Friends.

This morning I woke up...checked facebook...and got super nostalgic for my friends.  

Then I got to thinking...friends.  Who are my friends?  Are they my friends anymore even though I don't see many of them?  So i decided to write a blog post on my friends.  

I am going to make a before-hand disclaimer.  If your picture does not appear, and you thought we were good friends...don't fear.  We are still friends.  I just may not have been able to find a picture of you on facebook this morning ;)  

First and foremost... I am a friend of God...he calls me friend.  

Not only is he my Savior, King of the Universe, Righteous Judge, Teacher, and many more names I can't type out here...He is my friend.  He walks and talks with me.  He is with me all the time.  He knows me better than I know myself.  (For reals, though).  He is available whenever I need him.  And he brings me a peace and calm that passes understanding.  Now THAT is a friend worth having. 

Some friends are cousins from opposite sides of the family who love eating In N' Out with you

(Thanks for that meal goes to my Grampy-who is now with Jesus- because he sent along money to treat everyone to lunch-sweet memory!)

There are friends who are freshmen and will be your friend even if you're a senior...and they lean against walls with you. 

Friends will let you be their servant and play dress-up and pretend for hours!

they will also stay friends for 18 years, get married the same year and be in each others' weddings. 

Friends sit around and jam with you.  worshiping, messing around and laughing. 

Friends are people who welcome you into their church with open arms when you move all the way across the country and don't know many people.

Friends will be undercover agents with you...dressed in their sunday best. 

Friends will have deep conversations on a rock pile in Mexico during a pop break.

Friends will snuggle close and tight while you all freeze on the Rose Parade Route.  Just for the experience =)

Friends will attempt to dress like the 80's with you...and then go grocery shopping, and do other fun activities in public.

"Two are better than one, for they have a good reward for their labor...for if one falls, one will pick up his brother.  But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has not another to help him up." 

Friends don't let friends go un-groomed. 

Friends ask you to read "Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs" to them.

On multiple occasions.  (it's a really good book)

some friends just like you reading out loud to them anytime. period. 

Friends know how to play like kids on play equipment.

Friends know how to go on a cruise together. 

Some friends weren't always friends...they were just brothers who picked on you.  But over the years they got cooler (well, you got cooler) and then solid friendships were formed.

Sisters-in-law can be tricky friends.  You don't choose them.  Your brothers do.  And then it is up to you both to choose friendship.  And it is worth it when you do. =)

"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts."

-Washington Irving

(I know it is a quote...but it sums up perfectly my mother-friend)

When your dad is your friend... you are blessed.  Especially when your dad is a wise, kind, loving, godly man who knows how to treat a daughter right.  One who points you back to Jesus.  One who will call or text on a whim to tell you he's thinking of you and he loves you. One who gives you over to your husband and entrusts his little girl to another man.

=)

Then there are those friends who aren't judgmental at all.  They listen when you go on a rant.  They forgive you moments after you yell at them.  They lay their head on your lap and gaze at you with guileless eyes.  

The beach-going friends are some of the best kind. 

It is a unique friend that will be in a back-rub train with you.  =)

some friends just get you.  they like the same things as you.  they know how to listen.  they appreciate drama. they give good advice.  even if they are several years younger. 

Some friends like to photo-bomb pictures.  not like it was gonna be that great anyway...*cough cough-Joey*

College friends who stay up late with you and take trips to the beach are some of the best.  

College friends can be the ones where everyone in the group is SO different...and yet somehow you all click.   

Some friends are actually frenemies.  they are your competition for who can be the best cement-mixing foreman.  But since it was a mission trip....they overcame their differences. and worked together. 

Some friends eat fake fruit with you.  and stay up til all hours.  and drink red bull out of wine glasses.  and talk about futures.  and wash their hair in the CVE kitchen sink.  they are the good kind of friend.

Some friends are bonded by home schooling.  and other things.  my goodness we were young.  18th birthday celebration at the Griffith Observatory. 

Some friends will take you on a wild drive through the Mexican terrain...and then your other friends will jump out of the brush, onto the back of the car and accidentally smash the window all over you so you think you are being attacked by drug lords.  

friends who dance with you through the rain on the way to go shopping are some of the best kind. 

friends who you can't really write a caption for...because your adventures, heart-to-hearts and how much they mean to you can't be summed up in one sentence.  

some friends were there during everyone's awkward stage.

some friends draw pictures of you at work so that we can remember who we are when the job gets tough.

