Friends,,,,,,

They can either make you or break you. I guess it has been about a year ago that I had the chance to talk to one of my sweet kids about a situation at school. This is where God spoke the verse into our hearts and has been there ever sense.
1 Corinthians 15:33 -“Bad company corrupts good character.”

No matter what kind of person you are, young or old, you are who you hang out with. Doesn't matter if you are in middle school, high school, 22 in college, 40 hanging out with the "Friends" at the bar (yeah right) or 55 and looking at retiring. My youth was splashed with many different colors and I can honestly say that today I feel more in touch with the youth then I did back then. Maybe its just because I am doing life with so many of them now and maybe I just see things differently now. I feel more in touch with people in general because I am willing to walk with those around me. I see the influences taking place. I see how people navigate to others even if its not a good relationship to be around. Navigating the ocean waters of a teen and a young person is tough stuff today. Heck some adults too! Many bumps and obstacles in those waters -currents that swallow us up and dump us on the shore. Life has no mercy and it is MEAN out there at times. Some of those things you can see and some are very well hidden. For some people its a really tough walk and choices have not been the best. For some they are just now prying free from under mom and dad. Some are experiencing a little freedom with no rules or boundaries. Some try their best to be just friends and holy cow - BFF's with everyone. Some have BFF's that change weekly. Some move from one group to the next without hesitation. People are messy at times.... but they can also be wonderful when chosen correctly.

Make deliberate choices about who you want to invest in and who rubs off on you. Decide the kind of people you need to associate with, the ones who will be your real, heartfelt, lots-of-time-together friends. Then choose them and love them but be prepared for those relationships to change. Its a living thing our relationships .... and they part ways, they only last a season or 2 as people come into our lives and then go out of our lives - forgiveness is a big part of healing and growing. Forgiving in a relationship means its ok to let people in and out of our lives. Its ok to have some bumps as others enter our relationship circles. Taking things personal means you are going to be hurt.... so let God move people in when they are supposed to be there and when its time to move on. Trust in His guidance....
As I am walking with my son Kyle and some of "MyKids" - their school year didn't start off with many familiar faces. They have had to stay true to who they are, what they stand for and choose who to be friends with. See there are lots of choices in life. You have so many different kinds of people and none of them are alike even though they are grouped together in band, drama club, sports, AIG, kids who dress and look different and even the "bad" kids who seem to always be flexing their differences because of some internal pain they are dealing with. College campus is no different as is our workplaces. But its up to us to choose wisely.
Proverbs 12:26 clearly tells us, “The righteous should choose his friends carefully.” Not everyone is good friendship material so we’ve got to be mindful of this.

You became like the people you hang around with. We all do. It follows then that you need to choose your friends wisely. Your friends will affect your life in 2 ways .... Good - Bad.

I pray you face is showing the love of Jesus today. A true sign to being a great friend. That is who I want in my life. Someone who will encourage me when I down, to listen to when I am frustrated and someone who will be there when I need them. Its the Paul Timothy relationship that God has given us as an example.

Looking forward to working at the ranch tonight - groom some horses, shovel some poop and invest in some awesome young people in my life. Kyle is off to be scared tonight with lots of his peeps as tomorrow he will be doing the scaring ..... also praying for a good trip to PA for miss Kate and some rest and unwinding for Carol. She is in need of it for sure.......

Lonnie~