Read Angie's Thoughts

The Israelites were an interesting group of people. They witnessed some of God's greatest miracles and yet turned away from Him time and time again. I've often wondered what it would have been like to live untouched during the plagues in Egypt, walk the dry ground under the parted Red Sea, and be fed by God's mysterious manna every day. How awesome! Of course, there was another side to the Israelites. The were prone to wander away from God and turn to idols of their own choosing, even after all the wonderful things He had done for them. They seemed to cycle through a pattern of following God and submitting to His authority and then turning just as easily, seeming to forget all that God had done for them until something, usually painful, happened that turned them back to God. I've often wondered how they could have been SO blind, having God right there with them doing these amazing things and then purposely turning to worship golden calves. But, if I'm honest with ...

Almost 14 years ago, I had just started my junior year of high school. My dad and his second wife had recently divorced and for whatever reasons, she got to keep the family pets - a dog and two cats. One night after a volleyball game, my dad's ex wife asked if I would follow her out to her truck because she had something to give me. It turned out to be this little orange kitten that I immediately named Christopher. I don't know why but I loved the name Christopher when I was growing up and many stuffed animals, pet frogs, and other objects bore the name. :-) I was so excited to have a kitten that was mine and immediately took Christopher home where he settled into life with my dad, younger brother Mark, and I. Christopher lived at my dad's house until I moved into my own apartment after my third year of college. Since then, he was with me through two moves, the addition of another cat and later, a dog, and watched as various other pets came and went - turtles, guinea pig...

I don't know why, by for the past few days the topic of friendship has constantly been on my mind. I will be busy doing tasks throughout the day only to find I am again thinking about friends I have had - past and present. I've never been one of those people who has a lot of friends. While most people have hundreds of 'friends' even on Facebook, I have less than 100. My best friend is the type of person that has a lot of friends, I knew that from the first day we met. At her wedding, she had 5 bridesmaids and a maid of honor. When they were planning the wedding, she told her fiance that he had a year to go out and make a bunch of new friends so he would have enough groomsmen for all her attendants! I've often joked to people that if I ever get married, I hope my husband-to-be has sisters because I can only name one or two people I would want to stand up with me at my wedding. As I've thought back over past friendships recently, I've come to a conclusion. W...