Birds of a feather flock together. Tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are. So if your friends jump off a cliff I guess you’ll jump too? We’ve heard these sayings and more usually from our moms! Well mom knows best. Sometimes our kids would come home from school acting like one of their friends. My wife was the first one to point it out. She would say, “I want my daughter (or son) not this kid you’re pretending to be like.” I think often our kids didn’t even notice they had picked up bad habits until they were called out on it.

     It’s not just kids because adults do it also. How would you define your five closest friends? It turns out that our close friends have a huge influence on our lives, attitudes, personal growth, habits, money, and so much more. When you hang around the wrong crowd it won’t be long before you’re doing the wrong things. Bottom line is most of us need constant supervision! So if we can so easily be influenced by bad friends doesn’t it make sense to you to instead have good friends? You actually have a choice in who you bum around with.

     You have the power to rise above average just by being friends with people who will lift you up. It happens so easily, without even any effort. It just happens. Good friends encourage you, challenge you, pray for you, and their attitudes are contagious. Good friends double your joy and cut your griefs in half. Good friends make you a better, more fulfilled and joyful human being. Remember, good friends help you move, great friends help you move bodies! (It’s a joke! I couldn’t resist.) Hmmmm, maybe I need some friends with better humor? Anyway, you get the point.

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