CountUp

– This morning I attended the Shanghai campus of Life Pointe Church.
– We had Chinese Restaurant music playing in the background.
– I caught Nancy L. dancing to it, and Kelly D. and Ritz C. cheering her on.
– We served crunchy noodles and hot tea at our Shanghai Cafe.
– Meanwhile European techno music played just before Praise & Worship.
– I nearly got up and danced with fluorescent glow sticks.
– Kelly J. hosted during the first service.
– Be sure to check out her ‘Sunday CHICK-Kabob’ within the next few days.
– Pastor Jesse led this week’s message – substituting for the ailing Travis.
– Travis lived up to his reputation as the ‘Pastor Of Disaster’.
– This week’s message was titled – ‘Won Ton Words That Win Friends’.
– A friend is someone who knows your past and believes in your future.
– He or she accepts you just the way that you are and doesn’t try to change you.
– He or she understands your areas of weakness and helps you conquer them.
– He or she doesn’t give up on you when it becomes inconvenient.  
– The Bible: A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare.
– What you say to a friend is important, but how you say it is also critical.
– It’s not good enough to simply coast along with your friends.
– It is healthy to have conflict with your friends, but move beyond it.
– Be enriched by the conflict, and learn life’s lessons from it.
– Don’t tell me what I want to hear – tell me what I need to hear.
– Don’t be a mere acquaintance, as those are a dime a dozen.
– Be a friend and save a Life when your friend has a crisis.
– Show up and be there physically for your friend’s pain.
– Share your friend’s pain.
– Support your friend with prayer because the Holy Spirit can stop the pain.
– Help your friend with forgiveness.
– Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.
– Be brutally honest with your friend and accept reality – accept The Truth.
– Strengthen your friend with total faith in God.
– Speak hope with your friend, for anything is possible with Our Father God.

Proverbs 27 (NLT, 2ND Ed.)
2  Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth – a stranger, not your own lips.
6  Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.
9  The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.
10  Never abandon a friend – either yours or your father’s. When disaster strikes, you won’t have to ask your brother for assistance. It’s better to go to a neighbor than to a brother who lives far away.
17  As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.

Be sure to hang out with this blog during this upcoming week. I’ve got new posts every single day including the long-running ‘Tuesday Night Grab Bag O’ Thoughts’ and the spontaneous ‘Thursday Night Mini Thoughts’. Until we meet again – be a friend.