Featured Friend: Christine

Remember this girl?

Yeah.  That one.  The one that I surprised once on her birthday at the Houston Zoo.

A few nights ago, I ran across her blog on accident.  I didn't even know it existed, and then, suddenly, there it was and I was like "What!?"

So, of course, I went back and read everything she had written over the last 10 months or so.

That's what everyone does at moments like that, right? Just tell me yes, even if it's not...

Anyway, In the process of reading through her archives, I found this.

Now, Christine, although she is a very dear friend, is a fairly new friend.  As in, we didn't meet until about three years ago, so I didn't know about the background of this post.

So, imagine my shock as I'm sitting here reading my story on her blog.

I'm dead serious.  Change two tiny details (a. I was a little older than she was and b. I knew he was cheating when I broke it off, which I guess is not a particularly tiny detail) and everything on that post besides the list could be something I wrote about myself - every detail is true of me and my journey since then.  That, my friends, is the background of "this phase" in my life that I referred to in my last post.

And she probably put it all much better than I could have.

Just in case you're not catching this, I'm going to repeat myself - Christine and I have almost the exact same events that, although they may not define us, have influenced much of who we are today.

Can I just say, I think it's an incredible testament to how much we've both overcome that we've never really talked about this.  We both sort of knew about the relationship of each others' past that held certain regrets and scars, but details didn't matter to us, because our past doesn't define who we are today.  Neither of us dwelt on the past.

You know what else Christine doesn't do?  Shilly-shally.

She jumps in and does whatever she's doing whole-heartedly, and when she makes a decision, she sticks to it.  She is who she is and anyone may know it.

Also? Girlfriend is L-O-Y-A-L.  If she decides she's your friend, she's all in.  She keeps track of your life (in a non-stalker way) and always knows the right questions to ask at the right time to spark a deeper-than-you-might-like, but oh-so-good-and-necessary conversation.  She keeps you accountable whether you like it or not.

I'd have to say, ours is a friendship where she made the decision that we were going to be friends and decided to work on that, then I caught on to the fact that she was a keeper and, boy am I thankful I did.

We've both overcome so much, and Christine, if you're reading this, I love you and am so much more grateful for your friendship now that I know this about you.

Up next?  A "To Whom It May Concern" list of my own.

Featured Friend: Allie

Allie and I haven't really been friends that long in the broad spectrum of things, but I'm pretty sure one day we'll be able to look back and say ours has been a long-standing friendship.

I met Allie one night when I was watching some friends playing basketball in her church's gym.  Honestly, I had no idea when I met her that we would stay friends for as long as we have.  The Lord definitely has a reason for us to be friends, because He persisted in bringing us together again and again until we finally decided Hey, we really should be friends as if it was our idea.



I've always admired Allie's personal style.  Her attitude is basically if-it-makes-me-happy-I'll-wear-it.  You may see her on one day in athletic shorts and a t-shirt, and the next day in a long bohemian skirt or a cute blazer and scarf.  As weird as it may sound, I remember what Allie was wearing when I first met her.  I don't think I can remember what any of my other friends were wearing when I first met them.  She was wearing a flowy skirt and a peasant top.  I'm pretty sure one of them was yellow.

I have learned the lesson of wear-what-you-want from her (a hard lesson for someone like me to learn), but she's taught me some other stuff as well:

Loving People:  Make Sacrifices and Listen
Allie loves her friends, her family, and her church, so she lives in the town where her church and her family are, which is half an hour away from the town where (most of) her friends live.  Girlfriend is a champion commuter, a sacrifice which should not be looked over in this day and age.  We have Bible Study every week, and Allie is there every week.  I'm sure there have been times when she didn't feel like driving, but she always comes anyway.



She doesn't come just for Bible Study either, she comes just to hang out with us.  She loves to listen to what we have to say and she always knows just what to say.  One of the best things I've learned from Allie is how to give advice.

Allie listens to the whole story, pauses and sympathizes with you, then says "well, what about this?"
She gives value to what you are saying, rather than just jumping right in and trying to solve a problem.
And she always remembers what you've said.  She looks you in the eye and doesn't let herself get distracted while you're talking to her.

Loving God:  Believe Him
This girl believes God for all his promises.  If she feels like He wants something to happen in her life, it might as well have already happened in her book.  She's the ultimate outliving of "the battle is already won."
Even in the midst of waiting for things to happen, she never doubts that the Lord will bring them about in His time.  It's as hard for her to wait as it is for the next one, but she doesn't lose hope while she's waiting.
I think that's a lesson many of us could benefit from.

Thanks, Allie, for loving me and for showing me what it really looks like to have joy in the future God has promised you.

Featured Friend: Abigail

In my last post, I mentioned that I am thankful for friends who daily show me new and wonderful ways to love God and people.  One of those friends is Abigail. Her birthday was a little while ago, and she mentioned something on her blog about having done this thing in the past where, in the days leading up to her birthday, she talked about people who had been a good influence on her life.  I'm going to do almost exactly that, spotlighting some friends I have learned the important lessons of How-to-Love-People and How-to-Love-God from in the past year.


Mind you, I only have a few days until my birthday, so there won't be too many people on here and I've learned so much from so many different people!
Maybe I'll just have to continue this series after my birthday . . .


Anyone want to hazard a guess as to who my first fine "Featured Friend" (Too much alliteration?) will be?


Now how did you know that?


I've known Abigail for as long as I can remember. 
She actually started out as my babysitter.  (I love to say that to people when they ask how we met.)
About the time the gap in our ages began to close, she went to college in New Zealand (I know.  I was jealous too.) But immediately after she came back from NZ, she set up a Bible Study for some of the younger, just-starting-college girls in our church.  That Bible Study was a great growing experience for me and I'd say it's when Abigail's and my friendship really blossomed into what it is today.


Unfortunately . . . just kidding, Abigail . . . Eventually the inevitable happened and Abigail got married.  She's moved all over the country, but we've managed to stay in touch quite well and she has continued to encourage me in my walk with the Lord and be a fantastic example to me of how to love.


Last summer, Christa and I took a lovely journey to visit Abigail in Georgia.  After we were greeted by a cook-out, a sunset, and some fireworks, we came to Abigail's house and what did we find?




Ever since the days of our original Bible Study, Abigail has been a superb hostess.  She has welcomed us into her home (wherever it may be) and filled it with activities, movies, music, food, and whatever else a heart could desire. Things may not always turn out just the way she intends for them to (we certainly didn't get to all the "Possible Week Activities"), but, even if things don't go according to plan, she's happy as long as her guests are happy.  I'm pretty sure that's one of the most important lessons an aspiring hostess can learn.


Recently, Abigail came up with the idea of having a "Bloggin' Bible Study."
I watched through the first study, read other people's contributions, and thought Man, I wish I had that kind of time.  Then I realized I do have that kind of time. I'm just using it for other, less productive things.  So, when Abigail decided to do a second Bible Study, I got excited and decided to join in . . . obviously a little late.  But, better late than never, right? (Actual Bible Study coming very soon.)


I've learned, by watching her example, that sometimes the best way to love God is just to dive right in and love Him.  Simple as that.  He doesn't require a great fanfare or a set aside time or a particular mindset.  He just requires our time and our love. Those aren't so hard to give, whether you're an army-wife-mom-of-a-one-year-old or a working-girl-writer-on-the-brink-of-college-graduation or anything else on the spectrum.


Thanks Abigail, for loving me and for loving God out in the open and above all else.