My niece, Rebekah Osteen, recently updated her blog and I have posted her entry from yesterday below.  She is a wise young woman and a thoughtful writer and I thought you all might enjoy reading this entry.  After you read it, why don't we post scriptures which help support the statements she makes about friendships/relationships.
Enjoy!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Thoughts on friendship, by Rebekah Osteen


Over the course of the past couple of days, I've had the wonderful opportunity to catch up with several good friends of mine via phone, Skype, and Facebook. Here are a few thoughts I've been reflecting on that I'd like to pass along to you...

1) Friendships take time.
In a society where we want everything now, we've begun to want to create long-lasting friendships in shorter and shorter amounts of time. In reality, this simply does not happen. You'll find out very quickly who your true friends are by looking at the people in your life who have stuck around the longest.



2) Friendships take hard work.
Long-lasting friendships require some good ol' "elbow grease." They not only take time, but they also take hard work. Just like everything else in our lives that we can improve upon, friendships only grow and develop if we actually take time to work on them. Some days are easier than others, but regardless, life-long friendships take hard work.



3) Friendships require intentionality.
This one is a biggie. If we want to cultivate long-lasting, meaningful friendships, we have to do our part in upholding the relationship. As time goes by, it's more likely for our closest friends to be the furthest ones (geographically) away from us. In order for us to really keep these friendships healthy and vibrant, we've got to be intentional with how we keep in touch. As our schedules become busier and busier, we must be able to set aside and plan out time for catching up and reconnecting with friends. Without intentionality, months can go by without us even realizing it's been that long since we've talked to our best friends. Simply put, if we want relationships with a deep purpose, we must be intentional with our friendships.



4) Friendships require honesty.
I hate conflict. I'd rather run and hide from it than turn around and face it. I'd also rather lie my way out of a situation and come out "unscathed" than to be honest and experience conflict, tension, and overall frustration within a friendship. Although I hate relational conflict, I really do try to view it as a sign of life and a sign of growth. I'm thankful for the friends who have been there to help me get through difficult seasons of life, but I'm really thankful for the friends who have been the most honest. Whether it was about something stupid I said or about a legitimate character flaw, I have a deep appreciation and thankfulness for the friends who've been honest with me. Although it's wonderful to receive affirmation, we must practice the discipline of taking loving criticism. Bottom line, if we want life-long friendships, we need honesty.



5) Friendships feed off of trust.
The only way for us to cultivate honesty within our friendships is if there is trust...mutual trust. Trust is the foundation to any relationship whether it be with one of your best friends or with your co-worker. Whenever you face any relational conflict, ask yourself if it's really a matter of trust. More times than not, it probably is. Trust is both one of the hardest things to gain and one of the hardest things to give away. Trust makes you extremely vulnerable. Trust proves that you're needy and that you can't do it all by yourself. Just when you think you can really trust someone, there's always another level of trust that can potentially be reached.
At the end of the day, I can truly say that I have some of the best friends in the entire world. Without them, I wouldn't be who I am today. As the saying goes, "Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same." Not only do I have some of the best friends you could ever ask for, but my goal is to be the very best friend that I can possibly be.

In class yesterday I talked about a "lifestyle of repentance".  I referenced 1 John 1:5-10 which says,

"5 This is the message he has given us to announce to you: God is light and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness. We are not living in the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light of God's presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin.  8 If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts." New Living Translation

With this verse in mind, what does "lifestyle of repentance" mean to you?  Have you ever known anyone who acted like someone verse 8 describes?  How can we help someone in that situation move into confession that is genuine?  How do we keep ourselves from becoming like the person described in verse 8?

I look forward to your comments!! 

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