friendships

This last week of summer break has been adventurous. The more I do to "have fun," I realize that there's no better place than to be in God's presence. No matter how much fun I'm having with other people, it can't beat how much fun I have spending time with God.

These are quotes that I have stumbled upon this past week that have been challenging me as well as making me think about my actions.

"Do not be misled: 'Bad company corrupts good character.'" - 1 Corinthians 15:33

"You live in a world of counsel. Every day, somehow, some way, you’re being counseled. Everything you encounter originates from some kind of worldview. Everything you experience [favorite movie, commercial, music, politics] comes from somebody with a certain perspective on life. So as you go through each day, be prudent; a thousand voices will try to influence your worldview. Be proactive; pursue the Lord and meditate on His Word. And be prepared; God has given you the ability to influence, and you’ll have opportunities to counsel others." -Paul Tripp

“No man is greater than his prayer life. The pastor who is not praying is playing; the people who are not praying are straying. We have many organizers, but few agonizers; many players and payers, few pray-ers; many singers, few clingers; lots of pastors, few wrestlers; many fears, few tears; much fashion, little passion; many interferers, few intercessors; many writers, but few fighters. Failing here, we fail everywhere.”
― Leonard Ravenhill 

"We are not living in a world where all roads are radii of a circle and where all, if followed long enough, will therefore draw gradually nearer and finally meet at the centre: rather in a world where every road, after a few miles, forks into two, and each of those into two again, and at each fork you must make a decision. Even on the biological level life is not like a river but a tree. It does not move towards unity but away from it and the creatures grow further apart as they increase in perfection. Good ,as it ripens, becomes continually more different not only from evil but from other good." - C.S. Lewis

Whenever I read "bad company corrupts good character," I thought it was obvious. Of course bad company corrupts good character! But then I realized that bad company is not obvious as I thought it would be. It was great being able to spend more time with my school friends this year, but I realized more and more how different my views are from theirs. No matter how hard I try not to be influenced, if I spend time with nonbelievers, they will have an influence on me. And before I go off to college, it is so important to ground myself in the truth. This summer I want to really spend time reading the Bible and getting grounded in the word (I'll probably have a lot of time in Korea to do this). The third quote above that's on prayer really stood out to me as I was reading it on someone's facebook status. When was the last time I was seriously praying for someone other than myself or immediate needs? When was the last time I struggled in prayer for others? I'm always amazed by how my mom goes to 5:30 AM prayer meetings and lays down everything before God. Early morning prayer is definitely difficult to attend, but it is really rewarding starting the day with God's presence!

Each of the quotes above are really really good.