Blogging and Friends

I have so much fun posting and reading other peoples blogs and that is what really inspired me to do this site. Recently I have been reading Ryan's emails from when he was in Australia and England and I am just blown away constantly about the way he describes the scenery or tells me what is on his heart or what God is showing him. Then I read Leslie's site ALL the time, some days I think I check it more than she does. Hopefully she will post some things while she is away in New Mexico, otherwise I may have to do boring things like work and stuff. I also like checking Joel's page because he gives so much insight in a casual pragmatic way. Todd's page gets checked daily as well because I love his goofy humor and I see a side of him that I don't really know even though I consider him a good friend. This very thought leads me to my second point. What is a good friend? I had this question posed to me by someone I consider a good friend, but it really made me think about what levels of friendship there are in this world and what they mean to me. I think they can be broken into 4 categories: aquaintances, friends, good friends and best friends. I think everyone realizes what an aquaintance is, but for definitions sake I will say that it is somebody you know, but don't really hang out with, perhaps a friend of a friend or something of that nature. Second we have friend and probabally the largest category. When I think of friends I think of people that I see frequently and who I know some things about and hang out with once in a while. This could probabally be fleshed out more, but I think the point is made. We then have good friends. I think this category is hard to define, but I will make my best effort. I think a good friend is someone you care about and who cares for you. You make efforts to hang out with this person, call them on the phone, lift them up in prayer and maybe even know their family and at least know their story. These people are in abundance in my life, one of the perks of being a part of a very active singles ministry. Finally we have best friends. These individuals are rare and have your confidence and I think a bond exists between you and that individual that is very sacrificial. My best friend is Robbie. I would do anything for him, even die for him. I think that God has put some amazing friends, of all levels, in my life and I am so thankful for the impact that they have had on me. Some of you know my story, but I didn't have a lot of friends growing up. I was the kid in the corner that got picked on and didn't have friends because people did not want to be associated with me otherwise they would be ridiculed as well. At the time I was not walking in the paths of the Lord so I had no hope and it was eventually one of the things that broke me completely. How amazing is our Lord and Savior that He would listen to the pleas of a broken man and pick him up out of the darkness of despair and lift him up to a place that he doesn't deserve to be in. A place where I am surrounded by others who are seeking God and know friends in numbers I could never have imagined. I thank God for each of you and pray a special blessing upon each of you, wherever you may be, yet most of all I thank God, for what a friend I have in Jesus.