I am so grateful that I am among Christians – people of second chances. Over this year, I have missed one day and late about 6 days so far. No one actually said “Hey, Jennifer, you forgot to write”! As Christ said “no condemnation”, I feel that you are so gracious when I am late or missed this email!

As usual, I pick one verse from yesterday’s reading — “Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two” (Mat.10:1)

This reminds me of Ecclesiastes 4:9 – “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labour”. Are you among two? I am not talking about couples only. I am talking about your “buddy” – the one you share your thoughts, feelings, hurts, hang-ups, difficulties, joy and life in general; you know, one of those people whom you can be completely vulnerable. I am so blessed with a number of my buddies, or I call them “my monkeys” with much affection.

For those who don’t know, some of ladies in our church attended Women of Faith event in Oct 2011. One of the speakers was Henry Cloud, a clinical psychologist. He talked about his experiment in reducing stress in life by using monkeys as subjects. A monkey was put in a cage and put stress upon him – bright lights, loud noises, etc. Then, he introduced various things into the cage to see if such reduces stress. Nothing made any significant change. But, when he put another monkey into the same cage, the first monkey’s stress level went down by half! So he turned to the audience and said, “Ladies, go and find your monkey in your life”! You can only imagine how we reacted – yes, we turned to each other and asked “will you be my monkey?”!!! I have heard that some husbands in our church were so dumbfounded when their spouses asked them if they would be their monkeys after coming back from the conference….

Jesus sent his disciples “two by two” to help each other and keep each other safe. Find your monkey in life! Keep each other accountable, keep each other safe from attacks from Satan; help each other to stand firm on the faith in Christ. But, know that being a monkey is not just so nice because you have to firm in accountability – a lot of responsibility. There are days that I feel like kicking my accountability partner for reminding bible verses in the middle of our arguments! But, am I grateful to have her in my life as my monkey!

Let’s find our “monkey in life”; and if you have one, please be sure to be accountable to each other – be a blessing upon each other’s life!