good friends

I had two good friends greg and melissa fly in from CA. They were here to celebrate their younger sister's graduation. It was refreshing to get to see them and just enjoy the weekend. All we did was pretty much eat a lot of food lol. way too much food lol. The best part is laughing and talking about the most random things. it's almost as if my friends and i have our own language. We use way too many references and inside jokes, but it never gets old. It was a breath of fresh air getting to spend some time with them because they usually bring out the playful and fun side of me. I realized that humor and laughter really are connected to friendships. Spending quality time with good friends rejuvenates our happiness and health in a way that other things cant.

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who are the people that enrich your life? who are the people we connect deeply with? who are the people that know you well? who are the people you enjoying spending time with? who are the people who strengthen your walk and resolves? who are the people who challenge you to become your best self? who are the people who legitimately keep you in their prayers? are we in return also a good friend?

I just got off a four hour phone call with an old roommate. his name is Mike. we had two classes together in first semester and shared a room on a weekend retreat. and eventually i moved in with him and another roommate. (and also 3 fish and 3 cats) then after a good year and a half we both had to move out. and then later he ended up being roommates again. we share a lot of common thoughts and interst. we tend to agree on almost everything, which is kinda weird. We try to make it a point to keep in touch at least once every month but usually every two. It's hard when you were once super close with someone, and then because of circumstances aren't as involved in their life as before. my roommate has sort of been like a wise older brother to me. hes kinda like a multivitamin. he adds health and wellness in small ways. we seriously have the best conversations. we share what we've been learning, where we've been struggling, and looking for ways to improve our quality of life. we're probably both a little too reflective in our thoughts. but i guess thats what make us connect right. We share the ups and downs and all the silly things in between.

if i were to pick a reward for someone having the highest code of ethics and morality i would give it to him. i cant stress enough how good of a guy he is. he's authentic and transparent. He wants to be a good christian evangelist and witness to others by his character, actions and faithfulness. He's extremely smart yet down to earth. I'm usually impressed by his intellect, vocabulary and the way he can communicate. not a lot of dudes are heavy book readers, but with him you can tell hes super edjamacated. im pretty sure i learned more from living with him then all the things i learned from seminary. I definitely wouldn't have survived without him.

Some things he emphasizes are the importance of healthy relationships, knowledge of God, being responsible and taking good care of our health. He emphasizes doing the right thing even if it's harder. We both acknowlegde that we often try to independently tackle life on our own instead of welcoming the help from others. He's somewhat of a creative dreamer and reflective thinker like me. we want to become something great and be highly competent in helping others. we both struggle with perfectionism and are often a little too hard on ourselves at times. there's so many funny moments and inside jokes that we reminisce. he's got the best sense of humor, and does the best impressions of people. he's got this yelling scream that's hilarious when he's afraid of an insect, or a random spider/ bee. he also tells the best funny stories and seems to really like his well crafted sandwiches.

we talked about organizing and preserving our childhood culture by the things we collect. we talk about investing ourselves into the things we consider important, things we often don't appreciate enough. we want to savor our youth and yet feel a little overwhelmed with striving towards maturity. we talked about the old days and how life was when we lived in our old first apartment. beyond just experiences, movies, video games and current entertainment, we talk about how God gives us opportunities everyday. the key is being aware of them and seizing these opportunities. we talked a little about trying to offer just an extra ounce of intentionality with people we come across. an extra 5 minutes of taking interest in someone else, being present with them and listening well can really can make a big difference. he helps me to see the positive things that i often take for grated. he helps me to focus on what i do have, rather than all the things i dont have or the things ive lost. instead of looking at what we cant control, maybe we should invest in where we can apply ourselves. we had an idea of having a church that was focused on physical fitness and health. i think that'd be awesome. he's sort of like a life coach without knowing it.

we share a lot of our insecurities or things that we often worry about. and it helps to have someone able to relate, understand, listen and encourage you when ya need it. There's just certain people in life that just get ya, and it's easy. Good christian friends rub off on you in a good way, they try to help you accomplish your goals, and push you back up when u need a nudge. he usually puts others before himself and is mindful of those around him. he has a background in business, accounting, physical training, real-estate, ministry and counseling, so he's really diverse in terms of knowledge. he helps me to see a different perspective on things, and is always very relational and considerate. we both struggle with trying to become a self sufficient and responsible adult at times, but its good to grow along side someone and jus have someone that's really relatable and supportive. im grateful for such a good friend, i hope to become more like him.

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