When you live your days surrounded by wealth and affluence, as most Americans do, it can be really hard to live radically for Christ. I mean it's hard enough to step out in faith and to live differently than almost everyone around you. It's harder still when you feel like you're in it all alone.

Well, each day I thank my sweet Jesus that Dan and I are not on this crazy journey alone. Not even close. The Lord has been so good and so gracious to provide us with a group of friends that walks with us every step of the way.

In fact, if you think the Owens are crazy, you should meet our friends...

Some of our best friends recently gave away their car. Why? Well, there was a family in need.

Some other friends recently completed an adoption through the US foster care system, which is seriously no easy feat in the state of Georgia... only to turn around and almost immediately begin the process of adopting internationally.

We have friends who have quietly given truly, truly outrageous and sacrifical amounts of money in support of the work SixtyFeet is doing in Uganda.

We're friends with a pastor who moved his young family into one of the roughest, toughest neighborhoods in the city of Atlanta in order to more effectively minister to the people who live there.

We're friends with two other young pastors who walked away from their nice, cushy, secure jobs at an Atlanta mega-church because they felt God calling them to plant a little church in northwest Atlanta (which the Owens are now part of and the Owens love dearly).

We have friends who are spending their own money, giving a big chunk of their time and leaving behind their own children for a week to accompany me to Uganda when I travel over to complete our adoption.

It's such an understatment to say that our friends are a blessing to Dan and me. Because Christ is the foundation of our friendship, our friends always encourage us in our walk with Him. They love us, support us, laugh and cry with us but even more -- they challenge us, hold us accountable and speak truth to us when we're out of line. We praise God for our friends. Without them we would not be nearly as crazy or nearly as close to the Lord as we are today.

We recently had the privlege of spending a long weekend at the beach with several of these awesome families. These are life-long, forever friendships and we're just so blessed to do life with these precious and awesome people.

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work; If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!" -- Ecc 4:9-10