Combine National Friendship Day And Valentine’s Day!

Love isn't reserved for one day each year, and it's definitely not saved for that one special person. Love is a gift that comes directly from the lord Himself, and all those amazing people in our lives can share in that blessing when we're willing to share it around.

Today is National Friendship Day, and there is no better time to celebrate our amazing friends that the week of Valentine's Day.

One of my favorite stories about friendship is found in 1 Samuel. From the moment David and Jonathan met, their hearts were knit together. They fought for each other, protected one another and stayed friends through some incredibly difficult times. And when the moment came to save David's life, Jonathan was right there in the thick of things.

King Saul, Jonathan's father, knew David had been anointed king, and he hated David for it. After attempting to kill David several times, Jonathan knew he had to get David out of the kingdom. Pretending to be out for target practice, Jonathan let David know that it was not safe for him in the kingdom anymore, but the moment was the among the most difficult of their lives.

And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept with one another, until David exceeded. And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city. 1 Samuel 20:41-42

Their friendship was just a relationship - it was a covenant. It was stronger than a promise and sweeter than an agreement. Their friendship would extend beyond the two of them, encompassing future generations of their families, knitting them together forever.

After this heart-wrenching moment, Jonathan and David only saw each other one more time. After being separated again, Jonathan was killed in battle. David mourned the loss of his friend, even writing a poem and song that expressed his love and sorrow. You can read it for yourself in 2 Samuel 1:17-27

This beautiful example of love and friendship shows us exactly our Christian friendships can look like in our day and time. Love doesn't have to be romantic - instead it can be deep devotion and concerned caring for all of our loved ones, especially our friends.

I pray that during this Valentine's week, we'll find ways to show love in personal ways through each of our friendships. The world can never have to much care and compassion in it, and who better to start the week with love than us.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Holland Creme - That Amazing White Stuff In Donuts

Image
I remember going to the grocery store every Saturday morning when I was growing up, and my favorite place in the entire store was the donut case. All the glazed, powdered and filled baked goods drew me like a magnet. My favorites, far and away, were the ones filled with that beautiful white, fluffy creme. At the time I didn't know it was called Holland Creme - I just knew it was the most amazing concoction ever. Ever. Here is my version of this sweet treat. You can make your own fried donuts and fill them, or like I did here, you can cut a crevice into store-bought donuts with a knife and fill them with creme in a piping bag. Either way, you're going to love it. Ingredients: 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 1 cup vegetable oil 1 cup shortening 1 cup butter 1 Tbsp vanilla 7 cups powdered sugar 1. Make a simple syrup by combining sugar and water in a sauce pan over medium heat until boiling, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool complet...
Read more

Recovering An Old Card Table And Making It Usable Again

Image
This card table recover project has been on my to-do list for months. I've been using it as my workspace in the craft room for quite some time, and it sees a lot of abuse. Here it is now, with a neutral cover on it so I can take better pictures for my tutorials. There were dents and dings in the old blue covering from metal tools. And yes, I've used my embossing heat tool on it several times, leaving pretty good scars. The padding underneath the blue cover also made it difficult to keep paper crafts flat when adhering them together, so it was time for something new. That's where a simple vinyl tablecloth comes in handy. The process to recover the table is pretty simple, but I learned a couple of lessons the hard way. I share them with you now. First, don't do this on any surface but a carpet. I tried it on the deck int he sunshine to get better pictures, but all it did was tear up the cover. Second, get a second pair of hands to help you kee...
Read more

Crafts For Teen Girls To Make

Image
In our teen girls Bible study, we're studying our way through the Proverbs 31 woman and it's been such a blessing to me, as I hope it's been to them. Every month we spend an afternoon or an evening together studying Scripture, making something amazing in the kitchen and creating something that corresponds to the verse we're in. Choosing the crafts each time can be a challenge for several reasons. It needs to be something they can completely finish (or do most of) because once they leave they're probably not going to work on it themselves - that's just the nature of teenagers. Remember? It also needs to be a project that keeps they're attention, is age-appropriate and is cool enough that they'll want to keep it or give it to someone special. But hey, no pressure on the Bible study leader, right? Here are just a few of the projects we've done together in the year we've been meeting. * This month's craft will be the adorable cross stit...
Read more