today in church my preacher touched on forgiveness. i'm a lot better at that than i used to be. the Bible says to forgive others as God has forgiven us. "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven." Luke 6:37. in past weeks some of my eldon friends were having a fight and it was really hurting one in particular...and it was hurting me too b/c she was telling me everything that happened and i can't stand my friends feeling that way. so i tried thinking of every piece of advice that i could...and finally i came up with just forgiving the others for what they did, but also apologizing for whatever she did, as well as not to listen to what other people have to say and to go striaght to the source. right after that she made up w/ the other girl and everything is fine. forgiveness is a hard thing to accomplish, but it is far worth it in the end. just think if God had never sent his son to forgive us for our sins, we'd all be condemned for life. therefore, don't hold grudges, but forgive others even if they don't ask for it. in the same way, repent of your sins and you will also be forgiven. i must admit that i have to work on that with my sister most of all people. i guess just being siblings it's a little more difficult but we're gettin there! i also realized this morning that God doesn't have to grant us today or tomorrow or any day. every day is a gift which He grants us - a gift we should be thankful for. we shouldn't take advantage of everything that we have because one day it will no longer be there. and when it's gone, though it's difficult, don't be upset. God always opens a door when he closes another, and that new door is better than the previous one though we may not see it that way. take eldon for instance...sure i miss it, i would absolutely love to have my eldon friends here to share life with but then again, how many teenagers in eldon are pregnant and do drugs and other things that aren't pleasant in the eyes of the Lord? a lot, let me tell ya! see...i didn't see that 2 years ago when i moved. all i saw was 3 hours between me, my friends, my boyfriend, and my home. God works in mysterious, but always good, ways. so i thank God for my eldon life, but i also thank him for my life in st. louis and all the friends i have up here. thank u guys for bein there and making me feel more at home here. *manda*