Day Planner

I had an appointment to meet with a friend of mine whom I happen to respect a great deal last Thursday for coffee. We'd set that date almost two weeks before and I was excited. I also knew that due to my now suspect short-term memory I had stood him up last time we were supposed to meet. I'd like to use the excuse that it was the length of time from when we made the appointment till this time, but its not a valid excuse. I've always depended on my memory to remind me of all the little things in life, but I can't depend on it anymore. It wasn't until I was taking communion on Sunday that I remembered that I had stood him up. He didn't deserve it. So after calling and leaving a message apologizing for my second screw up...I decided to get a little material help: a day planner. Who would have thought that I'd wait till I was almost 30 to get one of these. I guess my point in all of this rambling is that sometimes we all need just a little help. If you need it...ask for it...go find it. Our greatest help is Jesus.

Someone special

Valorie's grandmother passed away today. She was someone who loved me regardless of the situation. She loved her children, grandchildren, and pretty much anyone who walked through her door. I'm sad that I can't be there for the family at this time. She was just someone special...

Judgment, Hypocrisy, and Friendship

A little over a month ago I had a friend that would on occasion comment on this blog about God and scripture, and actually was a very encouraging person to me. Well when everything went raw on July 24th, this person did something thing that caught me extremely off-guard. This person judged me...and then turned their back on me. This person just stopped associating with me cold turkey. What did I do that was so bad? I reacted just like any other human being does to heart break. I also spoke biblical truth about suffering...either self-caused or not. In short, this person disagreed with me and turned their back on me as a result.

I write about this now because I happened to stop by this person's blog and this person is thanking all of their friends for being there at a rough point in their life. This person has a huge paragraph in their blog about friendship and what it means...yet this person judged me during a snapshot period in my life and threw away a friend that prayed and encouraged just the same. Doesn't it seem just a bit hypocritical to you? How can you exhort your friends and be so thankful for them being there for you when you turn your back on a friend when you disagreed...in judgment no less?

In all of this...how are we supposed to act towards people? Are we supposed to judge? Clearly we are warned throughout God's Word with a resounding no. Are we supposed to love...unconditionally? Absolutely. As you read today, think about your friends...your enemies...those who are just your acquaintances and love them...don't judge. Take the time to put yourselves in their shoes and think of what they are going through. We aren't here to judge...thats God's job. We aren't here to spit in the face of God by being hypocrites. We are here to love....we serve God by loving him...and the people he created. In essence...Christ calls us his friends, and likewise we should treat all people with love and respect...like friends.

As for this person who was my friend...I don't know why things went the way they did. However, I do believe that God is doing wonderful things in this person's life, and I will continue to pray for this person. This person's story is going to rock the world of many and I thank God for that.