Morning by Morning, July 31 - "Through the Fire"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. You are One with the Father and One with the Holy Spirit. Be One within me, as I keep entrusting my heart and my life to You -- morning by morning and moment by moment each day.  ...

 

"But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel:  'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.... Since you are precious in My sight, you have been honored, and I have loved you.... Fear not, for I Am with you'" (Isaiah 43:1-5 NKJV).

 

Our hearts and prayers join with all those crying out to You for all those facing the fury of these wildfires burning across California. Lord, send Your rain, send Your wind, send Your angels, send Your word! And in the midst of it all -- the shock, the trauma, the fear, and the devastating loss of life and nature and belongings, send Your mercy and grace, send Your people to help and warriors to pray, send Your hope to persevere through the fire! Let every fearful heart know that You are with them through all they're enduring!

 

In time, we know You'll redeem it all and even cause it all to work together for good. No doubt, new life will spring up what's been burned out by the fire. But right now, we pray for Your intervention to build a hedge of protection around Your people -- and they are all Your people You have loved and have laid down Your life to save (2 Peter 3:9).

 

Thank You for the spirit of generosity and the spirit of courage You are releasing into Your sons and daughters to be Your hands and feet with Your heart to all who are suffering. And thank You for those who will come alongside the broken and weary when the fires are ceased and for those who are already the messengers and the means of Your healing comfort and love as the fires still rage. But O Lord, hear our cry! O Lord, hear our prayers! 

 

You said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). Your Word says, "The last enemy to be destroyed is death" and that "Death has been swallowed up in victory.... Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! (1 Corinthians 15:26-56)

So we pray and we stand against the thief and all his destruction and theft and death. And we agree with the Word and the will of our Savior, the Author of life. In agreement with all You have called to pray and to stand in the authority of the mighty name of Jesus, we command these fires to burn out and cease! (Mark 11:22-24) Full of faith and without fear, may Your people persevere and prevail "though the fire!" In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, I pray you are stirred in faith to pray and to stand for every burden the Lord places on your heart, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. And please join with me in prayer for all those going through the fire in California. God bless you, my friend!

 

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, July 30 - The Harvest is Here!

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Speak Your words of spirit and life into my heart and mind. Give me ears to hear and courage to follow in faithfulness and trust.  ...

 

"He who gathers in summer is a wise son; he who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame" (Proverbs 10:5 NKJV).

 

Holy Spirit, awaken me! Stir in my heart and open my eyes to see the harvest at hand. Give me words to speak and hope to share, whether across the hall or around the world, in my neighborhood or to the nations.

 

Lord Jesus, You explained that "the harvest is the end of the age" (Matthew 13:39). And You encouraged us that "the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest" (Matthew 9:37-38).

 

My Father God, Lord of the harvest, send out Your laborers into Your harvest. It's Your harvest, not ours. But we are Your laborers who go and lead and love, just as we are Your intercessors who watch and pray and ask, all in in the name of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. 

 

Let us not sleep through Your harvest! "Sleeper, awake!" (Ephesians 5:14) You said "when the grain is ripe, at once (You will go in) with (Your) sickle, because the harvest has come" (Mark 4:26). In our generation, the grain is growing ripe as never before. It is growing into the fullness You've intended and promised (Mark 4:26-29). 

 

So there will be "a great harvest" (2 Corinthians 9:10). And I want to be a part. I want to do my part. I want to be one of Your servants and sons "found faithful" and wise, not "shameful" and "sleeping" (1 Corinthians 4:2; Proverbs 10:5). Whether I'm one of Your intercessors praying or one of Your laborers going, I want to be one who hears Your voice and obeys Your command to "look around (me), and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting!" (John 4:35) The harvest is at hand; the harvest is here! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, I pray you awake and arise to watch and pray and ask, to go and lead and love as the Holy Spirit leads into the FAther's harvest in the mighty name of Jesus! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

            

Praise Report! Preaching in Pakistan:  Friends, thank you for all your prayers, encouragement, and support for my opportunity to be preaching in an open-air evangelistic meeting in Pakistan through our Skype Internet Ministry last night (Sunday morning in Texas; Sunday night in Pakistan). Pastor Fazal and his team have just sent pictures and reported that over 300 people open their hearts to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and over 60 people testified to receiving healing and freedom from bondage and pain! Praise God for His great harvest! They will continue to followup on-site in the village.

