“We must reflect that, when we reach the end of “We must reflect that, when we reach the end of our days, our life experience will equal what we have paid attention to, whether by choice or default. We are at risk, without quite fully realizing it, of living lives that are less our own than we imagine.” William James

With the help of God, may we strive to become abiding and attentive people instead of distracted and defeated people.
The entire thing is He loved me first. And even wh The entire thing is He loved me first. And even when our surroundings are burning or when all we see is rubble, there is an unseen Kingdom to serve, a Family to be part of, and a powerful Love to give and receive. 

Every week it seems I’m inspired by a comment a friend and pastor made years ago — “Don’t be afraid to talk to someone about the truth of Jesus. Think of it as joining a conversation God might already be having with that person.” 

May we be conduits of that strong, courageous, welcoming, comforting, healing, transforming, sustaining, peacemaking, eternal Love. Or as Bernice King said, “Love puts in work.”
Call it ‘a Sunday stroll in Appling.’ Call it ‘a Sunday stroll in Appling.’
“God is always coming to you in the sacrament of “God is always coming to you in the sacrament of the Present Moment. Meet and receive Him there with gratitude.” Evelyn Underhill 

Such brokenness we see, such pain, such fear. Attend to Jesus — Lord, Savior, King — with all your honest thoughts and feelings, and let His power and love change you. Let Him form and re-form you into a help for the hurting, a bright spot for those in the dark, a presence for others to rest in. A ‘little Christ’ on the earth.

 ^ what I’m rehearsing to myself
Living life with the Holy Spirit — “you fulfil Living life with the Holy Spirit — “you fulfill the will of God through the inner influence of His Spirit instead of the outer influence of the law of God” (David Guzik).

This took me probably 15 years of following Jesus to grasp. It felt too easy, my willpower was my measuring stick, and the freedom was terrifying. 

But alas, God’s way is the best way, and there is no substitute for the Holy Spirit. I can’t muster spiritual fruit, but His goal, thankfully and marvelously, is vineyards and vineyards.

May we surrender this work to Him.
“The deeper our faith, the more doubt we must en “The deeper our faith, the more doubt we must endure; the deeper our hope, the more prone we are to despair; the deeper our love, the more pain its loss will bring: these are a few of the paradoxes we must hold as human beings. If we refuse to hold them in the hopes of living without doubt, despair, and pain, we also find ourselves living without faith, hope, and love.” Parker J. Palmer
I pose to you what the Holy Spirit posed to me rec I pose to you what the Holy Spirit posed to me recently: What if you made choices out of fear of missing out on God instead of fear of missing out on what others deem significant?

In all honesty, FOMO sneaks up on me not along paths of a friend’s travel adventures or home decor or even if friends hang out without me. My FOMO animal comes in the form of popular and effective Christian voices. Because of technology and social media, I have access, though not complete (because we’re not actual friends), to their lives and ministry, their work and the personality they choose to share online. While a good thing in many ways, it stops being good when it becomes an avalanche I can’t keep up with but am afraid to stop.

// new blog post: FOMO on God //
zoom zoom zoom zoom
Like Anna plays in my presence, like she comes to Like Anna plays in my presence, 
like she comes to me when she gets hurt,
like she wants to be held when she’s sick,
like she unashamedly + honestly feels any and every range of emotion with me, 
like she never corrects or censors or judges herself before coming to me, 
like she trusts me to love and care and accept her always... 
so it can be and is for me with God my Father. 

What a delightful way to be with Him! Don’t hold back — disappointment, confusion, happiness, sadness, longings. Give Him access to you, as you are right now, and find rest and love for your soul.
  • faith
  • marriage
  • motherhood
  • lifestyle
  • creative
  • books
  • home
  • beautycounter
  • Join Our Team
  • Posts
    • Clothe Yourself With
    • Joy Triggers
    • Perspectives
    • Truth To Consider
    • Reading and Listening
  • about
  • Favorites
  • contact

chelsea eubank

refreshment for the journey

  • Posts
    • Clothe Yourself With
    • Joy Triggers
    • Perspectives
    • Truth To Consider
    • Reading and Listening
  • about
  • Favorites
  • contact

lifestyle, relationships · 03/09/2015

Ways To Stay Close To Your BFF When She’s Hours Away

Ways To Stay Close To Your BFF When She's Hours Away | heartnatured

My best friend and I are in different states, miles away from each other, amidst the whirlwind that is our lives. For me, it’s marriage and a full-time job, for her it’s graduate school, a job, relationship, and new puppy. We’ve now only recently settled into our long-distance relationship, which takes a good bit more intention for catching up. I’m super happy for her, extremely proud of who she is and what she’s doing, and am thankful to call her my best friend. Naturally, the last thing I want is for our relationship to dissolve into solely Instagram likes and the occasional text. I want us to remain close, I want us to know details of each other’s weeks, things to pray about, etc. I find an important thing is to keep sharing experiences together, new especially. I’ve been brainstorming some ideas for staying super-tight, even though we’re far apart.

