Friends and Acquaintences, Part II

Reconnecting with friends you've lost touch with is a beautiful thing.

Friends and Acquaintences

"There are friends who pretend to be friends, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." (Proverbs 18:24)

I've had a pity party of late. Yes, it's true. I'm starting to feel bad about the fact that I don't have hundreds of "friends" on facebook, or for that matter, in the real world. Here I am, a grown woman, feeling unpopular and unloved because barely anyone comments on my status updates or sad that I'm not invited to every dinner party. How stupid is that?!? What, am I, like, in junior high?!? Wah, wah, whatever!!!

There are very few people who love me and accept me for the warped, crazy, God-fearing person that I am, blemishes, weaknesses and all. I never have to pretend around those friends. There is no need to worry about offending their sensibilities when it comes to discussing the Divine. They don't care that I look silly in plaid bermuda shorts or that I'm letting my hair go gray. They enjoy my eccentricities, even sometimes praise me for my unabashed quirkiness. What freedom I have in those relationships! Maybe the reason I feel so comfortable around the few companions I have is because my soul already knows we are called to build up the Body of Christ through meaningful friendships (note the emphasis on meaningful). In living a righteous life, it is imperative to surround oneself with those who will support you in doing God's will; with their counsel, their companionship, their prayers, their love and their character. There is no furthering of the Kingdom without the spiritual help of a true friend.

The proverb is true. It really is better to keep a few friends close than to be surrounded by lots of so called "friends" who really don't give a crap.

Not a stroke of genius but a bit o' luck (and a numb butt)

SPOILER ALERT: This post may contain secrets the professional photographer may not want the average Joe Schmoe to know...

While understanding the photographical concepts of light, f-stops, exposure, color, composition and contrast is important, more often it is crucial to be precisely at the right place at the right moment in order to get that "perfect" shot: Having good luck, if you will, is part of the game. But, sometimes you can create your own luck by using a digital camera with a very large memory card so you can literally shoot hundreds if not thousands of photos to capture that one cool shot. Of course, it also helps to have patience, lots of free time and a good pair of glasses in order to sift through those hundreds of images.

Oh, and you also have be indifferent to the butt numbness that invariably strikes while sitting in front of the computer, staring for hours at those hundreds of pictures in the quest for the best and greatest shots.

Lifelong Bondage vs. Eternal Freedom: A Meditation on Hebrews 2:14

Those who live in fear of their death live in bondage. For it is that fear that causes man to waste time, effort money, spirit in order to avoid death and the process of dying (in the form of aging). We spend much energy to achieve, possess, experience all while in this life. We perform to great effort keeping our bodies to some arbitrary perfect man-made ideal. Yet, it all keeps us in the chains of earthly desire. It is in our dying in Christ, both physically and metaphysically, that we are truly free. For it is in Christ that we have all...the promise of eternal life. The devil has the power of death but Christ has the power OVER death.

So, I pose to you this simple question: Who needs wrinkle cream when the body will be perfected upon its rising on the last day?