We all want friends that help us flourish! Friends that build us up rather than beat us down! I get it, it’s easier said than done, but there are some characteristics to look for when choosing our circle of friends!
Traveling is one of the great loves of my life! There is something therapeutic about a good road trip; maybe you can relate. The open road has a lasting effect on my soul.
It’s the decompress, the unplug, and the reflection.
Yeah…there is nothing like a nice, PEACEFUL, road trip. Which, as all the parents of young kids can relate, is easier said than done. (Understatement of the year ?) Often phrases like, Settle down! Sit still! or Be quiet! , do not register. These are optimal phrases that are vital for a peaceful family road trip. But, more often than not, they go in one ear and out the other.
Have you ever noticed that kiddos seem to speak a different language than parents? For instance, “son, put your swimming suit on and go outside to swim”, apparently does not mean, “put your swimming suit on and go swim” to our son. Even though he nods his head as if he understands. Within a matter of sixty seconds, after that exact conversation, we find him fully clothed (including socks and shoes) in the swimming pool. ??♀️
And now we want to strap that same boy into a car seat for 20 hours with 5 other humans. That’s like putting a seat belt on a Tasmanian Devil and telling it to be quiet.
The Abundant Life
Ok…that’s a bit of an exaggeration but, it reminds me of this journey called life! When we are unsettled it can take the joy out of the journey…especially when we are unsettled internally. When the soul is restless, the journey tends to become more of a chore we tolerate than a joy we celebrate. God desires for us to wake up every morning with a healthy soul that celebrates the gift of life. God desires for us to have an abundant life!
Is that how you woke up this morning?
What about the inside you?
What about your soul?
The truth is this; you can have millions in the bank, a Maserati in the driveway, and more Twitter followers than the Pope…but unless your soul is healthy, you will not be happy. On the other side of that coin, you can be going through the most troublesome time in your life, and if your soul is in a healthy place, you will be fine.
If who we are internally is healthy and strong, we can make it through anything externally that comes our way.
Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.
So, it begs the question, what makes my soul healthy?
This is a big question that I want to take time to address more fully in upcoming blogs. The abundant life is one of my life messages, and I am passionate about people discovering everything God has made available to us!
Let’s start the conversation by taking a look at one practical way to keep your soul in a healthy place:
Healthy Relationships
Healthy relationships and a healthy soul go hand in hand.
1 Corinthians 15.33- Don’t be misled, “Bad company corrupts good character.”
The people we choose to do life with will affect how we do life. Our friendships are either ushering us towards disaster or destiny. Friend-ships can either destroy us or propel us to places we would have otherwise never gone.
Friendships That Help Us Flourish
1.Friends That Call Us Out
We all understand the difference between what we want to hear and what we need to hear.
A wise man once told me, “The truth will set you free, but it will probably tick you off first.”
We need friends in our lives that love us enough to tell us what we need to hear, not just what we want to hear. We need real friends who are going to steer us towards your destiny and away from danger…even if it means calling us out.
Our lives consist of moments where the decisions we make are going to shape us into who God has called us to be or derail our destinies. We have got to have people on our team that will speak the truth and keep us accountable to what God has deposited in our lives.
2. Friends That Call Us Up
More than likely, we have been around a person that sucks everything out of us. A combination of their bad attitude and a ‘glass half empty’ perspective tends to leave you drained.
The attitudes and perspectives of the people we intentionally choose to surround ourselves with can quickly become our own.
I want to surround myself with people that give me strength because I want to be strong. I am intentional about being around people that challenge me to go higher in my walk with God because I want to go higher in my walk with God. I want to be around people that make it hard to have a negative outlook because I want to be full of hope.
We become most like those that we are around the most.
We have got to have people in our lives that do more than call us out on our issues; they also call us out of our issues…there’s a difference!
3. Friends That Call Us In
ur present situation and circumstance may be overwhelming, but your potential is extraordinary. Friends that are a strength to your soul are the ones that look past your current dysfunction and call you into your potential.
We have to surround ourselves with people that understand how God sees us and who God says we are! Because there will be seasons that come when we can’t see those things for ourselves, we have to have people who can remind us of who we truly are!
I want people in my life that recognize the gift that God has deposited in me and are quick to remind me of that gift when I forget.
There is nothing that can awaken courage and boldness in my soul, like the voice of a friend calling me into my potential:
“I know you are struggling right now, but there is more to you than your struggle.”
“Your potential is greater than your present.”
“Your current circumstance cannot even come close to comparing to the greatness that God has called you into.”
“Hold on. Take courage. Don’t lose heart.”
“Show me your friends, and I will show you your future,” is more than a cute Pinterest quote. It is a Biblical concept that will pay dividends when we line our lives up with it!
Proverbs 13:20 “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”
Want to learn more?
As great as learning about abundance is, it only works if you apply it – and that can be hard! If you’d like support and structure as you cultivate abundance in your life, check out my abundance resources.
Abundance can start with small, simple habits. All you have to do is learn and apply them!
If you’re serious about cultivating a life of abundance, work through this course.
If you’ve got an abundance goal you’d like some advice on, let me share my experience!
