Best Friends

Happiness is a warm puppy.

~Charles M.
Schulz

When the time came for us to move back to Indiana again after 5 years in California, my son's only comment was, "I'll go with you if you get me a puppy." Now it's not like he had a choice in the matter, but the excitement of getting a puppy after years of begging was just what he needed to make the transition more smoothly.

• J and Toby are best friends. Today when J got out of school, he returned home and made his way straight into my office. He then kicked off his shoes, crawled into the floor and lay down with his head in the dog bed (adorned with the Sponge Bob blanket) and snuggled up next to Toby. There the two of them lay, napping the afternoon away.

• What is it that makes someone your "Best Friend"? Are they faithful, kind, encouraging, truthful, trustworthy, always there when you need them, make you better for knowing them...? I'm sure each of us has our own laundry list of requirements. The Bible says things like, "A friend loves at all times", and "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.". No truer words could be spoken. Jesus himself was the perfect example of a friend.

• In my life there is a small group of ladies who I consider to be my "Best Friends". These are ladies that I can be totally honest with, no matter what I'm going through, and they will love me, encourage me, pray with me, without ever casting judgment. When I talk with them I know that I am in a safe place, nothing ever leaves the room. What a rare and precious find these ladies have been, a gift from God himself. When God brought us together it's as if He "knit" our hearts into one. Oh what times we've shared - the good, the bad, and the glorious.

• I hope you'll take a little time today and just think about who God has brought into your life that you count as a "Best Friend". Give them a call, send them a card, fire off an email and let them know how much you appreciate them and what they bring into your life. J and Toby are still snuggled up together, doing what "Best Friends" do. Enjoying each others company, in the floor, in the dog bed with the Sponge Bob blanket.

-Lisa