Okay,
So I know it’s been awhile since my last “Grown-up Girlfriends” notes. I haven’t really had time to read the book, let alone write notes from it. So much so that I’m afraid I have forgotten all of the lessons I have learned from it far. That being said, here are just some of my notes on chapter 2 and 3 of the book.
- What are characteristics of “Grown-Up Friendships”?
- People who encourage us to grow in our faith- to be more like Jesus
I Corinthians 13: 11
Galatians 5: 22 – 24 - To do this, we must accept two premises:we must take seriously the goal of becoming stronger and wiser in Christ.second, we must learn to recognize the same characteristics of a growing Christian in other people
- Some specific characteristics of a grown-up friend
deep trust, someone who can look at your heart
someone who can speak the truth in love
this means that she is able to work through problems, not around them - it is important to remember the purpose in every one of your grown-up friendships. On page 29 of the book, the authors quote Christian motivational Speaker, Rick Warren as saying, “focusing on yourself will never reveal your real purpose. You were made by God and for God, and until you understand that your life will never make sense. Only in God do we discover our orgin, our identity, our meaning, our purpose, our significance and our destiny”
- Recognizing the purpose of every relationship, has its benefits
1. It takes the focus off you. It’s more about what God is doing through you
2. It can reduce feelings of rejection in the friendship
3. It can bring hope and meaning into the relationship, this is especially helpful when the hard times roll around. - That being said, pay attention and actively listen to your friends, your purpose may be revealed in a conversation. You never know how your presence is being used at that moment to be of encouragement and comfort
- God is in control- recognizing this makes it easier for us to realize that in everything we see, we should see him. Likewise, our friend should be able to look at us and see Christ.
- In creating grown-up friendships, it does reduce the possibility of rejection. Why? Because we have to take responsibility for our own well-being and emotional health rather than relying on our friend to provide it for us.
- Ultimately, our purpose should be to glorify God in everything that we do. If we realize this, every friendship should have a goal. Focusing on God instead of ourselves
- One last comment on chapter 2 on page 36: the grown-up friend honors God by encouraging her friend to become all He wants her to be