Friends

Have you ever noticed when you go to a farm or to a zoo or really anywhere they have animals that the animals that are the same are kept together. How often would it be that you would see all the cows, sheep and chickens in one paddock all together? You don't! They each have their own separate things. It made me start thinking about the people that I am around. 

The people that we hang around can be a major influence in our lives, so we need to be aware of who they are. Taking the animals, for example, if we put a sheep in with the cows, I'm pretty sure it would not only feel out of place, but may start trying to change and act more like the cows that it should being a sheep. The people around us can affect the way we behave, and what we do. I'm sure I've mentioned it before that I used to try changing myself to try and fit in, but it never worked.

As a Christian, it is important that my close group of friends have the same beliefs as me, people that will encourage me in my walk, and people that are not going to try and fight back everything that I believe. Of course, this doesn't mean that I can't have non-Christian friends, if this was the case, no one else would ever get saved (and that's definitely not something I want to happen) but, I think that for all the friends that I have that are non-Christian I need to ensure that I have a group of people that are going to be encouraging, that have similar interests that I can share with and explore more with. Without them it would be fairly easy for me to be pulled away from Christ and for the life I have found. It would be easier for my non-Christian friends to deter me. I'd like to say that it wouldn't but we all have weak spots, and when we don't have the encouragement from some, it makes it difficult to stay on the right path. 

So basically, I guess the big question is.... who do you spend most of your time with? And how are they influencing your life? If they are helping you learn more in your spiritual walk, then that's great. If not, if they fight you on your beliefs, if they are not encouraging and try to pull you away, maybe you need to rethink the amount of time you spend with them, or just make sure you have others around you to encourage you when you feel pulled down. 

Thankful for: Emergency Services

As I sat here I listened to sirens, I'm not sure if it was police, fire or an ambulance, but no matter what it is I'm thankful for them. It's good to know that when facing an emergency there are people available no matter what time of day it is, that will do they're best to get to you as soon as possible and offer as much help as they can.