Quote for the day:

"But no matter what, the people who never challenge you have no expectations of you. You may consider them friends but they will never help you grow." (written by a gentleman named Bruce on a Single Parents yahoo group I'm on - gotta give him props for this brilliance!)

Lets think on this one a minute. IMO, this is too true. Your REAL friends should encourage you to be the best YOU can be, not put you down, not show jealousy when you do become the best you can be, or try to sabotage that effort by not being supportive. Maybe I'm interpreting this wrong, but thats how I see it. A real friend, while they might be a smidge envious of your success compared to their own, will root you on, will pick you up when you fall, will care to ask how things are going no matter how they feel about it. But also, they will be upfront with you if they see you taking a wrong direction, gently (or not so gently, lol) nudge you back in line, because they care. If they didn't care, they wouldn't do any of that. They might ask how its going, or mildly inquire about things, but they will never challenge your thinking, your viewpoint, challenge you to analyze things you never thought of. Those are the kind of friends I want to keep around me. Those who do challenge me to be a better person. Thats the kind of friend I strive to be. I fail at it sometimes, but I try.

I want to share a moment with one of my closest friends. There was a decision I was wanting to make (which really would be pretty much against what I believe the Bible tells us), and she told me something along the lines of that she'd still be my friend, but would definitely be disappointed in me if I did it. And I've never forgotten that. I always come back to that if I even think about it, because she cared enough to be real with me and not tiptoe around it. She let her expectations be known and I consider that a testimony of a real friend.

Let me know how YOU interpret the quote and insight you have is always welcome...