Are you a "true friend?"

    

Good morning and happy Monday, I trust you had a wonderful weekend, that your spiritual tank is full to keep you going all week and that  today will be a good day for you! We finally got hot weather yesterday, somewhere in the high 90's with humidity! I know many of my Gulf coast friends will laugh when I say 30% because that is nothing compared to yours each day! The clouds have moved in this morning and it looks as if it might come a downpour! At 3 this morning it was still 81 degrees out and now is 78, a little breezy and still humid! We should hit 90 today and then will be back in the high 80's for a few days!
      This morning in prayer, as I sat here chatting with our Father in Heaven the word "true friend" came to mind, I began thinking about that word and was intrigued to sit and wonder how many I really have! Friends come and go in our lives, some are here for a lifetime, not many but the ones that are....are! Some come into our lives with specific purpose and when the purpose is gone so are the friends, some come into our lives but are never really friends, they are wolfs in sheeps clothing and if we do not detect this quickly they can cause much damage in our chicken houses! I have many acquaintances, many "friends" that I speak with daily, that I pray with, that I laugh with but few that I cry with, I am now 50 years old and can count my" true friends" on one hand, God has on occasion tested my friendships and these people have stood tall in testing and have proved time and time again that they are with me through thick and thin, through storm and calm, for better or worse and richer or poorer. My Wayde and my Megan are my two best friends, they have seen me in the worst of times and have stood with me, they have tended me when I am sick, they have loved me when I have fallen apart, they have comforted me when I am sad and they have seen me when my faith was down to bits, they have lifted me when I could not stand and have always loved me through the bad times! I have a few friends who are close to that order, who have been through the roughest of times with me and yet they have stuck around!  I thank them this day for all that they are to me, they are not my friends for what they have, not my friends for what they may have, they are my friends for who they are:) Today I pray that you have "true friends" beware of those that carry knives, who are ready, on the spur of the moment, to stab you in the back...they are not friends! Beware of those that need what you have, they are not true friends, for they will rob you blind when you are weak, Beware of those who require all of your time, they will turn quickly to someone else if you are not available, and BE AWARE of the promptings from the Holy Ghost, he will let you know when you are being taken advantage of, he will prompt you when friendships are not true, he will always be there to guide you down the right path! God is the best friend I have, he never judges me, he allows me to be me, he allows me to cry, to rant, to rave, to be like a small child. He has seen me at my dead level worst, he has held me when I did not feel worthy of being held and he has never turned his back on me..If you are in need of a "true friend" today, ask God to be your eternal buddy, I am sure you will not ever feel disappointed in your friendship with him! God bless you all, every one of you with love, joy and peace in your hearts this day! Know you are loved:)

Quotes for this day and for the message that God placed upon my heart:)

"Friends always show their love. What are brothers for if not to share troubles?"- Proverbs 17:17

"Some friendships do not last, but some friends are more loyal than brothers."
- Proverbs 18:24

"Forsake not an old friend; for the new is not comparable to him: a new friend is as new wine; when it is old, thou shall drink it with pleasure."
"An honest answer is the sign of true friendship." 

- Proverbs 24:26

"A friend means well, even when he hurts you. But when an enemy puts his hand round your shoulder - watch out!"
- Proverbs 27:6

"Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up."
- Bible: Ecclesiastes

"My friends are my estate. Forgive me then the avarice to hoard them. They tell me those who were poor early have different views of gold. I don't know how that is. God is not so wary as we, else He would give us no friends, lest we forget Him."
- Emily Dickinson

"The greatest love a person can have for his friends is to give his life for them."
- John 15:13

"A friend is one who strengthens you with prayers, blesses you with love and encourages you with hope. Dawn Ashley:)