Seasons come and go. It seems cliche but it’s what we start to expect as we get older. Another humid fall in Florida and one of the most active hurricane seasons in history have many ready for this season to be over. Hurricane Ophelia became the 10th tropical cyclone in a row to reach hurricane status (since Franklin). That is something that hasn't happened since 1893 when Grover Cleveland was in The White House, 124 years ago. For the past few weeks I’ve been a part of a men’s leadership group meeting on Monday mornings at 6:00am. The emphasis is making the most of the influence we have each been given while maintaining a perspective that our time is limited. Time is a precious commodity and we are each equally allotted the same 24 hours in a day, never knowing when we’ll encounter our last 24. This week Pastor Darryl presented the four levels of friendship because who you are with today is who you will become tomorrow. True friends, not those who simply share a common interest (Level 1), prioritize our needs (Level 2), or even guard our secrets (Level 3), the Level 4 friend is loyal and will suffer with you through the joys AND pains in life. It’s not a convenient friendship, it’s committed, and it takes time to develop. I appreciated the reminder early Monday after spending the past weekend with Wes, Tiffany and Lauren in High Point, NC. We attended the largest furnishings trade show in the world where we had access to the latest trends, new releases, workshops, keynote speakers, and more. With everything at our fingertips my greatest takeaway was the time we were able to spend together, a Jones-Hinton weekend. And while it wasn’t relaxing in the sense of a “getaway weekend”, I appreciated the meaningful time and conversations we had. Not the conversation about products and trends but the conversations about our faith, marriages, and the intentionality (or lack of) we were applying. If you have spent any time around the four of us, you know how dynamic and contrasting each of our personalities can be. If you were sitting near our table Thursday night you may have even questioned our love for each other. But that is the beautiful thing about genuine friendship - you open up and communicate at a level that isn’t “normal”. Level 4 friendships challenge you to be better, to be accountable, and stretches you to another level. According to Jim Rohn, “we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with”, which means we have to invest the right relationships. Walking out Monday morning we were reminded to audit our friendships and make time for a friend. If we don’t feel like we have the time, we need to make an excuse to make time for a friend. So who is the one friend you need to make time for this week? One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. - Proverbs 18:24