Then there are those friends who you make music with well...so you decide to make a CD.  It is awesome.  Until one of the members moves to nashville. 

Some friends are your serious-bowler friends.  Everyone needs some of those. 

Then there are friends who stick by you, come to every important event, support, love and change your life in so many ways. 

then there are the little friends.  the ones who I would spend many sunday mornings with.  they are much older now...but they still hold a special place in my heart. 

Friends who trek across the country with you. go to rodeos. eat yummy food. do crazy things. be total girls.  drive many hours. encounter many adventures. talk about God.  Talk about everything. They are a good, wonderful, necessary friends.

Then there is that one special friend who God picks out specifically for you to live with during your formative college years.  They see each other when they woke up, went to sleep, studied together, took lunch breaks, talked through RA struggles, laughing fits, heart-to-hearts, relationships...

Some friends you've known all your life...and no matter where life leads you, you'll always share a connection. 

some friends are perfect to share shakes with.  Cuz they get you.  And all you have to do when you see them is share a smile, and a hug...and you're pretty much caught up...

these friends were cousins first...but are so much better as friends too! 

some friends get together as a "book club" but it is actually so much more.  Support. a sounding board for ideas.  people to tell you when you're being dumb.  and lots of laughs.

Some friends wonder why they don't get together more often all together.  Cuz they are like little peas in a pod. 

some friends are way different than you...but somehow you find common ground.  even if it is IHOP, Denny's, and Jesus ;) 

some friends are new, some are old...but when they all get together it can make for a fantastic weekend! 

It is a good thing when extended family can be friends. 

both sides. 

Sometimes you marry a person and then you get their whole family...which is many more opportunities for friendship.  (which is made so much easier when they are amazing fantastic people who love you and support you marrying their son)

Some friends are little. Have a growing vocabulary...but there is that connection that is special in its own way. Nothing like Auntie-Niece friendship.  

and lets not forget the nephew.  he is a buddy.  slobbery kisses, dimples, enthusiastic waving, little words here and there...can't help but love the kid. definitely friends. 

There are those special friends that come and stand as witnesses for you on one of the most important days of your life.  They are the kind of friend you want to stay in your life forever. 

And there are these friends...the ones who are like a second family.  The ones your parents trust you with for months on end.  They love, nurture, and challenge you.  There is music, food, exciting adventures and God in common....these are special kinds of friends.

These kinds of friends (plus more i don't have pictures of) are the kind of women every girl needs to be a friends, spiritual encouragers, prayer warriors, listeners, advice givers...and they fly out to your wedding to support you...even though they only met you a year before.  Those are wonderful friends. 

There are those friends who are also our grandmas.  The women who raised your parents...and taught them.  They are the ones who can play a good game of scrabble, put together a beautiful puzzle, cook and bake like none other and give helpful hints on keeping a home.  They have life experience, love, godliness and wisdom to pass down.  

They were also married to amazing men who have gone on to Glory.  My Grandpa and Grampy were strong, encouraging, godly and hard-working.  

There are the friends who's feet you wash.

There are the friends who travel thousands of miles, take their time to gather, support, love and celebrate you and your significant other.  They have stood by you in all seasons of life.  Shaped and molded you to be who you are.  The people that when you look out over them all...you suddenly understand why you are the way you are.  

Then there is that friend who is also your teammate, lover, provider, spiritual leader, father of your children....That friend is one you find and never let go of.  

One that God has prepared for you and prepared you for.  

The one who gets you. listens to you talk about whatever is on your mind. encourages you. prays with you.  holds you close.  laughs with you. cries with you.  lets you tickle them...barely.  the one who texts you quick "i love you" to let you know he's thinking about you. 

 The one who does all the little projects to make your house a home.  The one who eats your food and can't stop saying how yummy it is.  The one who says you're the most beautiful girl in all the world and he is so blessed to have you all to himself.  The one who will rub your back pretty much every night cuz he knows how much you love it.   

The one who loves you for just who you are...and for who you are becoming-- because he is a journeyer and knows where we are isn't where we're staying.

The one whom your soul loves.  

These are my friends.  There are countless more who I've crossed paths with in my life.  

And today while I am missing them...those that are far from me...the ones I can't pop in and grab a coffee with....the ones where time, experiences, and life have caused the friendship to fade a little...I will still thank God for their place in my life.  For even if the friendship isn't as active as it once was...they are integral parts of  who I am today.