Friends love through all kinds of weather, and families stick together in all kinds of trouble. PROVERBS 17:17 (THE MESSAGE) I love the book of Proverbs. It truly is the Book of Wisdom. Last week we learned from Proverbs how important it is to journey through life with wise, safe and trustworthy friends. There is nothing like a true friend who loves us through the good times and the bad times. The next step is learning to trust those friends – removing the masks that we think they will likeSEE DETAILS

“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” JOHN 15:13 (WORDS OF JESUS – NRSV) When we honestly ask ourselves which persons in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving much advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a gentle and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with usSEE DETAILS

My beloved friends, let us continue to love one another since love comes from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and experiences a relationship with God. 1 JOHN 4:7 (THE MESSAGE) Before I went through my own season of suffering, I had friends, but I didn’t understand how important those relationships really were. Sure, I enjoyed my friends – it was nice to have them but it certainly didn’t seem to me that I NEEDED those relationships. Boy, did that ever change! I learned that you cannot getSEE DETAILS