Send letters and fun cards – A favorite of mine, I really dig snail mail. And cheering people up with a funny, ridiculous, or sweet card.

Deliver small gifts or care packages – Etsy is my go-to for this kind of thing… or Target for candy and snacks. I’ll find something I think she’ll really like, and mail it to her. I’ve yet to the do a true ‘like we’re back at camp’ care package, but I’ve got the itch.

Start a challenge together – Exercise, time away from the computer, time outside, reading a book, finding the most creative recipe, etc.

Leave fun voicemails – I usually am not one to leave voicemails, but I’ve found it fun to leave a random, silly, story-telling voicemail on my bff’s answering machine.

Trades links to articles and quirky web finds – MB and I are back and forth with random, fun, interesting links to each other. Whether it be the topic of Jesus, Gilmore Girls, clothes, or current events, we share a lot. It’s great.

Have a best friend in another state? What do you guys do to stay in touch?

In: lifestyle, relationships

receive posts to your inbox

You’ll Also Love

how I plan on living more fully
lately | stories and graces
What I’ve Learned… from family beach trips.

Comments

  1. Alexandria says

    03/09/2015 at 6:51 pm

    My best friend decided to up and move to Ohio. It’s been a tough transition, but we try to text each other everyday, make a call once a week, and Skype at very least once a month! We also love sending surprise gifts to each other. It’s hard because she’s now considering moving back home, and I’m getting ready to move abroad. I’m so close to convincing her to go with me.

  2. Elizabeth T says

    03/09/2015 at 7:05 pm

    These are such great ideas! My best friend currently lives in Wisconsin (I live in Hawaii) and I’ve noticed lately that the long distance has really been getting to us. These ideas are genius though–I’m definitely going to be starting some of these with her. Thanks for the inspiration!

  3. Grady says

    03/09/2015 at 8:39 pm

    My best friends and I are having a fun time keeping in touch at the moment because I am getting married, so the group of us ladies has a facebook group that gets updated every so often.

    I’m loving these, tips, though! Since once I’m married, it’s not likely we’ll stay super active with that group!

  4. Monica says

    03/10/2015 at 5:42 am

    I met my best friends in college and now we are spread out all over the U.S. all in different phases of our lives much like you and your best friend. We have not been good at all about keeping up with each other except for the off-chance that we’re in the same city for the holidays. I feel like it becomes more difficult to maintain these long-distance friendships the older we get (and then eventually add kids into the mix and the difficulty increases ten-fold!). The ideas you listed and getting in the habit of making time is such a great idea! (Not too late for me to implement!)

  5. alyssa says

    03/10/2015 at 3:10 pm

    I have two close girlfriends who will be moving away in the next 2 years and one who already has and it’s hard. I take forever to make good friends and so it kills me to see them moving away, but I love this list. I will definitely be saving it for later.

  6. Morgan says

    03/11/2015 at 3:11 pm

    Great tips! My best friend and I are currently in the same state, but different cities. For the last 2 years, however, she was in Singapore! That was tough because the times were so opposite, and packages were pricey! These are fantastic tips for staying in touch better. Thank you!

  7. Elizabeth says

    03/11/2015 at 4:22 pm

    My best friend and I literally live across the country from one another. She’s in California, I’m about to move to Florida. When she first moved, almost 3 years ago, it took a solid year for us to figure out how to keep our friendship strong and relevant to our lives as they were happening. What we do now is talk at least once a week on the phone/facetime. I call or text her anytime I feel the need to tell her something important, and if she doesn’t answer I leave her a funny and dramatic voicemail. I love to send letters and little surprises in the mail, so I do that occasionally. But most of all, it simply takes the commitment of two friends and being intentional to stay in touch- just like in any relationship. Love your tips also!

  8. Chelsea B.E. says

    03/11/2015 at 7:09 pm

    I have loved reading all of your tidbits and stories of best-friendship! Thanks for visiting and leaving your thoughts. I realized recently how special having a true best friend is, and I know you all can relate.

  9. elizabeth says

    03/17/2015 at 5:57 pm

    Yes! Lots of mail and random funny texts!!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Next Post >

My Weekend According To My iPhone

I'm Chelsea... a wife, mom and friend who enjoys all things peanut butter, clean beauty, the written word, and a good sports movie. This is my place to share real life and Biblical encouragement to draw us all to deeper joy in God. Pull up your favorite internet browser and stay awhile!

