Last spring I became very good friends with this girl.  We found out that we had the same taste in movies – dorky superhero movies all the way!  Superhero cartoons were also pretty great.  We would hang out and watch a movie, then talk.  Slowly we started doing other stuff together, like meeting to go on walks and just talk.  It was a really nice, really close friendship.  Of course, there are these things called “feelings” that tend to creep in and make a mess out of things.  Through all of our time together I began to have these feelings.  She, on the other hand, did not.

Relationships between guys and girls can be very frustrating at time.  If there’s one thing I’ve learned about relationships it’s that guys have this habit (in general) of falling for our good female friends.  If we spend a lot of time with you girls, hang out with you a lot, there is this good chance that feelings are going to blossom in our hearts.

This girl and I had a lot of talks about where we stood, and what was going on between us.  As we got to talking we learned that there was a lot of miscommunication going on between the two of us.  When we had started hanging out we had a brief convo where we said it was just as friends, and that’s how it had truly started.  That’s not where it had stayed for me, though.  For her, thinking it was only as friends we began to act almost as if we were dating.  After the fact we even both admitted that it felt like we had been dating for a couple weeks.

There’s one thing that we discussed, and would have helped us a lot if we had implemented it earlier.  It’s something I really want to encourage opposite gender friends to do: Limit one on one alone time with friends of the opposite gender!  Girls: spending alone time with guys tends to send them this signal that you’re interested in them, whether intentional or not.  This doesn’t mean that you can’t hang out with them alone on occasion, but I would stress that you’re never alone alone.  If you have a great friend of the opposite gender catch up with them over coffee or something.  Sitting alone in the dark basement with the fireplace burning and talking is not the best idea – it can easily lead to miscommunication – trust me on this one!

I really want to stress that communication is key to any relationship, friendship or otherwise.  Talking about where you stand with someone of the other gender might seem a little awkward at times, but if you don’t feel comfortable sharing your feelings with the person you want to date then perhaps they’re not the person that you should be dating.

by Judi Weiss, RTF Staff Writer

Are we “friends”?

Friend is a tricky word. I learned long ago, you can’t just rely on people. More so than often, they can be “friends” not friends. (more…)

Take it all

For Mr. Tracy, by Judi Weiss, RTF Staff Writer

Trust in the Lord. It sounds easy enough. Especially when everything is going good. The road is even. But what about when a crisis comes your way?

My youth minister, Mr. Tracy, was diagnosed with Hodgkinʼs Lymphoma, known as Hodgkinʼs Disease, in June of 2007. Hodgkinʼs Lymphoma is a cancer of the immune system. A type of cell called the Reed-Sternberg cell is what marks it.

He began seven months of Chemotherapy then a month of radiation. After the treatment, he received what heʼd been waiting for, the clean bill of health.

This past September, the small family was hit with another crisis. The cancer had returned. With his wife Robin behind him, Mr. Tracy began his one month of radiation for the second time. (more…)

My Friend, Sarah

by B. J. Hamrick, RTF Staff Writer

When I think of the word bold, I think of Sarah’s red, flaming hair. But beneath her red, flaming hair was a person – someone just like you and me – someone who struggled to be bold in other ways.

“I want to stand up for Jesus at school,” she told us one night during camp devotions. “I want to make a difference.”

She talked about Columbine that night. She talked about the kids who stood up for Jesus when two killers asked the question, “Do you believe in God?” Those kids answered, “Yes”.

Sarah said she wanted to answer yes too. She wanted to see God change lives.

But seeing God change lives wasn’t new to Sarah. Everyone who knew her realized that she loved kids and spent every summer in the projects with them – playing games, telling Bible stories, and simply caring about their lives.

The summer of 2000 was no different. Sarah spent nearly every day teaching kids about God. In between teaching, she gave away extra lunches she packed for the homeless. (more…)

The Power of Friendship

By Jamin Goecker, RTF Staff Writer

Do you have a powerful friendship? Can you rate it by how many texts you get ending with LOL? What can be expected from a strong friendship anyway?

Writers Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were friends throughout their lives. They critiqued each other’s works which later became known as The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia.

William Wilberforce and William Pitt helped end the slave trade in the British Empire. (more…)

Keeping Her Word

B.J. Hamrick, RTF Staff Writer

I’ve always told my sister, Molly, that I would write about her. She’s always told me that if I do, I’ll be the one who ends up being written about – on the obituary page of the local newspaper. At least the police will know who to look for when my bloated, lifeless body floats to the top of the local river tomorrow.

It will. Because Molly always keeps her word. (more…)

One of my best friends recently became religious. She told me that we could not be friends because I use curse words sometimes, and because of my relationship with my boyfriend. She also said that if I do not put God ahead of everything in my life that I won’t make it to Heaven.

I was raised a Catholic and I believe very much in God and my faith. I may not go to church every weekend but I believe that faith is faith…it’s not the building you practice your faith in.

The only thing wrong with my relationship with my boyfriend is that we argue sometimes like any other couple.

My friends says my relationship brings her down. I don’t swear all the time and I make sure I don’t use the Lord’s name in vain. I just feel like she’s making me out to be this horrible person that I’m not. I’m 15 years old and have fought off the temptations of drinking and drugs. I have not touched them and will not.

Please help me. I’m very confused.

-Kayla L.

(more…)

Friendship Choices

Lydia Rule, RTF Staff Writer

Your closest circle of friends will reveal much about your personality, interests, goals, and even spiritual walk with God. Choosing friends wisely is no laughing matter—it’s a serious issue that reflects your heart.

That is why people often look at my family with a suspicious eye. You see, we have a very close friend that is not at all what you would expect from a Preacher’s family with three impressionable daughters.

And yet, this friend, like a bad case of the fleas, always sticks to us.

He is inherently lazy, cares very little about work, and sleeps the day away. This of course, is a trait the Bible shows us is wrong:

Proverbs 19:15
Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.

He has a foul mouth (not to mention breath), little moral understanding, considerably rude manners, very preoccupied with the baser things of life, and yet he is allowed to be around the Pastor’s three girls any time he pleases. (more…)