Friendship with God, Friendship with friends, prioritizing, and who's doing the prioritizing anyways?

It all starts with: I am very committed to friendship. The trust between friends, and the level of comfort that can be established between friends, is a rare and beautiful thing to me. Something worth searching a lifetime for! This being the case, I have personally made some foolhardy sacrifices for friends. Perhaps foolhardy. Not sure I'm able to get God's perspective on my actions too clearly. And the answers will not come in too clearly. This is why acceptance and unconditional love become so very important. You may just be calling someone a fool, who actually is the only one carrying the answers! I only know how my mother taught me, and I will go ahead and share it again:

    One evening when Abu Ben Adem was sitting in his study, an angel from the Lord  appeared to him. "What are you doing here?", Abu Ben Adem asked. "I am making a list of everyone that loves the Lord", the angel answered. Adem asked, "Am I on the list?" The angel said "You are not". Then Abu Ben Adem replied: "Pray thee, write me down as one who loves his fellow man". The next night the angel appeared in Abu Ben Adem's study once again and said: "I am making a list of all those who the Lord loves, and your name is on the top of the list!!!"

This was the greatest legacy my mother left me with. She saw how very much I struggled to please God. She saw that in my efforts to please God, I was setting aside the importance of being kind, and considering people's feelings. And therefore she told me of this poem (which I paraphrased, and which she paraphrased for me) about the how important it is to God that we, as much as we can, avoid being cruel and cold to one another.

This is the nature of the Almighty God I believe in. Why worship, if there is nothing worthy of worship in God?

♬    Nicole Nordeman: Wide Eyed

4 Him - Where there is faith.wmv

Love Lifted Me

Love Lifted Me from A Friendly Human Being on Vimeo.

Being Friends Is A Blessing

Good morning. I am learning that many people don't have any idea how to be a friend,  and that it's alright. It's nothing to feel upset or hurt about.  Those who value friendship and the sincere sharing of love can feel blessed and privileged that our lives are happier and that we exist on a deeper level than the majority. We are very special, and should at all times do the things that will keep us and our relationships healthy.

♬   Mouth and McNeal: How Do You Do

In the Position of Friend... with no friends

So sad. My stats are not high on any of my internet work. And now, 2 friends who I thought would be sticking around for a while, I have gotten very offended with, and decided that if they have that kind of attitude towards me, "bye".

And so I'm left here, with this position of friend, which basically means, I do not have any type of important position. I do not have a paying job, and I've broken all the rules of how to chase after The American Dream. Pretty depressing huh?

But let me tell you, someone here where I live told me I'm good at being a friend. Why? Because I'm always willing to help anyone who is hurting with any type of a problem. I am basically quoting what a worker here said to me.

I'm not like others. I don't play games with people and I don't play games with God. As much as I am able, I carry out what is expected of me. So I have the courage to let go of friendships that were going nowhere. Friendship is a treat, not an obligation. When people know that we are only their friends because we feel obligated, they really have no respect for the friendship, us, or themselves.

♬    Twila Paris: True North

Pass It On

Pass It On from A Friendly Human Being on Vimeo.

A time to raise the banner for RESPECT

I have talked quite a bit about humility. Humility is kind of like the mayonnaise in the tuna salad. It holds things together. It keeps things from falling apart. When we show a willingness to do things someone else's way, we can continue to move toward accomplishing whatever we are attempting to accomplish. Being agreeable is a very likable and oftentimes needed character trait.

However, as the design for living and surviving on this earth has been laid out, there are exceptions to every sort of system that humankind is able to figure out, and so it is with humility. We cannot take the lower seat every time. We are called upon to stay alert in our relationships. Pat responses rarely work. We are to see each event as unique. This has come to me recently because an online friend became blatantly disrespectful, and I realized that she had been taking advantage of me, and that she was not a sincere person. And now I blocked her, and I sincerely hope she doesn't bother me anymore.

So, successful relationships need us to be humble and cooperative, but not at the expense of our self-respect. As much as we are able, we need to gently and discretely let people know that we are not to be taken advantage of. And I know that sometimes people are stuck in situations where they have no control of how they are treated. But self-respect is something that happens within us, so we can always control that.

♬. The Staple Singers: Respect Yourself