A friend loves at all times

This week was an incredible learning experience. I've learned who my TRUE friends are. These beautiful people do not judge me as written in the book of James 2:12-13 - We must show mercy, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful.

I will be THE first one to admit that I have hurt so many people who care for me. I have also learned that I have hurt so many others who care more for themselves than to understand the pain I've caused has nothing to do with them. My husband pointed out that for some reason the "friends" taking sides are only willing to hear one side of the heartbreaking story. There are two sides to all of this mess. We don't see this as a war of words but rather it's a spiritual battle.

Our TRUE friends not only honor the beauty of marriage but also the mere fact that in marriage, we are ONE. (Genesis 2:24) For those of you who care for my husband as a friend, then you care for me as a friend. But for those who hurt his wife, know that you hurt the husband too.

Check out the following quotes referencing the true beauty of an unconditional love found in friendship. I challenge each of you to look at your growing list of friends. If any one of them messes up, will you love them anyway?

"A friend loves at all times."
-- Proverbs 17:17.

"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."-- Walter Winchell

"My friend is he who will tell me my faults in private." -- Solomon Ibn Gabirol

"Friends show their love in times of trouble..."
-- Euripides (408 B.C.)

"Friendship multiplies the good of life and divides the evil."
-- Baltasar Gracian (1647)

"One who looks for a friend without faults will have none." -- Hasidic Saying

"Friendship doubles our joy and divides our grief."-- Swedish proverb

"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
-Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)

"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!" Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Histrionic Personality Disorder

HISTRIONIC PERSONALITY DISORDER is a condition in which a person acts very emotional and dramatic in order to get attention. Symptoms include Acting or looking overly seductive, Being overly concerned with their looks, Being overly dramatic and emotional, Needing to be the center of attention, Quickly changing emotions, Believing that relationships are more intimate than they actually ARE.

Praise God for He has healed me from the Histrionic Personality Disorder I have lived with for these past 28 years. Ever since I changed my heart and am now devoted to following Christ, I can now become devoted to my husband and become the woman God intended for me to be. Only GOD knows my heart, and I have changed completely. I am not the woman I once was. I LOVE who I have chosen to become.
I was once very emotional and dramatic in order to get attention from everyone. I always acted and looked overly seductive while being concerned about how I looked when I went out of my way to be overly seductive. I craved to be the center of attention. A particular relationship I fell into was more intimate than the other party ever intended it to be.

I praise God for my dear sister in Christ who made me realize such a brutal truth about the evil that lurked inside the fiber of my being. I was evil. I was "tempted by my own evil desire, and was dragged away and was enticed." James 1:14

I am forever grateful to my sister in Christ for making me take a hard look at the ugly woman I was. I thank her for loving me enough to think about my issues and challenges that I must overcome. Thanks to her, I have someone else holding me accountable. She's a blessing. I praise God for her, my dear sister in Christ.

Charm is deceptive

I'm the first person to admit this -- I can charm myself into and out of almost any situation. For those who know me, you can understand how I've used my outlandish personality to win over the hearts of everyone I meet. What the heck for?! What is even the point? Why must I prove myself to people who I owe nothing to?!

Here's where I have gone wrong -- I have put my hope in the beauty of the external. I care about what clothes hug my body most flatteringly. I care about the perfect blend of 3-color Mary Kay mineral eye shadow I splash on my eyes. I go out of my way to stand erect with what I label as class and sophistication in most social situations. But what the heck for? Well let me share, my FORMER goal in this life was to win the hearts of everyone I meet relying on external beauty and charming deceit. Why is this wrong? Because it is completely against what God has intended for my life as a Christian wife.

I was listening to a sermon online regarding the sanctification of marriage. I've learned today that the woman that God praises is directly stated in Proverbs 31:25-31. Read it NOW and enlighten yourselves!

For the first time, I am holding on ever so tightly to putting my hope in the Lord and not placing hope in my external beauty. Only God knows my heart, but I truly believe I am a woman that is clothing myself with strength and dignity...I make it a point to speak with wisdom, and faithful instruction is all I wish to share. My charm was deceptive to everyone who knew my old heart. But since I am now a woman who fears the Lord, HE will praise me. I will accept any rewards HE gives me for I have chosen to be this woman. I praise God for the change I've made with this new heart. Thanks to HIS word and HIS truth, I am NO longer in the dark.