In the Family

Greetings Everybody,
It's Sunday morning, and here I sit again, contemplating God.
I really enjoy contemplating God...probably can't explain it to anybody else, but there is just something peaceful and right about my daily morning prayer time with Him.  


However, my prayer time is done for the morning, and now I'd like to catch you guys up with what's been going on since my last post.


Let's just say that this week has been a busy one.


On Tuesday our new granddaughter was born...and as you might imagine, there has been quite a bit of flurry going on.


We got to babysit our grandson some during our daughter's hospitalization, and that was really nice too.


BTW, it is really special to watch this 11 month old child interact with his new baby sister. 


He toddles up to her, and pats her...and then extends his pointer finger and touches the tip of her tiny nose...and giggles.  And then he is off on his next adventure as he toddles around the house.


He is so very gentle with her.  


None of us were sure how he was going to respond to this "interloper in his mothers arms" lol...but he has shown no jealousy or resentment whatsoever.


In Fact...he is particularly tender with her.


It's almost as if he knows she is fragile and that he needs to be careful with her.


And we are all grateful for that. 
We know not to assume that he will always be this way, but at the present it is very sweet to watch him interact with her.


The Grandmother-In-Me thinks that it is pretty cool to know that as he grows up, she will be written so smoothly into the memories of his own childhood that he will probably never remember life WITHOUT her.
And that she will have no memory of life without him either.


For the rest of their lives, they will be bonded and fused as Family.
They will be Significantly, Sufficiently, and most Assuredly Bonded & Fused as Family.


And there you have it...
Security.


We all want security
We all want safety
We all want to know that we are loved.


And my Grandson and Granddaughter will grow up like that.


They have their parents and they have each other and they have grandparents and aunts and uncles.


God, made this incredible support system for little babies  called The Family.


And when that support system is in place, and God is at the center of those families, Families are Powerful.


Families are The Most Impressive TASK FORCE ever assembled.


The God Centered Strong Family Unit wages a daily battle against, drugs, gangs, violence, and evil.


And God Centered Strong The Family Unit wages this war with unquenchable love, courage, discipline, encouragement, strength, stamina, diligence, determination and a whole lot of prayer.


And that God Centered Strong Family Unit has a very impressive win/loss ratio in these daily battles.


God, thank you for Families.


Thank you for the Mommy's and Daddy's who lovingly hold strong to your ways.


Thank you for Grandparents who do the same.


Thank you for this system.


Thank you for solid marriages that stand the test of time.


Thank you for commitment to those wedding vows.


Thank you for fidelity, and loyalty, and strength.


Thank you for the Fun of the Family Table, where we eat and laugh and share acceptance and tell stories.


Thank you for the Unity Created and the Sense of Belonging found at our Family Table.


God, this Family thing is such an Impressive Force For Good.


Father, as I contemplate YOU this morning, I have been granted a tiny insight as to the wisdom with which you designed us the way you did.


You created us to need each other.


We don't lay eggs like turtles.


Instead, YOU bring human life into this world in small numbers...and you give us helpless babies who require constant love & attention...and you help us to bond with them.


We are special like that.


We are made in the image of YOU.
"Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." Genesis 1:26


And if we are made in the image of YOU, and we are made with the need of our Parents loving care and attention...then God, I understand why I am so drawn to my time with YOU.


YOU are my Heavenly Father.
And I am part of YOUR Family.


YOU Help me. 
YOU Feed My Soul. 
YOU Make Me Strong.


In my morning prayer times...YOU hold me, and YOU feed me and YOU cause me to feel secure.


This is when YOU reassure me that I am
Significantly, Sufficiently, and most Assuredly Bonded & Fused into YOUR Family.

Scripture says that when I put on Christ in baptism, I become a member of the family of God and an heir of your blessings...right along with Jesus Christ.

"The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." Romans 8: 16-17

I am part of YOUR Family.

And there you have it...

Security.

We all want security

We all want safety

We all want to know that we are loved.

I rejoice in the knowledge that my Grandson and Granddaughter will grow up like that because of their Earthly Family.


And I pray that, when they are older that they will Come to Christ, be baptized, and then be Adopted into the Family of Faith.


And in The Family of Faith, you grow for the rest of your life.

Yes, even though I am in my 50's, I am still growing in the Family of Faith.

I grow each morning during in prayer time with God.

And I grow more bonded and more secure in The Family of Faith, every time I attend worship services with my other Brothers & Sisters in Christ.

I am most certainly still growing in the Family of Faith.

And I crave to be bonded and fused more every day to YOU my Heavenly Father.


My hearts desire is to be Significantly, Sufficiently, and most Assuredly Bonded & Fused into YOUR Family Forever....AMEN!

In Him,

Grace

Come On Christmas Break!

Greetings All,

Do you remember being a school kid who could hardly wait for Christmas Break?

                             I do!

My husband and I are like that EVERY year...right along WITH our students.

WE are just as ready as THEY are.

As a matter of fact, I think that TEACHERS are even MORE ready for school to be out than the KIDS are. Kids only do "public school" for their allotted K-12 years, but I did  "public school" for all the years when I WAS a kid, PLUS well over 20 years sitting on the other side of the desks. That's alot of Christmas Breaks to wait for.

I've been a Kid and I've been a Grown-up. 
I can speak from both perspectives.

And I can testify that my Grown-Up Self generally wants Christmas Break WAAAAY more than my Child Self ever did.

"Just a handful of days to go."

"Just a handful of days to go."

We teachers chant this to ourselves as we drive to work.

We teachers chant this to our colleagues between classes.

We teachers chant this to ourselves as we drive home from work.

We basically mutter this mantra till folks think we've "gone round the bend!" 

But somehow it seems to help lol.

This Christmas I have a list of things I want, but there's not much on my list that you can actually buy

Things I want during Christmas Break:

         -to wake up and realize that I don't HAVE to go anywhere at all

         -to wake up smelling cinnamon buns and coffee

         -to wear flannel pj's all day long while sitting on the sofa covered in a quilt

         -to read for several hours and not feel guilty

         -to have a good fire going in the fireplace every day

         -to have enough food & supplies in the house to keep us satisfied & safe

         -enough extra to share with those in need

         -health & safety for my family and my friends

         -a sense of peace and serenity

         -to be still for a couple of weeks

There will be other Christmas's when I pour on the High Energy...but I hope that this year is a soft and gentle one...my soul needs it


"Just a handful of days to go."


In Him,
Grace