Friends

I returned to Chicago last night after being gone for about ten days. First thing this morning, I met with a good friend to catch up on our church, our community, and our lives.

I feel blessed to have friends in my life to share life with. Thanks Deshaun.

What importance to friendships have for you?

Album release

I wanted to mention the release this month of my guy Kareem's debut album. Be sure to check it out.

Friendship

I thank God for the gift of friendship.

I spent yesterday in Lima, OH where I grew up. I spent time catching up with several friends that I went to high school with. I rarely see these people since I haven't been back to Lima in years, but they are still valued friends.

Right now, I am in Panera bread in Dayton, OH waiting to see a friend from college. I haven't seen him since his wedding many years ago.

Everywhere that God has taken me in life, He has blessed me with friends. I hope that I have also been a good friend to others. Having a family now, it takes more effort to establish and maintain friendships. I hope that in the time that I have, I value people more than my wants, my desires, and my agenda. That is a lot of being a friend. Thinking of others.

What kind of friend are you? What are ways to be a good friend to others?

What is a friend?

For the learning community that I am involved in, this month we were reading and discussing Kent Hughes book Disciplines of a Godly Man. It is an excellent book that I have read before. Last night, we met to discuss the book. We spent quite a bit of time discussing the discipline of friendship.

I don't often think of friendship as a discipline.

The book shares that it is estimated that only about 10% of men have any real friends. This poses the question of "what is a real friend".

I feel so blessed that in all stages of my life, God has graced me with the gift of friendship. High school, college, different churches- God has put people around me who love Him and who care about me and others. What a blessing. So many people don't have it. Good friendships have a lot to do with growing me into the person that I am today.

What qualities make a good friend? Can a person be a good leader without having close friendships? Should friendship be seen as an indispensable discipline of Christian growth?