thoughts

You know that feeling you get when you feel like your heart connects with someone else's?  Yeah.  Not in a weird way, but maybe in the way you feel about your husband, or a sister, or a friend who you feel like should be a sister.  I feel that more and more, the older I get.

Well, kinda.  In a way, I feel it less and less.

I totally just contradicted myself, I know, but let me explain.

The older I get, the more I connect on a heart level with the friends Jesus has given me.  I am older, so I choose my friends more wisely than I ever have before.  I tend to bend toward people who are similar to me in their faith, in their morals, and in the way they live their life.

Because of those things I've listed, my circle of friends has become increasingly small.  I mean, it's okay~I am so blessed to have such precious women in my life, but the older I get, the more narrowed down that list becomes.

I guess I'm more "on purpose" now than I ever have been before.

It seems like the longer I live on this earth, the shorter our time gets.  I have changed~the things that used to keep me going and the things I was all about are different now.  I also tend to take after my dad, and I have a serious side to me that comes out more with age.

All that being said, I am so thankful for the women in my life.  (I am thankful for MUCH more than just this, but it's what I'm choosing to write about tonight.)  I feel like I have the greatest friends in the whole world...and I do.  I love being with like-minded women.  I also love when they don't mind that I love to show affection.  I know that sounds weird, but I am extremely affectionate, and not everyone is.  I have a couple friends who totally get this side of me, and they are the same way.  One of my best friends Christa is one such lady~she is affectionate as well, so she gets it.

I got to spend time with such ladies today...and teenagers.  Most of my life revolves around these two groups of people~the Lord has given me such a strong love for them.  Some awesome ladies and myself took some of our youth to the zoo today.  The whole city of Memphis was there, too.  ;)  It was so much fun, though and I am glad we went.

I love teenagers, not because I'm crazy, but because Jesus made me fall in love with them a year and a half ago.  I don't know how to express my love for them, except to tell you that I just do.  I did not have anybody to talk to when I was a teenager, and I am so grateful to be even a tiny part of their lives today.  If I can invest time into just one girl to keep her from making the same mistakes that I made as a young girl, it will all be worth it.  I don't consider myself a "teacher" of these girls, but I can facilitate a conversation, and I faithfully pray for all of them.  I challenge them in their faith and I encourage them to spend time reading God's word.  I also challenge them to memorize Scripture, because who doesn't need to do that?

I love them.  I pray that they always know this about me, and how much I love each and every one of them.  I help out in two groups on Sunday~the eleventh grade girls Bible Fellowship class and with the tenth and ninth grade community group on Sunday night.  This is my second year in being actively involved with them, and I love every single minute.  I know it sounds crazy, because I'm a boy mom, but when I'm with them for a while and then I come back home, I miss them.  They're amazing.

I mainly know the girls, but I know some of the guys too.  They all astound me every time I'm with them.  These are some of  the most thoughtful, Christ-minded people I have ever known.  Today was fun, and I'm glad I was able to spend my afternoon with them (AND one of my most favorite people ever on this earth, Abbey, the one who is every bit as affectionate as I am).

This is Nancy, a girl from our Bible Fellowship class.  Abbey's face in the background kills me~I posted this on Instagram and she commented about her face that this is the way she felt about this entire day.  Bless her.

Drew is such a turkey.  Left to right are Abigail, Katie, Drew, Kathryn, and Maia.  They're all in my community group on Sunday night.

These next two pictures are from last night~my sweet friend Scottie had us over for a scary movie night.

We watched Insidious 1 and 2.  Scottie is the one I am privileged to be with every week in our Bible Fellowship class.  She's pretty awesome.  Her daughter is Katie, and her and Drew are the ones who set this whole night up.  It was Graham's and Drew's first time to watch a scary movie.

I took this on the sly while we had a small break between the first and second movie.  We were over there until almost midnight last night, but it was so fun!  And those movies were awesome.

Well, now that I've talked your ear off, I guess it's time for me to get off this computer.  I hope all of you had a great day!  Love to all.