{"id":3105,"date":"2012-09-13T06:43:56","date_gmt":"2012-09-13T10:43:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=3105"},"modified":"2012-09-13T07:18:12","modified_gmt":"2012-09-13T11:18:12","slug":"greetings-to-friends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/09\/greetings-to-friends.html","title":{"rendered":"Greetings to friends"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I was blessed yesterday to sit with two friends who pour their lives into the lives of others. \u00a0One of these women has ministered to me in countless ways in the course of 20+ years. \u00a0We lingered at the table refilling our iced tea glasses long after the lunch dishes had been cleared. \u00a0We had stopped to take time to share prayers and the concerns of our lives. \u00a0Sitting there, \u00a0I recounted the many women whose lives have been turned and blessed by one of women who has held important positions of \u00a0leadership in our community.<\/p>\n

Her talents are many. \u00a0She is a great cook, a fabulous hostess. \u00a0She understands how to lead. \u00a0She teaches, prays and encourages. \u00a0But it is in the area of discipleship that she excels. \u00a0Without fanfare or trumpets blasting, she comes along side younger women in the Lord and she holds them up, sharing the strength God has given to her.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Many times I hear from other people, “Nancy is more of a mother to me than my own mother.” \u00a0Or, “Nancy is the true friend I never had.”<\/p>\n

So often we want our ministries to be soaring rhetoric<\/span> that touches the hearts of millions. \u00a0We desire to be able to minister in music reaching out to the masses with our CD’s and <\/span>iTunes downloads. \u00a0We forget how deeply personal Christianity is. \u00a0It is a ministry of touch and conversation. \u00a0It is one heart overlapping<\/span> another bleeding heart with concern and love bringing the healing touch of a holy Lord who truly cares.<\/p>\n

In the past months, I been reading and rereading the Pauline letters. \u00a0They are vividly personal love letters from Paul to his friends. \u00a0It is only because the Holy Spirit preserved these letters that we can look into the heart of this great apostle. \u00a0We forget that the book of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles were written by Luke to one man. \u00a0The books of the New Testament written by Peter and John are letters, either to congregations or individuals.<\/p>\n

Their intention was not to bless the world with a faceless voice or unknown stroke of a pen. \u00a0They were writing to help strengthen friends. \u00a0Man to man. \u00a0Woman to woman. \u00a0Today, we reach out over the lunch table grabbing a hand for prayer. \u00a0We slow our pace at bit to be able to walk along side a hurting and wounded soul, allowing God’s strength\u00a0to minister healing. Christianity is a deeply personal relationship with God. \u00a0However, we cannot ever overlook that Christ left us as a Church–a fellowship of believers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>We all stumble through life with that deep abiding need for a father, a mother, a friend. \u00a0People who come to Special Gathering usually leave changed. \u00a0It isn’t the vibrant conversation or the deeply spiritual banter. \u00a0It is Joey who comes without speech and takes our hand and shouts with his eyes and touch, “I love you. \u00a0I take you as my friend.” \u00a0It is Patty with her mindless chatter and suffocating hugs that whispers to our hearts, “You are accepted and loved here.”<\/p>\n

As my friends and I stood by the door, wanting to share “one last thing,” I was struck by the deeply personal nature of God’s love. \u00a0Jesus came to heal and minister, delight and correct. \u00a0He is our personal saviour. \u00a0Hallelujah!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was blessed yesterday to sit with two friends who pour their lives into the lives of others. \u00a0One of these women has ministered to me in countless ways in the course of 20+ years. \u00a0We lingered at the table refilling our iced tea glasses long after the lunch dishes had been cleared. \u00a0We had…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,3,182,40,186,49,16,147,215,8,4,41],"tags":[690,21,688,7,18,699,522,720,715,701,694,689,267,6,700,521],"class_list":["post-3105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-developmental-disabilities","category-disability","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-intellectual-disability","category-leadership","category-love","category-mentally-challenged-community","category-simple-truths","category-spirituality","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-discipleship","tag-faith","tag-friends","tag-friendship","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-mentoring","tag-simple-scriptural-truths","tag-spirituality","tag-touch"],"yoast_head":"\nGreetings to friends - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Greetings to friends - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I was blessed yesterday to sit with two friends who pour their lives into the lives of others. \u00a0One of these women has ministered to me in countless ways in the course of 20+ years. \u00a0We lingered at the table refilling our iced tea glasses long after the lunch dishes had been cleared. \u00a0We had…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/09\/greetings-to-friends.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-09-13T10:43:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-09-13T11:18:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2012\/09\/lunch-150x150.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. Howard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Greetings to friends - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Greetings to friends - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","og_description":"I was blessed yesterday to sit with two friends who pour their lives into the lives of others. \u00a0One of these women has ministered to me in countless ways in the course of 20+ years. \u00a0We lingered at the table refilling our iced tea glasses long after the lunch dishes had been cleared. \u00a0We had…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/09\/greetings-to-friends.html","og_site_name":"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","article_published_time":"2012-09-13T10:43:56+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-09-13T11:18:12+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2012\/09\/lunch-150x150.jpg"}],"author":"Linda G. Howard","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/09\/greetings-to-friends.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/09\/greetings-to-friends.html","name":"Greetings to friends - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/09\/greetings-to-friends.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/09\/greetings-to-friends.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2012\/09\/lunch-150x150.jpg","datePublished":"2012-09-13T10:43:56+00:00","dateModified":"2012-09-13T11:18:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/#\/schema\/person\/a10d3530d8432a656d648135fe6da739"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/09\/greetings-to-friends.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/09\/greetings-to-friends.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/09\/greetings-to-friends.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2012\/09\/lunch-150x150.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/files\/2012\/09\/lunch-150x150.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/09\/greetings-to-friends.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Greetings to friends"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/","name":"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Linda Howard","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/#\/schema\/person\/a10d3530d8432a656d648135fe6da739","name":"Linda G. Howard","description":"Linda G. Howard is the best-selling and award-winning author of four books, including MOTHERS ARE PEOPLE, TOO and THE SECRET LIFE OF A HOUSEWIFE. Currently, she serves as area director of The Special Gathering, a ministry within the mentally challenged community. Additionally, she is the co-publisher and editor of CONNECTING POINT, the ministry newsletter. Her husband is a retired aerospace technologist who worked for NASA. They have three children and four grandchildren.","sameAs":["http:\/\/specialgathering.wordpress.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/author\/lhoward"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/387"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3105"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3110,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3105\/revisions\/3110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}