Gift - Friendship

The greatest gift of life is friendship, and I have received it.  Hubert H. Humphrey




There is this crazy holiday coming up in just the next few days.  I know some love it and others hate it, but I'm just pretty much indifferent.  My husband and I celebrate - somewhat.  This is one of those times when the gift of friendship is so important.  I use this as another opportunity to reach out to my friends to let them know they are loved.  It's more than just the romantic love that my husband and I share - though not so much on the day we are "supposed" to, but every day.  It's the smallest of gifts, running the dishwasher after I have gone to bed, or telling me he's proud of me.  The gifts I share with others are a kind word of encouragement or a heart-felt prayer, a private message of inquiry when I suspect life is difficult or frustrating as it is for us all.

The gift of friendship can be so difficult to find, it's about putting yourself out there for someone to accept or reject, fear of the unknown and of the possibilities.  What are you going to do to show your friends appreciation for the gift they have given you?

Unique - Friendship

A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world.

Leo Buscaglia

It's just takes a single friend to turn the worst of days into something far more tolerable.  It's the smallest word or the tiny good deed - a phone call, text or instant message from a single friend.  There are those who use the internet to claim thousands of friends, but are they?  Do they exist outside of the the internet world?  Each friendship is unique and needs to be cared for and nurtured, just like a rose.   I make sure that I reach out to my internet friends in other meaningful ways, especially with notes and prayers.  Connecting in Google Hangouts is another way to really get to know people over great distances.  How will you nurture your unique friendships today?

Joy - Friendship

I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let's face it, friends make life a lot more fun.

Charles R. Swindoll

Joy?!  It's more than the momentary laughter at a joke, or the quick smile, but the quiet peace that comes from friendship.  There is a great deal of joy that comes from a quick Facebook message, a text message, phone call or even a very old-fashioned hand-written note.  I know because I try to be the kind of friend who does all of those.  There is a quiet joy in knowing that if I am truly in need I can reach out and will have some one to talk with.  There have been a few of my early mornings I have reached out in desperate need of prayer and had a friend there completely for me.  

Whether your friends are new, or have been with you since early childhood, your friends are there for you.  They bring you quiet joy, even if they disagree with you.  What joy can you share with a friend today?

Believe - Friendship

The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him.  Ralph Waldo Emerson


Believe! was the word and encouragement for both January and for 2015.  Now to focus on the encouragement from friendship. 

I have the MOST amazing friends, some live nearby, some far away, and some I have never met in person.  Other friends live far away, I see then rarely, sometimes once a year, and other friends as little as once a decade.  Who would have thought an online group would produce some of the most amazing friendships?  The support and encouragement I both am able to give and receive is so very rare.  It is the online connection, which helps create these incredible connections.  I am sure there are some people who say that if it happens online, it isn't real.  The conversations and time spent even online builds the relationship and trust.  I can't imagine life without my long distance friendships.  

Then there's the four-legged friendship by my hip and my feet as I write this - the cuddles, stress relief and doggie kisses are a friendship I can always count on.  

Succeed - Believe

In order to succeed, we must first believe that we can. - Nikos Kazantzakis

Success!  Dreams and goals aren't going to reach themselves, I've talked about the what it takes to believe in reach those dreams and goals.  You do have to know what success looks like to you in order to reach it.  What does success look like for you?  For many success means money, the right "things", status symbols of one kind or another.  Success for me is about happiness.  peace, security, the journey of living out my dreams.  It means having friends and cheering them on as they find their success as well.  Success looks different for everyone.  You can't be successful unless you already know what that is going to look like for you.  Then you can move on to the believing.  Kazantzakis is right, you will never succeed unless you absolutely believe you can.  It is so much easier to sit back and complain, instead of stepping up and working toward creating an amazing successful future, but success is definitely worth the effort.

Kindness - Believe!

Don't let fear or insecurity stop you from trying new things. Believe in yourself. Do what you love. And most importantly, be kind to others, even if you don't like them.   Stacy London

Believing in yourself creates a confidence, unlike anything else.  With that confidence and belief it is so much easier to express kindness both to your closest friends and to those how make it difficult to give those small acts of kindness.  Our world is such a busy place, everyone has so many things to do, so many places to be.  Are each of us always in that big of a hurry?  Are there just a few minutes here or there we can give up to make the life of someone else better?  Letting someone else go first in the checkout line, especially if they only have a few items, holding a door, a note or card of encouragement to a friend.  These smallest acts of kindness build your belief in others and yourself.

Miracles - Believe!

I truly believe that everything that we do and everyone that we meet is put in our path for a purpose. There are no accidents; we're all teachers - if we're willing to pay attention to the lessons we learn, trust our positive instincts and not be afraid to take risks or wait for some miracle to come knocking at our door. - Marla Gibbs



Miracles come in ways both great and small.  From the smallest of things, the rising and setting of the sun, catching a red light which causes you to just miss a traffic accident, the friend of a friend in social media, which develops into a long term supportive network of encouraging friends.  

Miracles also happen in the greatest of ways.  The birth of a child.  The development of a new love, the medical prognosis which doesn't come to fruition.  

Miracles cause us to increase our ability to believe, and it is our ability to believe which cause us to see the miracles for what they are.