Tuesday, January 17, 2006

A Few Favorite Friendship Quotes
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Strangers are just friends waiting to happen.
-Unknown
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It is one of the blessings of old friends that
you can afford to be stupid with them.
-Ralph Waldo Emmerson
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Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee,
and just as hard to sleep after.
-Anne Morrow Lindbergh
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A friend knows the song in my heart
and sings it to me when my memory fails.
-Donna Roberts
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The best way to mend a broken heart
is time with girlfriends.
-Gwyneth Paltrow
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There is magic in long-distance friendships.
They let you relate to other human beings in a way that goes beyond
being physically together and is often more profound.
-Diana Cortes

What's the Point of all this Girl Talk?
(An Excerpt from Girl Talk . . . God Talk: What Your Friends Can Teach You About Prayer)

My friends give me gifts on my birthdays. They tell me when a pair of jeans makes my butt look as big as the whale that swallowed Jonah. I laugh hysterically because of their off-center jokes. They know everything about me, from my favorite flavor of ice cream (chocolate peanut butter) to the deepest dreams and desires of my heart. And they cry when I cry. Knowing how my girlfriends relate to me helps open my heart to an intimate, playful, ongoing interaction with God.

Because of my friends, I catch fresh glimpses of Him. God calls me on the phone to have a simple chat. He takes a walk with me. He sits next to me on the couch. He does a dance of joy, or whispers in my ear. Maybe these scenarios sound strange or irreverent to you. Maybe it seems weird comparing a relationship with God to the relationships between giggle, imperfect, and sometimes catty girlfriends. But Jesus was best friends with a crew of stinky fishermen who probably used language that'd make Eddie Murphy look like the pope. Jesus knows what it feels like to wear skin, be betrayed by a friend, walk on dusty streets, and get sand between his toes. He's like us, and we're like Him. We're created 'in His image.' Because of this, we can relate to God through each other.

In fact, people are our best bet at knowing God. The unthinkable fact that the God of the universe somehow fit into a manger is reason enough to believe that we can find Christ in our friends. Our close girlfriends show us many of the ways we can be in a prayerful relationship with Jesus. They help us see who God really is:
Initiator, Savior, Host, Playmate, Redeemer, Artist, and Friend.
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The Durand Methodist Church, featuring facilitator Mershon Niesner, is hosting a Girl Talk . . . God Talk book study on Tuesday mornings, January 8th – February 12th. Interested in joining the conversation?

Contact:
The Durand United Methodist Church
103 E. Main Street / P.O. Box 168
Durand, IL 61024


durandUMC@Stateline-isp.com


Friendship is God’s greatest gift to the church – Mike Mason