Family

As the temperature reached 105 degrees today, there were plenty of other things to keep us occupied. I have several things I wanted to blog about including worship and communion, but those will have to wait. This week it is on family.

As most of you know, this past Wed. was my birthday (53 for those who have to know). I am not really big on birthdays (which is good since my wife has been gone to camp on my birthday for the past 15 years), but this year was special. The day started with calls from my wife and Amy, then later in the day from Jason and then Alex. Christy and Jordan with Jayden came in to town and we had a great time eating and taking Jayden to the water park. Then this weekend Jason and Alex came in town and we had a great time playing tennis, mowing, doing house projects, Putt-putt, and eating. Did I mention eating - we did a lot of that. Mary Beth who is here already made me a birthday cake and then a big breakfast of gingerbread pancakes. I got more attention than I have had in years. But more important for me was not the attention, but the love of family.

I am so blessed to have four incredible kids (young adults now) who for some reason love their old man. I love being with each of them and they are all different, with so many gifts and talents. For them to take the time and effort to come down here and spend time with me (even with Luana gone) speaks volumes to me. With the institution of the family under attack from every corner, it is good to be reminded of the importance of family. When family works well. there is relationship, encouragement, building each other up, challenging each other, healing, comfort, laughing and crying together and so much more. When it does not work well, it is still needed and important to try to resolve the issues. So wherever you are in your family, put in the time, effort, prayer and whatever else it takes to make it work. It is worth it.