Friends...

How to Know True Friends:

No matter how long its been since you've seen your old friends, no matter how each of you have changed, no matter how far apart your schools are, you know your friends are true friends when you can hang out and chill without awkwardness, when you can joke around like old times, and when they treat your new friends like they've known them for ages and your new friends fit right in (even if they don't get the small-town jokes). >>Both of these groups, old and new, exemplify for-real friends. (Of course, those aren't the ONLY ways to know true friends, but that's what I'm stickin' with right now.)

Man have I been blessed with amazing friends?!!-->old and new! I love 'em all!!

Hmm...

Ok, so my reason for creating a blog is to share some of the thoughts that I have in my head. Yes, I do understand that to some that is extremely frightening; however, fear not...ok, so you still might want to fear. Some might be random, crazy, or kinda out there, but thats me. Anyways, thats my preface. I've warned you.

So today this group on campus (PRIDE) thats promotes "differences," mainly just alternative lifestyles, had a "Jeans Day" where everyone who supports their cause was to wear jeans. A friend and I were talking and thought it was funny how they (being members in that group) chose something that everyone does anyways to support their group--wear jeans! Honestly, who doesn't wear jeans? So there were people today wearing jeans, just like any other day, and were supporting something they really didn't even mean to. Of course, then there were those who were sportin' the denim because it was "Jeans Day." But walking around campus, you didn't know who wore their jeans on accident, not knowing it was "Jeans Day," or who was really advocating the cause--which was the goal of having such a generic everybody-does-it-anyway day. No one could tell the difference in the two groups of people. Then I got to thinking. You know, how many Christians do the same thing?...not wear jeans to support homosexuality...but do things to blend in, so there is no evident difference between them and the world. You know, like we declare we ourselves Christians, but we don't want our lifestyles to be different from anyone else's. We don't want to stick out. Its alot easier if we just do like the PRIDE group did and declare things that everyone else has already declared. That way we look like we have a large following, but really we are deceiving ourselves. So I guess my challenge for myself and other Believers is to not be afraid to be set apart. If we really believe what we are standing for, which I totally do (Jesus is the Son of God, died on a cross so we can be considered perfect, rose from the dead and is still alive today>>I need Him and w/o Him I am not forgiven) and are striving to live like Him every day, we SHOULD be different. We should unashamedly be set apart. We should NOT blend in. I'm not saying that the PRIDE group should have had a "No Pants Day" to get attention. Or, that Christians should wear huge signs and act all "holier than thou" so they don't blend. Thats just rediculous. But I am saying that we should stop trying to fit into this world. We are to be in it, but not of it. Thats all.