Family

Family

Psalm 68:4-6 (NKJV)
⁴ Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Extol Him who rides on the clouds, By His name YAH, And rejoice before Him.
⁵ A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation.
⁶ God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; But the rebellious dwell in a dry land.

Ephesians 3:14-15 (NKJV)
¹⁴ For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
¹⁵ from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

I am a blessed man!  I grew up in a family where love was expressed in tangible ways.  We had fun together.  One of the fondest memories would be at the supper table.  Back when it was common to have supper together most nights of the week, we would laugh and talk about many things.  My Family now is the greatest.  We love being together.  It is neat to see how each family member, (me, my lovely bride, and my five daughters) add to the essence of who we are.  The uniqueness of our individuality is exponentially multiplied within family.  God has so designed us to flourish within family. We enhance each other’s lives because of the influence and encouragement we can give to one another.

My daughter, Olivia, has the unique ability to write poetry.  This is the most recent poem that she has written.  What a blessing it has been to me. What encouragement to give Thanksgiving to God!

Bedtime Story

As I look across the vast prairie at the sun tucking itself into a blanket of clouds

And the Creator painting hues,

Telling an incredible bedtime story of love, forgiveness, and peace

To the birds, sun and trees,

I think about my day.

The joys, the pains, mistakes and heartaches,

The questions, the answers, the encounters and spoken words.

Anger, guilt, anxiety swell up inside of me

Leaving an empty place that LOVE can only fill. 

And as I gazed upon such a scene, I was brought to my knees.

I slowly began.

Struggling with each worry, fear and hurt

Bringing them to the foot of my Savior’s cross

To the throne of my Father and King

 Altar of my God.

Shedding my weights that condemned Him to that wretched tree

A blood offering of a perfect man in substitution of me

Being wiped clean from a God who sacrificed His own,

I felt the love flow freely,

The forgiveness, hope, joy, patience and peace

 Rain down and renew me and worries for tomorrow fade away.

And as the sun begins to rise

Newness and hope for the day is found along with the Master’s finger painting across the sky

And the song of His quiet, cool breath being heard.

                                                                                                                                ~based on Matthew 6: 25 - 34         

The two scriptures that I have given remind us that God cares for each of us.  He has a place for us in His family.  No matter where you end up, you can find a home in God’s Family.

When I was a teenager, I remember a wonderful Deacon by the name of Poncho Roberts.  Poncho was a jovial, fun loving man.  I always left with a smile when I was around him.  Poncho was known for his colorful vests that he wore to brighten up the holidays.  The most memorable thing about Poncho was a phrase that would accentuate the evening of an event or gathering of people.  “Togetherness! ONE MORE TIME!”, he would say.  It was family!  Though the gathering was made up of people from all walks of life, old and young, rich and poor, educated and uneducated, though unrelated, we were family.  God had put us together and made us His family.….our Blood Relation was by the “Blood of Jesus Christ” that was shed in order to reconcile us to God.  That was the way it was then and that is the way it can be now!  My prayer is that you will determine that FAMILY is just that necessary and important in your life as well.