Monday, February 25, 2008

My Party

You know you have a great friend when your relationship causes you to want to be a better man. I am blessed with such friends; men of God who love truth and love me.

Some time ago we noticed that our birthdays follow each other, month after month, from November through February. Because of this, we decided we needed to throw ourselves a party and celebrate all of our birthdays together in the month of February. And so, each year, for several years now, we have had a party in February to celebrate all of our birthdays/friendships.

At first we started out getting different people to cook for us. How we managed to convince people to let us just show up, eat, and leave is totally beyond me? We also decided that we would draw names and exchange gifts. Cool gifts- the type of gifts that you want but might not get from your Mom, Aunt, Dad, Wife, etc.

The last few years I have taken up the job of cooking a meal for our party. There is only one rule- something unique, something different. This year I decided to have a Caribbean style meal. We had Chicken St. Lucia, Grilled Asparagus & Mango, and Citrus Marmalade with Hawaiian Sweet Bread.

This year was a little different. Different because I did not know- in spite of some ‘slip-ups’, that my friends were planning on giving me all the gifts and making the party just for me. Why? Probably for many reasons- and maybe even some reasons they don’t even know about; however, whatever the reason, they once again did what great friends do- they made me realize just how necessary it is for me to be a better man.

That probably wasn’t their goal. But it is what happens with great friends. They push you to be better than you are. They challenge you to be strong and courageous. They make you see that life is more than just about you and your situation. They cause you to look through the mirror and help you focus on the most important things in life. They love. They give.

I wanted to share some pictures with you of our ‘friendship’ party- my surprise party. I hope you enjoy.



11 comments:

Michelle said...

Yummy, that food is making me hungry! Glad you had a great birthday party and that you have been blessed with such wonderful friends.

Karla said...

Whew! I'm so glad this year has passed. LOL! I'm sure it's been quite obvious that I ignored your question about who's name you had drawn. I'm so glad they were able to do this for you. You definitely deserved this wonderful surprise!!

Mandy said...

Happy Birthday!!! To all of you guys! The does say it is more blessed to give than to recieve I am sure that they all found the joy in that truth this year! I too am glad it's over!!! For reasons probably similiar to Sis. Karla's. I am glad you all got to be together and enjoy a wonderful time!!!

Karen Prince said...

Wow! What a feast! I enjoyed your post and the pictures! What a blessing to be blessed by good friends!

Lynn said...

I thought that 'Black' ruled?? I KNOW that was the only color I saw left on the board.

Roxana said...

I'm glad you guys had a good time and that they love you enough to gang up on you like that!

Next time I'm in WF, I'm offically inviting myself over for dinner...or whatever meal you will cook for me:} Looks great!! 0Don't worry, I haven't been there since 92!:{

Joseph James said...

Roxana- you most certainly may come over for dinner! lol

Sis. Karla- I was fully prepared to give you a 'tongue lashing' for dropping the ball and ignoring me until Trevon took the heat and gave me some sob story about how he really couldn't afford anything this year... so I let it go! ...but shame on you anyway!

Mandy- guess what? They played it so well that I still didn't know what was going on... even though someone I know sorta slipped up. Wonder who that could be?

Lynn- a picture is worth a thousand words... unless you have proof to back it up...

Everyone else- (I had to leave a reply for ya'll as well) thanks for the comments and kind words... I am very blessed.

Keith and Carla said...

What a meal! My birthday is coming up in March (hint, hint).

Madison S. said...

All I want to know is why are you not a chef???? That dinner looked soooo yummy! Do you cater??? I am glad the guys spoiled you this year you do deserve it! It is more blessed to give than receive. And the guys really out did themselves.

Katrina Holmes (Tina) said...

Hi Joseph,
I really enjoyed reading your blog. A few of the comments you made in this post I thought were so good that I am going to post them on my blog. I hope this is okay with you.

Joseph James said...

No problem at all... I appreciate the comment. Thanks for 'dialogueing' lol