In our day and age there is a cliche floating around that states "boyfriends come and go, but friends are forever." I assure you that the cliche was meant and has been used for both genders. The concept of the cliche was to suggest that you won't date the person you are with, or marry them, and even if you do, they are always considered a temporary part of your life, while your friends are supposedly there forever. Like some great stone that you could always rely on to support you when things got tough.

I'm here to tell all the naive people that actually believed that ridiculous concept that . . . it isn't true!

In fact, if you were really wondering about this, your friends or those whom you've known the longest have the highest chance of betraying you over your lifetime based upon the statistical variable of time itself.

It's so amazing as we walk through life and see such great loyalty or the thought of great loyalty between friends. Being someone that looks at anger, betrayal, and revenge the most comical thing to me is when the question arises of a "friend" betraying another "friend," how the person will utterly deny any possibility that their friend could betray them. Swearing up and down that there is no way that, that person would do such a thing.

It's like . . . yes they would.

I don't know how old you people are that are reading this but wisdom itself can elude many, regardless of age. I'm sure today's psychologists would probably not address it as wisdom, but rather street smarts. The fact of the matter is that all humanity is selfish. Everyone is trying to reach a higher plateau on all levels of their lives, whether it is relationship, employment, schooling, financial, and image/power levels.

Yet while we can all acknowledge that, it seems so hard for many to accept that their friends, if vying for the same upgrade to their life, would not fight tooth and nail if not even dirty, to get what they want at your own detriment.

To which brings us back to the original concept of this discussion, when the fairy dust fades, and the friendly beers at the barbecue are tossed away, and you finally notice that one of your friends has betrayed you dearly. What do you do?

The natural reaction for many is to feel naive, and cry and be angry, and many often want to consider revenge. But when a friend has truly betrayed you, chances are they got you good. The reason for this is that you allowed no one else to be as close to you as they have been, and therefore they know what matters most to you, and how to hurt you better than anyone ever could.

So what advice does one give in my position? Having been betrayed by everyone in my life whom I've allowed to get close to me there really isn't much I can say. I would never confess to being naive, since I'm naturally skeptical. But that isn't the issue, I think the best advice to suggest is that for parents to really acknowledge as importantly as the "birds & the bees," what it's like to be brokenhearted, or be backstabbed by one of your best friends, or what it's like to be lied to when someone has given you their word. When you teach your kids that, you are truly teaching them of the real world. Another thing to state is to remember what is always yours, and what is never yours. Such as your self-respect, attitude and persona toward others, and your character as a human being. What is never yours is the actions and feelings of a significant other, your friends, or your family.

All betray, that is a fact, and the more you allow someone to get close to you, the higher the damage variable will result from a betrayal of someone you know. However taking the road of emotionally closed off is like living half dead, so in the end it's important to remember that all of life is a risk, and everyone you choose to be with and around is a risk you are taking in feeling good as well as getting hurt.

Ecclesiastes 4: 10

10 If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!

When does that day come when you change from kid to adult?

Is it just some moment of extreme revelation?

I started looking in to substitute teaching the other day. I filled out an application and I made up a resume. I sent the information to Carroll County School Systems. I applied to get my Substitute Teacher Certification. It is a two-day class. I eventually want to be a teacher. I can't figure out what grade-level yet, though. I am hoping that this helps me narrow it down. I want to step out of the dead-end job and step into a career that I can be proud of.

I will be twenty in July. Time to grow up and be an adult. I want to move out of my mother's house and into my own place with my fiance by September. I'm getting married in December.

Is anyone else as afraid of growing up as I am?

Sometimes I get the feeling that I am behind in the running to be an adult, but sometimes I look around and I'm ahead in the game. That makes me mad. Either I'm acting like a child, or people my age and older are acting like children without a care in the world. Also, when I try to act like an adult and I want to be treated as one, I get treated like a child. And of course, when I want to be treated like a child, I get told to grow up and be an adult. Where is the happy medium?

I get the feeling that I should have tried harder when I was younger. Worked harder at preparing myself for this. But how can you prepare for something you have no idea how to prepare for?

I am also hearing talk of either my parents moving to Mississippi or closer to Atlanta, near the airport; both for jobs that will make more money. This upsets me because I always thought that I would leave first, on my own terms. If they move, even within the next few months, it wouldn't be worth it for me to move; I would just have to pack up and leave again.

I know all of this sounds childish, but I've moved around so much and had to grow up so fast when I was younger I've got this emotional scar from it. I always get the feeling that no matter what, eventually...I will have to move again because I have overstayed my welcome, done something wrong, and whomever I am with has grown sick of me. ...But that's another story for another day...

