Friends are a Gift from God!




Proverbs 17:17 (The Message)

One Who Knows Much Says Little
17. Friends love through all kinds of weather,
and families stick together in all kinds of trouble.

I am so thankful to be feeling better today! This week has not been very productive to say the least. I even missed my last Bible Study and I was the teacher! Not to fret, they made it fine without me. I was disappointed though, it was the climax of Esther! What an amazing account of God working behind the scenes. Our next study will be with Kay Arthur (The Covenant). I love to study Gods Word! Studying to show ourselves approved is the answer! And it makes a difference who we study with! I have met some wonderful ladies that love the Lord and are dedicated to His work. The Lord has always blessed me with good friends, I can honestly say all during my life there have been some constant and then some who were there for a time. We have moved a lot so there was opportunity in church and neighborhood to meet lots of nice folks. Friends are truly a gift from God! Now on the other hand, we have to be a good friend to. Just listening is probably one of the most important things we can do. Being honest and discreet is an absolute must also. If we have the ability to make another person feel good about themselves, then we have accomplished a great deal. I believe we must encourage each other, holding each other up in prayer, and really being concerned. You know enough that we feel what they are going through. We must have compassion and empathy. My friends have been praying for me this week and I am so thankful. Even though it was not serious, I was still down and out. We have a lot of things coming up in the next few weeks that will require lots of strength, and of course I am looking to my Heavenly Father for that. Guidance to know exactly what to do, and then wisdom to know how to handle it. Thank you again for your prayers, I pray and ask Gods blessings on you when you read my blogs. Thank you for that to. I truly love the Lord and only want to do His will. We have weather moving in that will surely keep us on our toes, maybe on our knees to so everyone be safe and have a blessed weekend.

12 comments:

Debbie said...

Oh my, are we ever on the same page today. What a wonderful blessing good friends are. I am sorry to hear that you had a rough week. Hope you are feeling lots better. I am feeling almost 100% Just still a little more tired than usual. My daughter arrives at 9:30 tonight and I am soo excited and grateful to be feeling better. Thank you so much for your prayers. I appreciate them so. I will lift you up as well. Have a wonderful week. Blessings, Debbie

Joan Hall said...

Shirley - I just read Debbie's post and it was also about friendship. How awesome.

As I said to her, I'm thankful for the new friends I'm meeting here in the blogworld. Each of you are a blessing to me.

Glad you are feeling better. And watch out for that weather. Here in Texas our first day of spring feels more like the first day of winter.

Blessings,
Joan

RCUBEs said...

I love the Book of Esther. Like what you said, though the Lord was not mentioned, it was so obvious what He planned. May you be strong in the Lord's mighty power. GOd bless you and may you continue to recover.

Nikki (Sarah) said...

praying for you Shirley...stay strong ok...Have a great week. sarah

Anonymous said...

You have many friends here at Spiritual Sundays. Have a good week and know that the Lord will see you through....

Dayle ~ A Collection of Days said...

Being a friend is just as important as having a friend. I like what you said about listening being one of the most important things required for being a good friend. We should also keep private conversations private, never revealing their heart with others, even if the friendship falls apart later. That is a true friend.

Julie said...

Thanks so much for an encouraging and inspiring post. Friends are truly gifts from God.
I love the book of Esther.
Blessings to you for a great post. I find it refreshing that you pray and ask God to bless others through your blog. yes!

Charlotte said...

Dear Shirley,
The last blog I visited also wrote about friends today. I think friends are so important too. Like you I have lived in several different places and have always found friends there. I have found so many wonderful friends since I started blogging. I never would have dreamed it when I started. Some of the most special people I have met in blogland are those who share on Spiritual Sundays. I'm happy to count you among them.
Prayers and blessings,
Charlotte

Renee said...

Friends are such a special blessing! Thanks for this reminder..God bless.

Anonymous said...

I love the book of Esther, but it's been a while since I've read it. Reading your blog has helped me to decide to not only re-read it again, but to truly study it next month as my study-one-Bible book-a-month.

Friendship is a blessed gift from God. Thank you for sharing this with us. God bless!

Musings of A Minister said...

Just got through reading a post about friends. This is good. It just emphasizes how important true friends are. I am glad you are feeling better.

Ginger~~Enchanting Cottage said...

I love that saying, it's so perfect!I'm glad that your feeling better.
God Bless,
Ginger