A conversation with a friend...

This summer I have been blessed with the chance to get to know a young woman pretty well. We have had many conversations on life and she has helped me sort out my thoughts. One of which is about the importance of friends. Pick friends who you want to be like, not who people think you should hang out with but really people who you admire or who you would like to become more like. I had to make hard decisions in high school and believe me it hurt to say goodbye to some friends who I didn't agree with what they were doing in order for myself not to get wrapped up in what they were doing. Now I'm not saying don't hang out with friends because they do things or don't do things or such...I mean you have to make that call but friends influence you more than you know, so being around people who you want to be like is great because they rub off on you. I know it may sound like the same old same old but really I challenge you to chose your friends wisely.
However, during high school I also got into the mind set of judging people because they did things that I didn't agree with, however I was in the wrong too. Remember to always love those people but you don't have to love their actions. One verse I really like when dealing with decisions about things like smoking, alcohol, relationships, how i dress...etc... is: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 I really like this verse cause it reminds me that I belong to God and he lives in me so I have to try and keep my body as pure as I can. This all can go back to respecting yourself too. I also love the song (sometimes i use it as a prayer) "Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary pure and holy tried and true with thanksgiving i will be a living sanctuary for you." Sometimes its really hard to do the right thing but in the end you will be so happy you did. I pray that God molds you into a person after his own heart. I think this is the best prayer you could pray for anyone. I hope I will always love the first love of my live with my whole heart mind strength and spirit.