A faithful family

I was blessed to spend the better part of the week (we left Tuesday morning and got back this evening) with my children at Grandma's house in North Carolina visiting with part of my extended family. Growing up, I didn't realize how unusual it is to have a close-knit extended family. It was just our normal--my dad has three sisters; between the four of them, there are seven of us grandchildren and we've always had a great time together. These days four of the seven of us are happily married to godly spouses and we have introduced 9 new little people to the world over the past 7 years. You know what that means? Twenty nine people who actually all like each other.

My Grandma has been a faithful servant of Christ since long before I was born. She raised my dad and his sisters to love Christ, and they have raised all of us to do the same. And now we're raising our babes with the prayer that they'll grow up to advance Christ's Kingdom in mighty ways. That makes four generations. Without a doubt, it's our faith in Christ that has caused us have the bond we have. I may not see all my aunts and uncles and cousins as often as I'd like to, but when we're together it's always a joyful time of sweet fellowship and plain ol' fun. That is definitely one of the finer things in life--and I am blessed indeed.

Grandma & Grandpa with the NINE great grandchildren earlier this summer