"Picture Perfect"

[This is a simple post. It's just me being thankful for my family.]

"Family...it's absolutely everything." -Ernie Barrett

Have you ever seen the Feature Films for Family video called "Picture Perfect"? If you haven't, just stop by my house sometime and my family will recite it for you. The whole thing. We watched that movie so many times that my mother finally hid it.  I'm not sure the video would even work any more. It's a good movie, however, and very memorable. 

Ernie, one of the characters in the movie says that quote above, about family being absolutely everything.   True, Christ comes before the family, but it is Christ who has ordained the family order and puts us together. 
That is something my dad has prayed for a long time - thanking God for putting us together as a family. 

I can't imagine my life without any of my siblings or my parents.  I have come to realize, as I have gone through life, how blessed in abundance I am for the family that I have. So many families these days are broken, dealing with the harsh and long-lasting consequences of sin.  Our family is by no means perfect, but we enjoy each others company, have family dinners that last for several hours and I often laugh more with my family than I do with anyone else. This past weekend, for the first time since Christmas, my entire family was together for just an afternoon, while out at Grove City College for homecoming.  It was also the first time the whole family was together with all the "significant others" in the family. We spent time at the park just being together and it was a great afternoon.  Here's a picture of the "kids":

All together for the very first time!

God has shown me his kindness and his mercy through my family.  He has taught me how to show grace and what being shown grace looks like through my siblings and my parents.  He has shown himself faithful beyond words as He continually blesses us. I do not know why He has poured out His grace on us in this way. I only know that I am thankful. 

The six of us