Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Friendship in Proverbs 21

21:21 He who pursues righteousness and loyalty finds life, righteousness, and honor.

Just a reminder to me to pursue those things which are truly of value....in activities, in relationships...
Terrific Tuesday

Quote of the Day: "If a man wants to leave tracks, everyone should let him!" Amen! I pray that all my children are track leavers. LOL

45 minutes of Step Video.

Friend, Kim, dropped by with the completer set of MUS. We had a nice visit. She had even asked them why I had a RED "ones" counter in my starter set. I had joked that it must be like the golden ticket of Willy Wonka's. No such luck. Ah well - I had dreams.

Fielded several phone calls.

Began co-op order.

Had a fun talk with Krista.

Took the children and Emma, Arielle's friend, to the Rec pool. It was EMPTY and then was VERY FULL! This is a different year than last...duh. ::snort:: Last year Zander and Stacia pretty much stayed in the kiddie pool and I could sit on the side and visit with friends or read. THIS year Zander has learned to swim underwater, is more daring, and has taught himself to dive. We have no idea how - but he did - and he has perfect form. The problem is that we've had a hard time convincing him it is DANGEROUS to dive in 3 ft of water. Yesterday he had a reality check and I'm still praising God that His hand was on Zander and it wasn't more serious. He dove in....while I was trying to keep Stacia from falling out of the big life vests. The China Beach pool, devoted to LITTLE kids, has closed. This means, evidently, that they took all the little life vests and put them up for a season. ::snort:: I need to go buy a small one or not go to the pool without another adult in the water. It was too hard to watch Zander and Stacia if she isn't in a vest. She, of course, thought she could jump in, paddle etc as she does with a vest. ::snort:: Back to Zander.....while my attention was turned to Stacia, I was RIGHT THERE, he dove in. He hit the bottom of the pool with his face. He had/has? a bump on his forehead and a big scrape on his nose. He was shaken but not permanently injured. No more diving....he moved to new tricks - flips into the pool (also a no-no at this pool) and standing on his head and waggling his legs....cute trick.

Dinner was baked penne by request of Jamin. Jamin was HOME for dinner and so was Mike. Yippee.

I think that sums up the day.
Friendship in Proverbs 20

First, a thought. When approaching any study of Scripture we need to keep an open heart to change required in our lives. If studying the Word doesn't cause me to know God deeper, to be transformed a bit more into Christ's image...then it's simply an intellectual exercise. I do not believe that is what God had in mind when He told us to meditate on his word, to look into the perfect law of liberty....

In studying what to look for in friends I've become acutely aware of the type of friend I need to be to others....and I've been challenged and convicted and changed.

20:3 - Keeping away from strife is an honor for a man, But any fool will quarrel."

I need to beware of being quarrelsome. This is difficult for a talker...and I've often had to apologize to my family, to my friends in real life, on SHS and probably even on this blog. I try.

I need to beware of quarrelsome friends. The Word says they are foolish.

20:7 - A righteous man who walks in his integrity - how blessed are his sons after him.

I will look for righteous friends who walk with integrity - and I will continue to strive to walk in integrity....and to daily throw myself on His grace which allows me to be clothed in His righteousness.

20:19 He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets, therefore do not associate with a gossip.

Youch - this one appears clear.....but I DO have questions. What exactly does the Word mean when it says slander? Is it different than what our culture considers to be slander? What about secrets? What about associating? Does this mean NO FELLOWSHIP? How can I be salt and light to a friend who struggles with these sins if I have nothing to do with them? Does the word associate maybe mean a deep friendship and a mentoring or acquaintance type friendship would be ok? Remembering that Proverbs is not a doctrinal book but a book of wise maxims, I know that this may not be a COMMAND that I HAVE to follow but rather a wise principle that a wise person would follow? It certainly is for my GOOD to avoid someone who slanders, gossips and reveals secrets of others. Yes - I need to do more study. I've begun word studies and will share more on this as I flesh it all out. If you've prayed about this or studied this verse and have some insights you'd like to share - feel free to comment.

*Yep, I decided to just jump in and not try to "catch up" from the first.
Friendship in Proverbs

I'm doing it again! I love to read through the book of proverbs month by month. I often look for one word or one theme and mark it, take notes etc. Any verse can speak to me, but I find that looking for a specific theme does help me to keep my mind from wandering.

For general background info on Proverbs you can read this post, which contains thoughts I shared when beginning to study "Parenting in Proverbs".

I'm going to be leading a six week study on Friendship starting 4 Sept. I've been doing a lot of thinking and thought I'd share. I have a heart for relationships and found that I really NEEDED this focus in my personal life.....maybe someone else will appreciate it too. A people person sometimes struggles to find a balance in relationships. Are friendships expected to be forever? What do you do if a friendship seems to dissolve? How do you make friends when those around seem not to need new friends? How do you know when it is safe to share your heart? What should I look for in friendships? Are there different levels or types of friendships? These are things I've been pondering and I am curious to see what Proverbs (that book of wisdom) has to say on the topic.

Again this will be devotional - I'm not not looking for an in-depth topical study at this point. I reserve the right to dig into a specific verse at any time. ::snort:: I use the New American Standard Bible, published by The Lockman Foundation, in my devotional reading.

I only need to figure out if I should go back and try to catch up or just begin posting from here....stay tuned....I simply want to set some framework for daily posts you may begin to shortly see..... (no cutesy friendship graphic - maybe I'll have to go surfing soon. )::snort::