1 Corinthians 13:11
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

2 Kings 4:30
But the child's mother said, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So he got up and followed her.

One of my biggest struggles when it comes to God and Christianity, is still feeling like I'm not 'good enough' for God to save me. That I just keep messing up and one day God will just wipe his hands clean of me completely.

I constantly struggle in believing that God loves me no matter what, that He has forgiven me. I've never really know a 'real' love, one that is freely given and unconditional. I constantly question how could anyone ever love me. How could anyone ever even know I exist.

When it comes to God, there is only 1 of 2 options. God is either a cruel-hearted, sadist who enjoys dangling treats in front of our eyes only to snatch it away and laugh. Or He loves us so deeply He would go through anything to rescue us from ourselves and from the devil.

How many of us, at some point have been so hurt and alone that we decide God must be the first option? How many of us yell and scream and call God some of the most hurtful, cruel things we can think of because we feel, at least in that moment, that He really is evil? I have. I'm ashamed of myself, but I have said some of the worst things to God. I have sworn at Him, turned my back on Him, hated Him.

Because of who and what we are, because of the sin that runs rampant in this world, that reaction is a typical one. The majority of us have treated God in such a disgusting manner, at least once in our lives.

So after treating Him as such, does He turn His back on us? Does He abandon us as we might think He would? Do you believe that you have been so bad that God stops loving you and won't save you?

I feel that way almost ALL the time. I've heard many other Christians say they think they won't be forgiven because they keep messing up. Thoughts like that are some of the most painful to bear.

Sometimes I wonder if God is really sick and tired of hearing us moan about whether or not God loves us. Afterall, He has already paved the way for us to get back to Him, through His son, Jesus.

The Bible not only chronicles the fall of man, and the laws we should keep and our history. But it is also the story of how God is always rescuing us and bringing us back to Him. Look back on the people of the Bible. Many of them did really bad things; like King David committing adultery, Paul who had been hunting down Christians, the Israelites worshipping idols. They were loved by God and forgiven, why is it SO hard for us to accept that God has forgiven us and loved us too? Paul said 'What I do not want to do, I do and what I want to do, I struggle to do'. Paul sinned like all of us, he didn't want to but he did, and still God forgave him, just as God will forgive us.

It's so hard for us to understand the concept of unconditional love and salvation. We always feel the need to prove ourselves, but we don't need to. All we need is to cling to Christ.

We need to get it through our thick skulls that God loves us NO MATTER WHAT. We mess up, we fail, and still He loves us. I mess up, I fail and still He loves me, no matter what. Awesome huh?

He places people in our lives to remind us of this truth. In the last year alone He has done so much for me. Everytime I really get upset, He places someone in the position to remind me of Him and His love.

I still mess up, and I need to remember to forgive myself of the things God has already forgiven me for. It hurts Him worse than it hurts myself to constantly doubt His love and forgiveness. So please remember that, no matter what you have done, your God, your father in Heaven, He LOVES you, He has forgiven you. To wallow in your own pain and doubt of your forgiveness, causes more pain for your Lord than you could possibly realise.

Every month I write an article about protecting or guarding. Well, to be honest with you I never really understood what that meant until this month.

On Friday, June 1st I found out that I was going to be a father. I am engaged to another member on this site, Uriel. We have our first child on the way.

When I found out that I was a father, I didn't know what to think. I created life and its my responsibility to protect this precious life that I created. I need to feed this child, protect it from evil, etc...

In past articles I have written about defending yourself and your family against being killed and narcotic detectives protecting society from horrible drugs. Yes, some can protect other and us from harm...but think about it, who protected you and raised you for the first 18 years of your life? Your parents did.

Your parents are the ones who taught you about sex, drugs, and evils of this world. I would think that teaching you your morals can be "protecting" you. If they teach you not to do something, that's protecting you from doing it later on in life.

I had kind of a screwed up childhood. I lost my dad when I was 13 years old, and I hated my mother. I was miserable at the time. I had the view that my mother was "out to get me" and just trying to give me a hard time.

Little did I realize that my mother was actually protecting me. She was protecting me from starving to death, being homeless, etc...