Thank you so much for all your continued prayers, encouragement, and support for this! Each month, I will be preaching in different villages around Lahore, Pakistan in the Punjab Region through these internet meetings with an interpreter and ministry team on-site. Please keep us in prayer for salvation, healing, deliverance, and revival in the mighty name of Jesus! God bless you!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, July 27 - A New Thing Springs Forth Today

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I call on Your name and listen for Your voice to begin my day embraced by my Father, centered in Christ, and filled with Your Holy Spirit.  ...

 

"I, I am the Lord, and besides Me there is no savior.... Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old.  I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert" (Isaiah 43:11-20).

 

You are my Savior. And I thank You for everything You have saved me from and saved me through -- from hell and through some hellish seasons, from myself and through all my selfishness, from a life focused on things that will have no lasting significance and through so many temptations to shrink back or settle for less than the fullness of all You've intended for me. 

 

Thank You for saving me -- not just in that moment as a little boy giving You my heart, but also in every moment of every day that You keep on saving me, because I am forever in need of Your love and grace. And I'll always have it, through every saving moment to come, for "the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! ... The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.... Let us lift up our hearts as well as our hands to the God in heaven.... I called on Your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit; You heard my plea.... You came near when I called on You; You said, 'Do not fear!' You have taken up my cause, O Lord, You have redeemed my life!" (Lamentations 3:22-58)

 

And while You have done so much for me, You are always "about to do a new thing" because Your mercies are "new every morning." In Your mercy and grace, in Your power and love, in Your good plans of "a future with hope" for me, Your salvation is about to "spring forth" for me again today! (Jeremiah 29:11) Give me eyes to perceive it! Give me faith to expect it! Give me the wisdom to wait for it! Give me courage to embrace it!

 

As I wait on You in these first moments of my morning, in the deep communion of worship and prayer, I can't wait to see what You will do today! I'm excited to see how You'll "make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert" to display Your glory in and through my life today, mighty Savior of my soul! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, I pray you perceive and embrace the new thing the Lord your Savior is causing to spring forth in your life today, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

            

Preaching in Pakistan. Friends, I'm excited to preaching in an open-air evangelistic meeting in Pakistan through our Skype Internet Ministry this Sunday Night. Thank you for all your prayers, encouragement, and support for this. Each month, I will be preaching in different villages around Lahore, Pakistan in the Punjab Region through these internet meetings with an interpreter and ministry team on-site. Please keep us in prayer for salvation, healing, deliverance, and revival in the mighty name of Jesus! God bless you!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, July 26 - Kind and Powerful Words

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Master, Savior, Lord and King, as best as I can and all by Your grace, I yield my will to Your will to begin my day walking with You.  ... 

"Kind words are like honey -- sweet to the soul and healthy for the body" (Proverbs 16:24 NLT). 

Anoint my words with kindness today. Speak Your words through my mouth, words of spirit and life, powerful words to encourage and comfort and edify (1 Corinthians 14:3). Sanctify my tongue to "sustain the weary with a word" (Isaiah 50:4).  

Kindness is part of Your nature, for "the Lord is just in all His ways and kind in all His doings" (Psalm 145:17). And it's a part of Your nature that You desire to express through my nature. You desire that we "show kindness and mercy to one another" as an extension of Your heart and Your words through our lives every day -- especially on the days and with the people where it's hardest to be kind and merciful (Zechariah 7:9). As you said as You walked this earth in the flesh as our example, "Love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful" (Luke 6:35-36). 

"The fruit of the Spirit is ... kindness.... If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22-25). So I need You to guide me by Your Spirit to be kind and merciful, to speak kind words, even as I am "speaking the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15). "Love is patient; love kind" (1 Corinthians 13:4). It will be sweet to the soul and healthy to the body -- for theirs and for mine. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, I pray you are anointed and guided by the Holy Spirit to speak kind and powerful words today that encourage and comfort and edify all those you encounter, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

 

            

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, July 25 - "See and Reflect the Glory of the Lord"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. I speak Your name and seek Your nature, as I begin my day embracing Your presence -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.  ...

 

"We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so that people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away. But the people's minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the Old Covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so that they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. Yes, even today when they read Moses' Writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand. But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord -- who is the Spirit -- makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image (2 Corinthians 3:13-18 NLT).

 

Spirit of the living God, come fall afresh on me, come rise up within me, come awaken me to "see and reflect the glory of the Lord." Come remove the veil of everything that would keep me from seeing and hearing and sensing the presence and power of the Lord, my God. You're the One who "makes (me) more and more like Him" as I am being "changed into His glorious image" -- morning by morning and moment by moment on my daily journey of worship and prayer.

