering the fact that I am the type of person who is melancholy and a bit on the introverted side, I am one who willfully separates when I am hurt, angry, or upset in anyway. I have a habit of auto-isolation. I don’t want to be that way, But I am. I struggle with it. Pray for me!

It takes me great effort to reach out. I naturally want others to believe that I am GOOD! Well guess what I am learning....they can see that I AM NOT FINE!!! They can feel my vibe when I walk into church that I AM NOT GOOD! But nonetheless I keep up this idea for myself and my own so called sanity ... that I am good!!!

so lets bite into this and see what it is made of....

willfully separates --that means purposely disconnect myself from other people

and estranges -- that means to turn away from, keep at a distance and treat others like strangers

seeks his own desire -- wanting what I want when I want it ( example --I'm mad and I will only become happy when so and so does what makes me happy)

and pretext --that means to conceal the true purpose, to put up a misleading appearance ( example --Im fine!! *smile* when inside I am angry, hurt and need prayer but I am being willful and seeking my own way)

and all that is just NOT WISE

On the surface this may not seem like that big of a deal --besides we don’t want the whole world to know our business right??

The problem is that doing this is actually a prideful  my way or the highway kind of attitude.

I am sooooooo busted!!!! The WORD tends to do that !! huh??

A few years ago ...heck a couple of months ago I would not have written such a lay me open kind of blog post...but I believe that Friendships of Love is about KNOW, SHARE, SERVE. It is getting to KNOW others, to SHARE who I truly am, and finding a way to SERVE each other through that knowledge.

This past week I was able to SEE myself in the moment and say I am ALRIGHT with a shrug of NO IM NOT to my Pastor. ( I know! - not the best but I mustered a little reality there ..come on gimme some credit ..lol)  He had a great sentence to share at that moment that caused changes for me that week that I needed...if I would have pasted my smile on and went the --I'M GOOD *smile* way --I would still be in this same spot not dealing with any of it and continuing my willful way. Now I am a few more inches further than I was last week and seeking answers and being honest about where I am.

How many times have I not done that and missed out on having people lift me up in prayer...LORD knows I need it!! Stay Connected because we need truth and we need people.

Hmmmmmm seems that I sort of did a continuation of last weeks post Be Present ...

Thanks for listening

F & L'er

Starla

Are you satisfied???

Do have friends? Do they know you warts and all?? Not just that you have issues and they are all like really nice about it but that they know what those issues are, they love you anyway, they help you dig into the wart and find out what it is made of. Or do you even go there?

What is friendship to you? Is it just a nice cup of coffee together, is it a negative complaint dump site, is it a safe landing strip, is it an oasis from the harsh cruel world, is it a tormented show down of wits?? Or do you even think about that?

What do you really need in a friend? Do you have it or are you settling for a one sided listen to all their blah blah blahs? Is your friend truly interested in you? how do you know? can you tell? have you really thought about that? and are you that way to someone else? do you really care or are they just something to check of your list of weekly stuff to do?

It is real? Are you satisfied? or are you just dying to be known and to know TRULY?? Waiting .....hurting...in need of a companion. Are you one?

Prov 28:24a - A man that has friends must show himself friendly..

I am curious!

F and L'er

Starla

Steps To Friendship

This week its all about friendship in my daily devotionals. Had to share. God Bless! = )  

Tina Smith


July 15  - Every Day Light by Selwyn Hughes

Steps to friendship

For reading & meditation - Proverbs 18:1-24

"A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." (v.24)

Everyone needs a small circle of friends - even those who are married. I feel deeply sorry for anyone who does not have a friend. If friendship is so important, how do we go about making friends? The first step is - be friendly. The King James Version of our text for today says: "A man that hath friends must show himself friendly." You should not, however, become friendly just in order to gain a friend. This is a wrong motive because you are more interested in gaining a friend than being a friend. Self-centeredness will get you nowhere. Friendliness is the art of going out of yourself and appreciating others more than you appreciate yourself. It is really an attitude. Dale Carnegie in his book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, a secular approach to the subject but full of good sense nevertheless, said, "You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you." The main reason why people have no friends is because they demonstrate an unfriendly attitude. To have a friend - be one. The second step is - allow time for friendships to develop. Force no doors open in friendship but, like Christ in the book of Revelation, stand reverently at the door - and knock. Only if the door is opened from within should you go through. Some relationships you have with people may never develop into close friendships. Don't be upset about that. If you are open and friendly, then God will guide you and show you where deep friendships are to be developed.

Prayer:
Father, help me be a friend who does the knocking before I enter instead of knocking down after I have left. And show me not only how to sympathize with my friends' weaknesses, but summon up their strength. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

A friend with skin on

A friend with skin onFor reading & meditation - Proverbs 27:17-27
"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." (v.17)

Sometimes I hear Christians say, "Why do I need friends? God is my friend - isn't that enough?" Such a statement demonstrates a complete misunderstanding of the purpose of human relationships. Yes, we need God as our Friend - our close and most intimate Friend - but, as I once heard a little boy put it, "We need friends with skin on also." You won't know who you are until you are in a relationship. Paul Tillich, a well-known theologian, made the same point: "You don't really know yourself until you are put over against someone other than yourself." You see, if no one ever reflects to you how you come across, never challenges your views, never confronts you, never encourages you to talk out your problems, then parts of you remain undiscovered. Others can do that, of course, who are not friends, but it is best done by someone who knows you best. My favorite definition of a friend is: "someone who knows all there is to know about you and loves you just the same." Looking back on my life, I can see how valuable my friends have been to me. Because I have felt safe with them, I have been able to reveal myself and in the revealing I have come to know myself in a way that I could never have done with a mere acquaintance. Yes, we need God as our friend, but we need human friends also. This might be difficult for some to accept, but the more effectively we relate on a horizontal level with our human friends, the more effectively we will relate on a vertical level with our heavenly Friend.

Prayer:

Father, I see that my best friend is someone who brings out the best in me. Help me to be a best friend to someone - and bring out the best in that person. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

Have a great day!

Someone once said, "Success is when those who know you the best are those who love you the most."

21 Wise Sayings

A Mature 21
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21 Wise Sayings

1. The best way to get even is to forget...

2. Feed your faith and your doubts will starve to death.

3. God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts...

4. Some folks wear their halos much too tight...

5. Some marriages are made in heaven, but they ALL have to be
maintained on earth...

6. Unless you can create the WHOLE universe in 5 days, then
perhaps giving "advice" to God, isn't such a good idea.

7. Sorrow looks back, worry looks around, and faith looks up...

8. Standing in the middle of the road is dangerous.
You will get knocked down by the traffic from both ways.

9. Words are windows to the heart.

10. A skeptic is a person who when he sees the handwriting on
the wall, claims it's a forgery.

11. It isn't difficult to make a mountain out of a molehill,
just add a little dirt.

12. A successful marriage isn't finding the right person-it's
being the right person.

13. The mighty oak tree was once a little nut that held its
ground.

14. Too many people offer God prayers with claw marks all over
them.

15. The tongue must be heavy indeed, because so few people can't
hold it.

16. To forgive is to set the prisoner free, and then discover
the prisoner was you.

17. You have to wonder about humans, they think God is dead and
Elvis is alive.

18. It's all right to sit on your pity pot every now and again.
Just be sure to flush when you are done.

19. You'll notice that a turtle only makes progress when it
sticks out its neck...

20. If the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, you
can bet the water bill is higher.

21. And last but not least -- God gave the angels Wings, and He
gave humans CHOCOLATE!!!!!

Keep smiling, and ...if you see someone's missing one....
give them one of yours!!