Now that I am a parent, I am starting to realize what my parents did for me and gave up for me when I was growing up. I love my mother to death and I miss my dad, but I now have a whole new deeper understanding of the things that they have done for me. Pray for your parents, thank them every day and tell them "I love you". You will never understand the things that they have done for you until you have a child of your own. On the day I found out I was a father, I felt my life and priorities instantly change... One day when you become a parent, the same will happen for you.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As well you know, abortion has been a constant issue in the past couple of decades. I am here to sway no opinions. I am here to state the facts of having a child, and what is deprived of you and your family when you proceed with this procedure. I am also going to state the negatives as well.

So it all begins with you and your partner being irresponsible and careless, you have something happen to you that changes your life completely. You probably won't get to do the things you want to do right away. You probably feel like you are the only person in your situation or has ever been. You feel like you made the wrong choice. You know it's too late to go back now. Then, 9 months of pregnancy(uncomfortable I might add) later, you're in the delivery room. You give birth. It's the most unimaginable pain you could ever fathom. The nurse wipes he/she off and wraps them in a blanket. She hands him/her to you. You look into your child's eyes. And you see something more beautiful than you could ever imagine.

And you feel love. More love than you could ever feel for anything or anyone in the world. And then he/she looks up at you. Even though, this child, this wonderful being, has caused a damper on things in your life, you fall in love. You fall in love with your child.

And then you realize, this is child is truly yours. This soft, beautiful, innocent, high maintenance, fussy and the whole responsibility package, baby is yours. And no one can take that away from you. You helped create something breathtaking. Something alive. A privilege that makes us special. We have a special bond with our offspring unlike most animals. This special bond will be with you for the rest of your days. Imagine. You get to spend everyday of the next 18-20 years with something you gave life to.

In my opinion, in the end, through all the morning sickness, the gaining weight, the back pain, the extreme hot flashes, the cramping, the cravings, the financial stress, the extreme pain, the diapers, the breast feeding, the 3am wake up calls, the terrible two year olds, the potty training, the discipline, the energy, the time, the money, the patience, the arguing, the bickering, the things said that are not meant, the teenage drama, etc. all mean something to me. Nothing in life is easy. It never has been.

But what about the fun part of having a child? Why is it such a negative thing to have a baby now a days?

What about the first time your child smiles at you? Or the first time he/she can sit up by themself?

What about the crawling, the laughing and drooling, the first step, being able to walk, the first day of preschool, teaching them how to be the man/woman they are supposed to be, teaching them how to ride their first bike, tucking them in at night reading a bedtime story, showing them how to take care of themselves, teaching them about life, holding their hand when you cross the street, hearing them tell you they love you over and over, watching them go to their first day of kindergarten, watching his first at bat in the little league or her first dance recital, their first day of middle school, their 16th birthday, having conversations at the dinner table, playing games and going places together, being together as a family, being supportive in his/her activities and interests, getting their driver's license, driving their own car, their 18th birthday, seeing them graduate from high school, helping pack their stuff for college, missing them, missing them more, sending them money when they are broke, watching them build their career, watching them get married and start their own life.

This "dumb fetus" is more than just potential for all of the above and more, this child is more than you can ever imagine. More than you could ever hope for. More than you could ever know without a first hand experience. Knowing that you helped them achieve all these great things by showing them that you love them is the most important thing, in my opinion.

And with all the positive things that come from having a child, it seems to me that the experience is well worth the negatives.

Because your child will grow up knowing what you teach them. And they will thank God for you being there for them everyday. And sometimes they may say things to you that feels like a knife in your heart and sometimes they will say things that melt your heart. But they will always love you. It's hard to break a bond so strong. It's a give and take bond between the parents and children.

And even though when they are young adults they don't realize it, but you are doing what you think is best for them. And what is best for the child is what is important. You may think I am bringing the emotional aspects into the debate. So be it.

This is life. Everything I listed is reality. If you can't handle reality, that sucks for you. You're in for a rude awakening.

Life is the most precious gift we could recieve. We have a chance to make ourselves known in the human race. We have the ability to create life. As for myself, I am a Christian and I do believe in God. God(or whatever you believe) gave us the gift of creation. WE ARE ABLE TO CREATE LIFE.

How is that not the greatest thing ever? To see someone take their first breath, knowing it was only possible because of you and your partner. Even if you don't believe in God, it's no different. Life is the same in every religion. Precious. And of course for those of you that don't have a religion, just think about how important it is to you that you are healthy, here, and ALIVE.

Life is a wonderful, topsy-turvy, dramatic, stressful, tragic, exciting, angstrom, serious, cruel, amazing, crazy, mixed-up, bipolar, psychotic, bittersweet, romantic, loving, caring, ecstatic, heart wrenching, breathtaking, bizarre, odd, merry-go-round of experience.