 

Let my heart be tender and my mind be clear to hear Your voice and sense Your leading. Where my heart has grown hardened or my mind has grown dull through complacency or compromise, through passivity or rebellion, through settling for something less than the fullness of "Christ in (me), the hope of glory," come move again with a passion to persistently pursue the presence and the glory of God (Colossians 1:27). 

 

May I never stopped crying out from my spirit to Your Spirit, from deep to Deep -- every morning and throughout the moments of my day -- "Show me Your glory!" (Exodus 33:18; Psalm 42:7)  Open the eyes of my heart, for as I see You and pursue You, so I seek to become more like You (Ephesians 1:18). As You are, so am I to be, so am I to become -- "changed into Your glorious image" to "see and reflect the glory of the Lord" (1 John 4:17; 2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, I pray the Holy Spirit moves in your heart -- morning by morning and every moment of your day -- to passionately, persistently pursue the presence of the Lord and be changed into His image, as you see and reflect the glory of the Lord, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

            

Update on Preaching in Pakistan.  Friends, due to heavy rains we had to postpone our open-air evangelistic meeting in Pakistan through our Skype Internet Ministry from last Friday night until this coming weekend. Thank you for all your prayers, encouragement, and support for this. Each month, I will be preaching in different villages around Lahore, Pakistan in the Punjab Region. Please keep us in prayer for salvation, healing, deliverance, and revival in the mighty name of Jesus! God bless you!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, July 24 - "Right Beside Me"

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Lead me in the way of life in You today.  ...

 

"I bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. For You will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of Your Presence the pleasures of living with You forever!" (Psalm 16:7-11 NLT)

 

You are "right beside me."  ...

 

What if I were to live my life believing that was true?  ...

 

What if I were to live this day believing that was true? ...

 

If I truly believed You were right beside me, would I make different choices throughout the moment of my day. Would I be more secure and confident? Would I be more careful and diligent? Would I be more honest and faithful? Would I be afraid in the fear of the Lord or would I be fearless in the certainty of my Savior?

 

The truth is You are right beside me. Always (Matthew 28:20). You never leave me (Hebrews 13:5). In fact, You are within me by the indwelling of Your very Spirit (Colossians 1:27; 1 Corinthians 3:16). You always know every thought in my mind and every desire in my heart. I couldn't hide from You if I tried. They don't make fig leaves that big anymore!

 

The truth is:  "O Lord, You have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I'm far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You go before me and follow me. You place Your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand! I can never escape from Your Spirit! I can never get away from Your Presence! If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I god down to the grave, You are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there You hand will guide me, and Your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night -- but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.... And when I wake up, You are still with me!" (Psalm 139:18 NLT)

 

So no matter how it makes me feel or act, You are "right beside me" regardless. And in the light of that eternal truth, give me grace to live my life each day with a deeper awareness of that truth and Your Presence. It's a good thing. No, it's a great thing. In fact, it's a grace thing that I could never earn and never deserve, but only receive as the great gift of God that it is -- the gift of the ever-abiding Presence of my God who loves me and likes being with me! 

 

Thank You, Lord! Help me learn to appreciate You and Your Presence more. Thank You for being "right beside me" every moment of my life forever. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, I pray you live this day and every day in the growing awareness of the ever-abiding Presence of God who loves you and likes being with you, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

            

Update on Preaching in Pakistan.  Friends, due to heavy rains we had to postpone our open-air evangelistic meeting in Pakistan through our Skype Internet Ministry from last Friday night until this coming weekend. Thank you for all your prayers, encouragement, and support for this. Each month, I will be preaching in different villages around Lahore, Pakistan in the Punjab Region. Please keep us in prayer for salvation, healing, deliverance, and revival in the mighty name of Jesus! God bless you!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, July 23 - Your Kingdom Come!

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Let Your kingdom come and Your will be done -- here in my heart and every moment of my day -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.  ...

 

"For the kingdom of God is ... righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17). 

 

When You rule as King in my heart, there is righteousness in the Holy Spirit. You're setting things right -- right between me and my God, right between me and others, and right within myself.

 

When You rule as King in my heart, there is peace in the Holy Spirit. It's Your peace, not the world's peace -- peace between me and my God, peace with others, and peace within myself.

