I don't understand this "hair" thing...

Our Daily Bread
Being a bald/balding man, I don't understand this hair thing! hehehe I think I have had thinning hair my whole life. I can't imagine a man's strength being linked to the hair on his head. Now, if my strength were linked to the hair on my chest, I would be as strong as 100 men! hehehe But I digress...

There are so many lessons that could be learned from this passage and the devotional. I will stick with what I think is the main theme -- being a loyal friend. Ever had a friend that betrayed you? Told all your secrets to folks who should never know? Leave you alone when you really need love and support? We have all been there. I venture to say we have all done it. ;-(

As I stated in one of my Wednesday articles -- if you want a friend, be a friend. I will write a little more about this below.

Lord, you know my heart. You know how I want to be a good friend. Please show me the way to put aside my selfishness and disloyalty so I can be the kind of friend you want me to be.

Wee-way-shun-ship Wednesday
I have to admit that I am running out of things to write about for this topic. Some might even say I have written about a lot of things that I know nothing about! hehehe I want to write at least one more entry before I decide if i want to switch Wednesdays to another theme. The topic today is: From the inside, out.

The partner of a long-time friend told me once: it all starts from the inside. We were talking about getting ready for a long-term relationship, how to prepare, etc. I was like "Oh, yeah, I have been working on that." This has evolved into several seemingly unrelated lessons from God. It has taken me a while to put them all together.

First, you must love yourself before you can really love others. I would expand that statement to you must really love God before you can truly love others. That is just my opinion. I am not saying that atheists can't love. I am saying that if you want to know love, you have to experience it from the God who created love! It is like learning an Martha recipe directly from Martha! hehehe

Second, you need to know yourself well enough to know when things are driven by love vs lust or selfish needs. This is a tough one as well. We all have needs. We all have times that we might do less than self-less things to meet those needs. Feelings can be hurt. Being sensitive to God's voice in these times can make this easier. God will help console you when needs are not being met, in your opinion. I have experience this a lot lately because of the path that God asked me to take. It takes self-discipline (which I suck at) and commitment to God (which can be spotty at times).

Trust God for leadership. Trust God for wisdom for when to say or do things when it comes to friendships or relationships. For example, I had a friend that I thought wrote me out of his life because his boyfriend was horribly jealous of me. I stayed out of his life for over five months out of courtesy to his relationship. At God's prompting, I recently sent him an email to say hello and to see how he was doing. He broke up with the boyfriend several months ago, but was dealing with some other personal issues now. We reestablished our strong friendship because God wants me to support him during these personal issues. We know we are not meant to date. We know we love each other very much.

Lastly, ALWAYS be yourself. The last extension of the "something has changed within me" dream was revealed last night. In my only LTR, I found that I lost myself in the relationship. That is my own fault, not the fault of my ex. I was ready to lose myself again for my next potential partner and didn't realize it. I can't play by those rules. God made me this way for a reason. God made you for a reason. Rejoice in the way he made you and be yourself. That way you will always know that someone really likes you for you.

Personal relationships are hard. There are personality differences, personal agendas, family differences, age differences, economic differences, etc. I feel the greatest gifts I received in my life are the close friends who have taken the time to love and accept me for who I am . Thank you, my friends. I pray that I am as special to you as you are to me.


Other Stuff
Well, the evening started off a little slow and rocky, but it ended with a bang! My hero and I had dinner at my house last night. I had two simple things to pick up (at least I thought they were simple): mushrooms and ahi tuna. Who knew that you couldn't just go to Giant Eagle to pick up ahi tuna steaks? DOH! I found some yellowfin tuna steaks at Kroger and also picked up some fresh chicken breasts in case the yellowfin wouldn't work in the recipe. She made me an incredible supper of healthy stuff! It was great! We also had a great time talking and hanging out (chatting it up as she calls it). Thank you very much for everything!

Another busy day at work planned, then dinner with a buddy, then the disciple class tonight. It will be a good day.

Hang in there, my friends! I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...