Do you all realize how great life is? Do you realize how lucky you are to be in your shoes?

There is nothing greater than existence.

Just seriously sit down and think the next time you say you want to die. Consider it really hard.

Do you really want to give up the greatest possible gift? Do you really want to die? They didn't.

Your child doesn't. You are stealing their chance at life. You are taking away from them what you truly value and what all humans value. But they did not have the chance to speak up and fight for their lives.
They did not have the chance to debate why they deserve the right to live.

They can't. Which is why we SHOULD. Don't take away the only chance that child has at the greatest opportunity in the universe.
Existence.

Because if you do, more than likely you will never forget it, and you may never forgive yourself.

God will forgive you, but I can't say something else will come out of it.

When my aunt was about 20 years old, she had an abortion. She tells me to this day about how much she regrets it. God forgave her of course, but she was also punished in my opinion. Because when she got married later down the road and wanted to have children, she could not bear them anymore. She, herself knows that it was a punishment.

Point being, killing your child is not only horrible, but also risky. It's very hard on your body, ladies. You may be taking the chance to never have the gift of having children again. You may not care, but God cares. And he will not forget.

He is always watching over us.

Total apathy is like living in a hole, with nothing and no one. You're in this hole, and the only thing that matters is that you stay in this hole, because outside of this hole, you have to deal with life, and who needs to bother with life?

I lived in this figurative hole, recently, for about six months. I had amassed a huge pile of debt and bills. I couldn't cope with being an adult. I hated the fact that my friends were leaving, that I was leaving, that things were changing. It seemed like nothing would ever be good again, and I got so detached from everything that I tried to end my life, and I crashed my car on an empty highway one August evening. Obviously, I lived, and I added a few more bills to the pile. I lost my license, and had an annoying case of whiplash and a bruised sternum for a few weeks.

I went off to college a week later, and thought things would be better away from home. I had a few part-time jobs, but I also discovered that alcohol has this superb ability: it can make a person forget about their problems. So instead of paying my bills, I bought alcohol and drowned in it several times a week. I half-heartedly tried to do well in class, but eventually, I stopped caring about that as well. As long as I had a party and a bottle to look forward to, nothing else bothered me. This went on for four months, and at the end of the semester, I found that I couldn't afford a second semester. I dropped out.

I lived at home for a few months, leeching off my parents. My health deteriorated; the bills and late fees piled up; the collectors called endlessly. I didn't care. I ignored it all, and spent my days wasting time.

I wish I could say something triggered some sort of brilliant epiphany, but nothing did. One day, I woke up and decided to get healthy. A few weeks later, I decided to get a job. And I eventually realized that I was feeling useful. I was getting healthy, paying the bills, doing something constructive. I get frustrated, annoyed, depressed. But I keep going, and the next day or week, I feel better. My health is better than it's been in years; I'm going back to school in the fall; and my bills will be fully paid off by January of 2008. And I'm happier now than I've been in a long time, which is what I aim for in life: to be happier than I was yesterday.

Okay so here we go, my first Angel message. I have chosen quite a sad topic but it is something that affects most of us at some point in our life. Depression may be something that affects us for maybe a day or two, but sometimes it is more serious.

There is a big difference in Depression and Clinical Depression. Symptoms of Clinical Depression can be feeling tired, sad, irritable, lazy, unmotivated, or apathetic. Some people who have clinical depression may not even realize it. This is why people need to be more considerate of people's feelings.

Sigmund Freud, a very famous psychologist, looked into depression. In his works he stated that both depression and clinical depression can be cured by the person accepting things the way they are. For example, after the loss of a loved one it is essential for the person to move away from the loved one and concentrate on other relationships. After the person has accepted this, they will be able to move on and not feel so bad. This is why people need help to get them through these times. And we should always be there willing to help.

There are many different reasons someone may be depressed. Each one may be seen as a trivial reason, but people need to remember that it may be trivial to you, but it is causing that person a lot of sadness and should be taken seriously.

Sadness can force people to do things which others do not understand. Suicide/Attempted Suicide is one of them. Its time people took this more serious. There are many people who lie and don't take suicide seriously. Then there are people who actually suffer and are not taken seriously.

Depression is not a sign or madness. People need help and we should give it. These people should not be isolated or left to feel alone, no matter how well you know them people should always be there to help. Do you help people you see on the streets? Do you ask people you do not even know who are crying if they are okay?

The point I am trying to make is that people sometimes do not take people seriously, when they say they are depressed. It should be taken seriously and people should care more about other people, we should always be there to help each other.