 

When You rule as King in my heart, there is joy in the Holy Spirit. It's the fullness of joy You desire me to have when my joy is made complete and the joy of the Lord is my strength -- joy between me and my God, joy with others, and joy within myself.

 

You said, "The kingdom of God is within (me)" (Luke 17:21). I need more of Your kingdom within me. I need more of Your righteousness, more of Your peace, more of Your joy. I need more of Your Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). I need more of You ruling and reigning as King in my heart. 

 

So come, Holy Spirit. You are the One who moves in my heart to manifest and advance the fullness of the kingdom of God within me -- the kingdom of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit within me. "For God is working in (me), giving (me) the desire and the power do what pleases Him" (Philippians 2:13 NLT). The more I yield and surrender, embracing Your Presence and Your plan, entrusting my heart to You and Your will, the more the kingdom of God advances in me. That's how Your kingdom comes and Your will is done, on earth (and right here in me) as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). 

 

Father God, let Your kingdom come, let Your will be done. Fill me afresh with Your Spirit, with Your righteousness and peace and joy. I open my spirit and bow my heart before You, "that the King of glory may come in!" (Psalm 24:7) Let the kingdoms of this world and the kingdom of my heart "become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!" (Revelation 11:15 NKV)  In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My friend, I pray the fullness of the kingdom of God comes in you in a fresh filling of the Presence of God with His righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, in Jesus' name! May the King of glory come into you and every are of your life! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

           

Update on Preaching in Pakistan.  Friends, due to heavy rains we had to postpone our open-fire evangelistic meeting in Pakistan through our Skype Internet Ministry from last Friday night until this coming weekend. Thank you for all your prayers, encouragement, and support for this. Each month, I will be preaching in different villages around Lahore, Pakistan in the Punjab Region. Please keep us in prayer for salvation, healing, deliverance, and revival in the mighty name of Jesus! God bless you!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!

Morning by Morning, July 20 - Forgiven and Free from Bondage and Sin!

 

Good morning, Lord Jesus. From the rising of the sun, through every moment of my day, I give You praise -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God.  ...

 

"When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that (Jesus) was at home. So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and He was speaking the word to them. Then some people came, bringing to Him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven.' Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 'Whey does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?' At once Jesus perceived in His spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves; and He said to them, 'Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Stand up and take your mat and walk'? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins' -- He said to the paralytic -- 'I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.' And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, 'We have never seen anything like this!'" (Mark 2:1-12).

 

This man was paralyzed in his body. But You didn't speak first to his body, You spoke first to his soul. You said, "Son, your sins are forgiven." He needed healing in his body, but first he needed the healing of his soul. His body was paralyzed, but so was his soul -- as paralyzed and lifeless and dead as his legs. But You came that he would have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10). You came to set him free from his paralyze and death, that You might raise him up to walk in newness of life -- "just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life!" (Romans 6:4)

 

You called this man "Son" because You are our Father, the Father of all who believe in You to forgive us from our sins and free us from death and all that would keep us bound up and crippled from embracing the fullness of life You have for us all. "To all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave power to become children of God, who were born not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:12). "For in Christ Jesus (we) are all children of God through faith" (Galatians 3:26).

 

As You spoke Your words of spirit and life into his spirit, You forgave him of his sins and freed him of his bondage. And he responded in faith. He stood up and took up his mat and walked out his faith in front of them all with great joy! The salvation of his soul began to manifest in the salvation of his body! And allwho saw it -- even the Your critics -- were amazed and glorified God! (Mark 2:12)

 

Lord Jesus, Your words are "spirit and life" (John 6:63). Speak Your words of spirit and life into my spirit today. Forgive me from my sins and free me from my bondage. Raise me up into newness of life to walk in Your ways -- leaping in my soul and shouting Your praises and glorifying my God! In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. 

Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays

My Friend, I pray you embrace by faith the fullness of life our Father has for you, forgiven and free from bondage and sin, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!

          

Friends, I'm excited to be Preaching in Pakistan again this Friday Night (Pakistan Time) in a open-air evangelistic meeting through our Skype Internet Ministry. Each month, I will be preaching in different villages around Lahore, Pakistan in the Punjab Region. Please keep us in prayer for salvation, healing, deliverance, and revival in the mighty name of Jesus!

Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries

Healing from the Inside Out

www.Messiah-Ministries.org 

  

Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries

4 Dominion Drive, Building 1

San Antonio, Texas 78257

www.RaphaGodMinistries.com 

Please share this word to encourage a friend!