You've Got A Friend

Oi. Como vai? My typing is terrible and this may look like one of my mistakes, but this is "Hello" and "How are you?" in Portuguese. My son is leaving Sunday for a semester of study in Brazil, so I'm making signs all over the house with the Portuguese names to help him learn the language. (Especially"um banheiro"or bathroom!)

We're celebrating one year of Lovely Branches Ministries and friendship this month. Through other Vine Press blogs, I've gotten to know my friends even better. At our Lovely Branches events, I've begun new friendships and have gone deeper with old friends.

Here's the deal--Christian women speak the same language, the language of the heart. Sure, we may disagree about some things, but wherever I go, I feel "at home" with a Christian friend. I am notorious for talking to anyone, anytime--so I've made some great friends at some unusual places--and our common bond has been our faith. Women friends are special--we"get"each other. The Bible tells us, "A friends loves at all times", (Proverbs 17:17). Think what your friends have "loved" you through! Here's part of my list: friends who have prayed me through tough things God has called me to do, friends who have covered for me when I had to leave town to take care of my Mom or son, a friend who came from far away to talk to me after my Dad died, friends here who took care of my family with food and finished my VBS projects during the same time, friends who help with projects in which I'm involved.


Getting together with your women friends, especially Christian women friends, encourages us and keeps us going. Make some time to pray, play, laugh, cry, eat, or do good works with your gal pals!


"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the day approaching."-Hebrews10:24-25


Next week my family is headed to Horn Creek Family Camp in Colorado, where we go each year and I'm looking forward to seeing my friends there. We sometimes communicate throughout the year by e-mail or phone for prayer, or through our powerful "Mom's network", which strikes fear into the hearts of our kids!! You have a neighbor coming to my child's college? Sure, we'll see if they can get acquainted. Josh, my son, is heading to Brazil, the former home of one of our friends--so, I call for travel tips and information.


My Horn Creek friend Diane tells me about a group some of her church friends have started--the Hot Dishes! They get together in their church kitchen once a month and cook casseroles,etc. for families who may need a meal. Stored in the church freezer, they're ready to go. The Hotdishes then go out for coffee. (The ladies, not the casseroles) They pray for each other, especailly for those who are "on the hot plate", experienceing pain/problems. How cool is this?



There are so many ways we can be the "hands and feet" of Jesus, meeting needs all around us. So, keep spurring yourself and your friends on to good works. It's great to have fun with your friends, too. Some of my favorite books are the Sisterchick books by Robin Jones Gunn. She defines a Sisterchick as "a friend who laughs with you till you cry and cries with you till you laugh; a gift from God." These are travel adventures but have some great scriptural truths!


Celebrate your friends this month--see them as the gift from God that they are. For now, I'll just say: "Tchau, ma amigas", or Goodbye, my girl friends!