every moment is a chance to live, to love, and to walk with You

"True friends are able to comfort you, encourage you, and hold you accountable. But they do more than this; they also shape you." -Redefining Life: My Purpose

It's so neat to have special friends that you can trust and that trust you. I was looking at this quote and I realized that I am soooo blessed with friends. I have a lot of friends that I can trust and I know will comfort me. It's been amazing how God has placed friends in my life, and how they have impacted me. This quote is so cool because it points out the characteristics of a true friend, but it also brings up the point that friends also shape you. Sometimes you don't realize it, but your friends impact you. It's so funny to realize. I've noticed little things that my friends do I have picked up on, and started to do also. Unfortunately friends can impact us both positively and negatively. So many of my friends actions have impacted me to be a better person. One of my close friends is very outgoing and she doesn't really care what others think. She doesn't allow others opinions of her form her into who she is. I greatly admire this quality in my friend and though she might not have realized it she's encouraged me to also live "out loud", and not to place my worth in what others think of me. Unfortunately, people also can affect their friends negatively. There's an illustration that I'd like to use here. Imagine there are two people standing next to one another. One is on a chair and the other is simply on the ground. They are holding hands. Now, is it going to be easier for the friend on the chair to pull their friend up with them, or for the person on the ground to pull their friend on the chair down? When I first heard this illustration it made me stop and think. We have an impact on people every single day whether we realize it or not, and we have an even greater impact on those we spend time with the most-our friends. So I guess I'd just like to encourage you to try to positively impact your friends, and let your friends know that you appreciate that they "comfort you, encourage you, and hold you accountable"! :)