163: Why “Friendship Matters” (Solo Episode 28) with Rebekah Hargraves (Friendship Matters Series #1)

 

Today we kick off a brand new solo podcast series, and I could not be more excited! My last solo series was based on my book, Lies Moms Believe, and this new one will be based on a book I co-authored with my dear friend, Amber Durgan, entitled “Friendship Matters: Cultivating Meaningful Connections in an Isolated World”.  Let’s get started!

What I Chat about in Today’s Episode:

~God’s design for friendship; how the need for community and fellowship is woven into our DNA and how Genesis 2:18 proves this

~The current epidemic of loneliness we’re seeing now and the adverse ramifications of it

~Loneliness as a mental health problem

~Following God’s design by prioritizing and pursuing friendship

~The reality that it not being good for man to be alone is a concept taught throughout Scripture and is a principle that goes beyond merely the topic of marriage to include the topic of friendship, as well

~God’s various purposes for friendship  and the needs friendship is meant to address

~The striking similarities between Genesis 2:18 and Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

~Jesus’ example to us of how and why to pursue and initiate friendship

~The Triune nature of God and what it means for us that God is, Himself, in community

~Love as being one of the telltale signs of true friendship

~God’s design for His body, the Church, to live in community with one another

~The implications of Ephesians 3:18-19 on friendship and its importance

~God’s character and our design

~God’s heart for friendship

~And more!

Resources Mentioned

Offer for a free audiobook and 30 day trial membership from Audible: www.audibletrial.com/HomeandHearth

Previous Solo Podcast Episodes

 

QUOTES TO REMEMBER:

“God has always known better. His design from the very beginning of time was for us to live in community – in friendship, side by side, walking through life together with our fellow image bearers. We may think that we are too busy for friendship or that community isn’t all that important, but that lie is leading to the dip in mental health and rise in loneliness that we have been seeing for years now but really only began to pay attention to during the season of quarantine. God has always been about the work of protecting us from such a terrible burden of loneliness – if only we would follow His design.”

“Someone being alone is viewed by God as something that is ‘not good’, while someone enjoying partnership is deemed to be ‘very good’. The problem, however, is that we have stunted our understanding of all that God is attempting to teach us in Genesis 2:18 because we have viewed this passage to be merely pertaining to marriage. It can apply to marriage certainly, but the proclamation that it is not good for man to be alone is a principle that does not just apply to marriage. Rather, here in this passage at the beginning of Scripture, God illustrates a point that He then weaves throughout the entirety of Scripture: none of us is meant to do life alone.”

“God designed us to be communal, walking through life together in fellowship with those whom we can encourage and be encouraged by through each of life’s various seasons.”

“The similarities between Genesis 2:18 and Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 are striking. Not only is community meant to bolster, support, and help you in your work, but friendship is also designed by God for the good of our mental, emotional, and physical health and well-being.”

“Throughout the four gospels we see Jesus walking in close friendship with His disciples, day in and day out, for the entire three years of His public ministry. This is important to point out because, as God, Jesus could have chosen to go through the days of His public ministry alone. Omnipotent and omniscient, He had all He technically needed in His relationship with the Father. He didn’t have to prioritize earthly friendships, too. But He did. And I believe that at least in part, this was to serve as an example and reminder for all of us as to how desperately we need each other and how important it is for us to have friendship, community, and support as we go throughout the work of our own daily lives.”

“God did not individually save us in Christ for us to then go off by ourselves and live a completely solitary lifestyle. That has never been His intention – and never will be! – because it goes against His very nature and character.”

“Genesis 1 and 2 show us God’s design for men and women – that they would not be alone, but instead would walk through life in fellowship together. Then sin entered. But, even so, friendship and community remained a crucial and important part of God’s design for His people. Ecclesiastes 4 confirms for us the effects of the fall but illustrates also how friendship is to be there to help us walk through this sin-cursed world and enable us to come out the other side stronger. Then, in the final book of the Bible, Revelation, we read of people from every nation, tribe, and tongue gathering themselves all around the throne, together for eternity, God’s beautiful design will at that point be restored, with His people gathered together in heaven forever.”

“Our God is a triune God operating in community, and we were created in His image. That means, then, that we, too, were created to desire and operate in the context of community. Friendship is not a frivolous thing. It is in our very DNA itself.”

“God’s heart beats for community, for friendship, for fellowship, and for us to build up and be built up for others, all for the sake of their – and our own!- well-being, His glory, and the advancement of His kingdom. That is what is at stake when we choose to allow busyness or a fear of vulnerability or any other excuse to drown out our pursuit of friendship. It’s that serious.”

 

WHERE YOU CAN FIND REBEKAH ONLINE:

Websites – Hargraves Home and Hearth

Instagram –@rebekahhargraves

Facebook – Hargraves Home and Hearth 

Twitter – @hhomeandhearth

Podcast – Home and Hearth Podcast

 

To Leave a Rating and Review on iTunes Have you been encouraged or inspired by today’s episode? If so, could I ask a little favor? If you could leave the podcast a rating and review in iTunes, that would be amazing! The more ratings and reviews a podcast receives, the more iTunes shows that podcast to other folks searching for shows to listen to, so by leaving me a rating and review, you truly are partnering with me in this podcast ministry to encourage and help as many women as we possibly can. Thank you so much for taking the time to do that! Here’s how: If you’re on your computer:

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