I am thanful November, Extended Family.

November, 20th

Extended Family I married a guy with a great family. If you asked me this question eighteen years ago, I might have had a different story. He is one of five, second youngest (which makes him a little spoilt) and I am saying this with good taste. I come from a small family where we were only two and it was smooth sailing compare to this big family. Loud, crazy, over powering in personal opinions is an understatement, but I love it. I am so thnakful to be apart of this big crazy happy praying family. We laugh together and we cry together, it took me a while to value the worth of this bond and although I still find them a bit too loud at times, I am proud to be one of them! We are all different, we all have our own backgrounds and we all have our own idea's but when we are together there's a sense of unity, it's a bond. Something that runs deeper than water and I love this about my extended family. They stick like no clue in the supermarkets and if ever you want to take on a war, these are the people you want on your side. They instantly become David while the enemy is Golliath. They live by faith and not by sight. They fight with faith and dignity, they teach morals and stand firm for what they believe but more importanly they praise one God together as a family and I love this bond the most. I love being apart of something bigger than just the ordinary. I have learnt a lot from them. The most valuable lesson I learnt was to never judge a book by the cover, because today I, well we are that crazy loud family with lots of kids running around and I wonder what my boys' "future wives" might think when they walk into our home for the first time. I am thankful for my people. I am thankful that I know I have a tribe behind my back. I am thankful that I am apart of this special bond. I am thankful that we are all in the same town, all 25 of us are here..... together. This by itself is a blessing already. 

Psalm 127:3-5 (3)Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. (4)Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth. (5)Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court.

November, 21

Families that pray together, stay together. It's maybe not a big deal, but this family of ours get together once a week to pray. We wake up really early to make time (we are all very busy with big families) to pray together as one. We are all tired. We are all drained. We all face our own mountains but to get together once a week for no longer than an hour and lay it all down at the feet of Jesus, I think it's special. It's that one in a million kind of thing and I will forever cherish this in my heart. Do you know how good it feels when this happens? 5:30am - Child: "Morning mommy, I heard grannies voice in my sleep." Mommy: "No my love, she was here this morning, you probably heard granny for real." Child: "What was she doing here?" Mommy: "We were praying." Child: "Oh...... for what?" Mommy: "For you my baby!" A FEELING A GRATIDUE FILLS MY SOUL AND I KNOW IT'S NOT FOR NOTHING.  Pray together, show them, teach them to find refudge, salvation and peace at the feet of the cross. If they see this from a young age, they will know this when they are big and facing their own mountains. God is our King and He is our Leader, my kids know we are far from perfect but nor far from God.

Matthew 18:20 - "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst." I am thankful for this, although it's hard for a "none morning person" that goes to bed late, it's once a week and I know there is a wall of prayer protecting MY FAMILY.