Distance from God

I have come to some serious conclusions and realizations in the past few weeks. They're a bit of a break through or simply running into the same wall over and over and finally I've gotten sick of hitting my head.

This last Saturday my parents held our monthly church "get-together" at our house and I was blessed to have my dear friend Courtney stay over the weekend. It was very refreshing to be edified by her company (we stayed up way too late one night just reading the Bible and discussing the like). In the past 12 months my life has been so busy and has taken so many turns and twists that my spiritual growth has slowly dwindled down 'til in all reality it was next to nothing. Needless to say I've had to deal with some pretty serious mountains that I wasn't expecting and it wasn't that I turned away from God but I didn't trust in his guidance to help me through my struggles as much as I should and could have.
Therefore recently as I noticed my lack of spiritual growth I decided I'd had enough and I wasn't going to continue in this pattern (which was only making my struggles worse).
Sooooo... when Courtney spent the weekend with me it was like God just happened to bring her to me to encourage me challenge me to "fight the good fight" (1 Timothy 6:12).

Also some really good friends that I hadn't seen in a long time came to the party. It was four guys who've been attending a Bible College in South Dakota and they happened to be in the area and came. Anyways there was a large group of us young adults playing Apples to Apples when they arrived and of course they joined in the game. But throughout the course of the game there were some jokes now and then about one of the cards that could be view with a double perspective. Sure they were "harmless" enough, and none of us meant anything by it. But when these guys didn't join in and actually maintained and defended a pure attitude it really got my attention.
That's when I realized how immature and unholy my thoughts have been as well as the attitude of some of my good friends that I hang out with on a regular basis. It's because we have allowed each other as a group to slowly progress into towards a more vulgar way of thinking which comes out, naturally, in our speech.

So I have made a decision to stop allowing myself to compromise my relationship with God for a few cheap laughs and momentarily gratifying and cheap, worldly amusements. I know it will be a fight back to a closer walk with God but it will be well worth the struggle.

Galatians 5:1
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.