Hope For Today

Dear Friends, One evening last Summer my friend and I organised a women's evening, with the aim of strengthening and encouraging women in their friendships with other women.  As well as some fun activities we also shared a message on the qualities to look for in a friend. Each of us, whoever we are, whatever our characters or personalities, need good friends in our lives and there is something very special about same sex friendships.  We have examples of these in the Bible, such as David and Jonathan, and Ruth and Naomi. Using the acronym F.R.I.E.N.D.S and examples from the life of Ruth and Naomi I want to share with you what makes a good friend and how we can be a good friend too. F UN Laughter is important in life and we all need friends we can enjoy being with and have fun together.  " A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance."  Ecclesiastes 3:4 (NLT) Ruth and Naomi had some enjoyable times, times when they cou...

Dear Friends, Some weeks back, my daughter, Jess, had an after school detention.  She was told to attend the Athletics Club and practice the long jump.  When she came home after the detention she told me how one of her friends had come along to the detention too.  It turned out that this friend had not been given the same detention, had not even been in the same P.E lesson where Jess had been given the detention, but had gone along with her just to support her.  When Jess told me this, I thought what a great lesson in friendship it was. We all need a good friend in our lives.  Not one who is just there to enjoy the good times with us, but one who stands by us when times are difficult.  In The Parable of The Lost Son ( Luke 15:11-32 )  the father gives his youngest son his inheritance and " Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living." v13 (NIV). Wh...