Family..Two kinds of Family

I love my family. I couldnt have a better one in my opinion. I am blessed to have grown up seeing my mom and dad love each other while doing their best to portray Jesus' love in all they do. They are best friends. I hope to have that one day:-) I have two awesome brothers. We have grown very close in the past 8 years..i think its because we are all older and more mature. We have been able to discuss God in our lives, our views, struggles, beliefs, etc etc...
I have the best aunts and uncles too might I add. Ever since i can remember we have gotten together a handful of times each year. Thanksgiving and Christmas are always my favorites. We used to all get together at my Nana's house..there was much food, love, laughter..and lotsssssssssss of kids..which brings me to my cousins. I am the oldest..the youngest is now 16 months old. Well my Nana passed away 6 years ago..i was worried that our family get togethers would become few and far between..but we have kept the same traditions..the only change is we no longer meet at Nana's house. Christmas is usually at my parents' house and Thanksgiving at my Uncle Rick and Aunt Lynda's house..they live at Lake Norman..its nice:-) AND NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! is the newest addition to our family..my first ever nephew!!! i am sooooooo head over heels in love with this precious, tiny, innocent baby boy. My dad made a comment, 'its not very often that you get to see innocence." its so true... Trey, this special baby, is brand new to the world. He is dependent on others for everything, eating, being changed, changing his clothes, giving him a bath..and as he grows older, being taught of Jesus and his love, being taught how to talk and to read and to write, how to feed himself, how to ride a bike, play sports, interact with his friends..and on and on..praying and hoping that as he grows up he doesnt learn his ways from the world, but he learns his ways from the Lord Jesus his Savior..my prayer is and will continue to be that Trey will one day experience God calling him to Himself..and that Trey would respond and obey and confess his need for a Savior allowing Jesus to reign in his heart...Its so special to see a baby grow in the womb and all the way up to 9 months as he then experiences his first breath of air in this new world..its amazing..its a miracle..and its full of joy...Im so thankful for Trey.

And now for my other family..my eternal family, my brothers and sisters in Christ. I have in the past couple of years been SO very blessed with fellow believers that i can experience life with, day by day..we live together..we share struggles, we share praises, we share prayers, we share love, we share the Lord Jesus Christ in our hearts ..and what and AMAZING bond this gives us.. we are united in a supernatural way that only God our Creator could ever instill in people. I am so thankful for these friends. God gives us this family to help us through our visit hear on earth..until the day which we are called home to be with him forever.. all of us in this family of Christ have been given a job, a calling, of the highest honor and responsibility. We are allowed to claim Jesus name..to share him with others..to portray him to others in our actions, words, thoughts, desires..etc etc.. what a high calling, to be the hands and feet of the Lord. How awesome that God would choose to use us and allow us to be used in his works. I pray that we would yield to the Holy Spirit in our hearts. that we would be transformed into people that rightly represent Jesus. that we live TRUTH. we let go of our worldly desires and desire Him and Him alone..that we would stay on the narrow path and live in the abundance he desires for us. I pray that we OBEY our heavenly Father. and that we love him and others the way he first loved us. I want to know our Father better. We are fulfilled by the Lord and him alone. How can we be fulfilled if we dont know him. I want to know him so well that my desires become his own. I want to be a woman of prayer. I want to lose my pride. I want so many things in my heart but I know its only through the strength of my Father that i will be able to live a life worthy of his calling. I hope our generation can see past the decoys and distractions of this world. and that we would see with eyes set on eternity. That we would push everything out of the way and only seek our Fathers face. I hope that the world can see Jesus love through us. I hope and pray that we would rightly love each other..with pure love..not selfish love, not expectant love, not forced love, but with love from a pure heart, love with no alterior motives...i pray that we would learn and know Jesus' love. that we would quit trying to do it on our own.but that we would die to ourselves and let him love the world through us. There is sooooooo much 'other' stuff in me that keeps me from allowing the Lord to work through me to the full potential. wrong ways of thinking, worldly desires,selfish desires, laziness, past sin that only the Lord can redeem, selfishness, pride, impatience, etc etc..but how AWESOME that our Lord cares enough to reveal our sins to us so that we can daily give them to him and allow him to change our heart and minds..every day is the day of salvation, every day he redeems us. And thank goodness for the family of believers he gives us to go through this journey with. We are his soldiers. and we need to be fully armed..our culture has so many vices. but in him, we can change the world...