Outline: FRIENDSHIP II
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FRIENDSHIP II
“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born in adversity”.
Proverbs 17:17 NKJV
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STEP 1: ACHIEVED RESULTS
What specific action did you commit to take last week? What was the result?
STEP 2: REFLECTIONS
Instructions:Take turns reading the following paragraphs. As you read, underline the ideas that stand out to you.
THE EIGHT PRINCIPLES OF TRUE FRIENDSHIP
- True friends affirm each other.
A true friend affirms and applauds their friends’ abilities and talents, and protects their weaknesses. To affirm others, a person must recognize their qualities and attributes and respect them. Very few people spend their time affirming others because most people are too focused on themselves.
Unfortunately, most of the time good words are only spoken at the funeral of friends; but why wait for their funeral to say what is admirable about friendships?
Don’t take that with you to the grave; instead, deliberately practice affirming others whenever appropriate. Just as oil improves the performance of a machine, affirmation makes relationships run with less friction.
Don’t just affirm the obvious attributes of your friends, identify less obvious skills that others may not have noticed. Be an excellent professional observer. But don’t just watch, share the approval with those watchers and with others.
Friendship is an undervalued resource, as friends make your life better. The Greek philosopher Epicurus noted: “It is not so much the help of our friends that lifts us, but the confidence of knowing that they will help us.” Affirming is the light of one that shines light in the darkness of others. Although giving words of affirmation costs us a bit, its value is invaluable to others.
4.True friends appreciate each other.
If acceptance is the sandwich, affirming is the main course, and appreciation is dessert at the buffet of the soul. When a person appreciates someone, it makes them feel important. When something is depreciated, it loses its value, but when something is appreciated, it increases in value. Therefore, appreciation helps increase the value of others. For example, when a person makes an appointment, they should make sure to be on time as this communicates to the other person that their time is valuable. To appreciate people, one must share with others all the good that they find in that person, it is good to do it on a personal level, but also with others. This is the correct way to talk behind the back of others: tell everything good you know about that person.
One of the most important things that a good friend can do for their friends is to help them think better about themselves, at every opportunity they should highlight the positive and minimize the negative. In this way, true friend helps their friends win the battle in their minds by identifying their positive beliefs. Bad friends increase the negative voice and cause conflict.
A person should choose their friendships carefully because we are influenced by those around us. True friends increase their positive voice because friends accept, affirm, and appreciate each other and decrease the volume of the negative voices, generating the conviction necessary to grow and change. A true friend never forgets the friend who has helped them grow.
The following poem sums up the essence of how true friends help each other:“A friend is someone who knows you as you are, understands where you’ve been, accepts what you’ve become, and gently invites you to grow.” -Unknown.
- True friends listen with empathy.
One of the best ways to show acceptance, that we affirm, and appreciation is by listening. The person has two ears and one mouth, and they should use them in that proportion. People learn more by listening than by talking. Cultivate the art of listening as one of your most precious skills. People notice if you really listen or just pretend to listen.
Active listening requires discipline, allowing others to share your feelings. One of the greatest compliments that can be given to a person is to listen carefully. Maybe a friend will ask for advice, but not always. Most of the time you just need a confidant to listen to you. In her novel A Life for a Life, author Dinah Mulock describes her joy when a friend listens to her: “Oh, the comfort, the indescribable comfort of feeling safe with a person, without having to worry about measuring thoughts or words. , but rendering them all as they are; chaff and grain together, certain that a friendly hand will strain them, separate the good and, with a gentle blow, disperse the rest.” What a beautiful image of true friendship and the peace of mind of being truly understood!
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Benefits of being and having that kind of friend.
- They will help each other achieve their purpose.
- They will feel important and valued.
- Trust will be cultivated to open your heart to each other.
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Stepstofollow:
- Practice this week giving words of affirmation to someone daily. You can do this with your spouse, children, and friends.
- Share with others the qualities of your friendships whenever you have the opportunity to do so.
- Practice listening more than talking. This will help you develop strong relationships, understand your friends more deeply, and even deepen your sense of empathy. It will also help you have more meaningful and in-depth conversations.
FRIENDSHIP II
STEP 3: REFLECT AND RESPONSE
Choose something that you underlined as important to you. Take a minute to share with everyone what you chose and why it is important to you.
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STEP 4: AUTO EVALUATION
Respond the following section of self-evaluation:
On a scale of 1 to 10: How well do you apply these 3 points as a friend?________________________
Why did you give yourself this score?
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What benefits would you obtain from improving your score?
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What people do you know that are a good example of this quality? What do you admire the most from this person?
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What specific action can you take immediately to improve your score?
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STEP 5: SHARE YOUR ACTION STEPS
Take a moment to share your responses from the self-evaluation section, include the action that you plan to take to improve in that area. Weaskthateveryoneparticipates.
Instructions for the host:
- Make the calling:
“Lord Jesus, I recognize that I have sinned and that you died for me. Today I repent and ask for forgiveness. I give you my life and my heart so that you may be my Lord and personal Savior, amen”.
- Impartation: Pray and activate what you have learned today.
- Intercession Retreat from September 23rd-25th.
- Retreat 3 DDP from October 21st.-23rd.
- Let’s practice our values. Value #2: TEAMWORK (Including Sense of Urgency): “Our efforts are more fruitful when we work together and not individually.”(Eccles. 4:9-12). SENSE OF URGENCY: “We believe it is God’s will to win and disciple the greatest amount of souls possible, in the least amount of time possible.” (2 Pet. 3:9)