Search

Time Machine

Series

  • Clothe Yourself With
  • Joy Triggers
  • Perspectives
  • Truth To Consider
  • Current Read
  • Reading and Listening
“We must reflect that, when we reach the end of “We must reflect that, when we reach the end of our days, our life experience will equal what we have paid attention to, whether by choice or default. We are at risk, without quite fully realizing it, of living lives that are less our own than we imagine.” William James

With the help of God, may we strive to become abiding and attentive people instead of distracted and defeated people.
The entire thing is He loved me first. And even wh The entire thing is He loved me first. And even when our surroundings are burning or when all we see is rubble, there is an unseen Kingdom to serve, a Family to be part of, and a powerful Love to give and receive. 

Every week it seems I’m inspired by a comment a friend and pastor made years ago — “Don’t be afraid to talk to someone about the truth of Jesus. Think of it as joining a conversation God might already be having with that person.” 

May we be conduits of that strong, courageous, welcoming, comforting, healing, transforming, sustaining, peacemaking, eternal Love. Or as Bernice King said, “Love puts in work.”
Call it ‘a Sunday stroll in Appling.’ Call it ‘a Sunday stroll in Appling.’
“God is always coming to you in the sacrament of “God is always coming to you in the sacrament of the Present Moment. Meet and receive Him there with gratitude.” Evelyn Underhill 

Such brokenness we see, such pain, such fear. Attend to Jesus — Lord, Savior, King — with all your honest thoughts and feelings, and let His power and love change you. Let Him form and re-form you into a help for the hurting, a bright spot for those in the dark, a presence for others to rest in. A ‘little Christ’ on the earth.

 ^ what I’m rehearsing to myself
Living life with the Holy Spirit — “you fulfil Living life with the Holy Spirit — “you fulfill the will of God through the inner influence of His Spirit instead of the outer influence of the law of God” (David Guzik).

This took me probably 15 years of following Jesus to grasp. It felt too easy, my willpower was my measuring stick, and the freedom was terrifying. 

But alas, God’s way is the best way, and there is no substitute for the Holy Spirit. I can’t muster spiritual fruit, but His goal, thankfully and marvelously, is vineyards and vineyards.

May we surrender this work to Him.
“The deeper our faith, the more doubt we must en “The deeper our faith, the more doubt we must endure; the deeper our hope, the more prone we are to despair; the deeper our love, the more pain its loss will bring: these are a few of the paradoxes we must hold as human beings. If we refuse to hold them in the hopes of living without doubt, despair, and pain, we also find ourselves living without faith, hope, and love.” Parker J. Palmer
I pose to you what the Holy Spirit posed to me rec I pose to you what the Holy Spirit posed to me recently: What if you made choices out of fear of missing out on God instead of fear of missing out on what others deem significant?

In all honesty, FOMO sneaks up on me not along paths of a friend’s travel adventures or home decor or even if friends hang out without me. My FOMO animal comes in the form of popular and effective Christian voices. Because of technology and social media, I have access, though not complete (because we’re not actual friends), to their lives and ministry, their work and the personality they choose to share online. While a good thing in many ways, it stops being good when it becomes an avalanche I can’t keep up with but am afraid to stop.

// new blog post: FOMO on God //
zoom zoom zoom zoom
Like Anna plays in my presence, like she comes to Like Anna plays in my presence, 
like she comes to me when she gets hurt,
like she wants to be held when she’s sick,
like she unashamedly + honestly feels any and every range of emotion with me, 
like she never corrects or censors or judges herself before coming to me, 
like she trusts me to love and care and accept her always... 
so it can be and is for me with God my Father. 

What a delightful way to be with Him! Don’t hold back — disappointment, confusion, happiness, sadness, longings. Give Him access to you, as you are right now, and find rest and love for your soul.
Just a girl bumping her New Years’ goal of wakin Just a girl bumping her New Years’ goal of waking up early to February as she reaches her 10th day of coronavirus quarantine.

I’ll keep the details to myself, but I do have to acknowledge the generosity and availability and kindness of our family and friends. They’ve brought us meals, groceries, medicine, and @maghjohnson, IN MICHIGAN, sent us a Door Dash gift card for a pizza. I could cry over the love. @audreyhealy5 @kgmartin521 @ansley.c.evans @nm_wilson @klb418

Also, even though today was the first day I had the energy to walk it, I’ve never been more thankful for our long driveway. Sunshine is the JAM. 

To everyone who has had COVID or will get it, our experience will of course be different, but— solitary, friends, solidarity. And grace upon grace.

Listening

  • Knowing Faith
  • Home Fires
  • Gospel In Life
  • Be The Bridge

Your skin is your body's largest organ. How are you caring for it?

Let's talk clean beauty.

Reading

  • Isabel Wilkerson
  • Adam Alter
  • Elisabeth Elliot
  • Justin McRoberts & Scott Erickson

Copyright © 2021 chelsea eubank · Theme by 17th Avenue