Episode 94: Marriage and Friendship: How to Do Both Well with Kelly Needham

Friends. We need them. They can also be a big challenge. It can be hard to put them in their proper, healthy place (neither diminishing them nor elevating them)—whether we are married or single.

Today, we primarily look at how to have healthy friendships through the married lens, but single people? We believe and hope and pray you will be blessed, too.

Kelly Needham, author of the new book Friendish, helps us explore questions such as, “Can we have covenant friendships outside of marriage?” “What are signs of when friendships are moving into an unhealthy direction?” “Are our spouses supposed to be our best friends?"

​It's a needed conversation for our lonely world today on the podcast.

 

//: Highlights:

• "If a friendship is starting to encroach on our relationship with our spouse or with Christ, that's a warning sign." --Kelly Needham
• ​"I don't think the word 'best friend' is wrong, but I don't think that it's right that we build covenants into our friendships ... That does not condemn single people to loneliness or missing out on something huge. If we believe that, then we are admitting that marriage satisfies preeminently in our hearts." --Kelly Needham ​
• "Your loneliness is primarily alleviated in Christ ... Loneliness came as a result of sin, not alone-ness." --Kelly Needham

//: Do the Next Thing:

• Check out Kelly's book, ​Friendish, here.
• Check out Kelly's blog and site here.
• For more on this episode

//: Question of the Week for Next Week:

• What was your favorite school lunch? (Either packed or the hot lunch variety?)
• Find us on Instagram.