Tuesday, June 17, 2008

What I'm Thankful For Today

If you don’t go to our church I feel badly for you. Actually, if you live in the Lansing area and don’t go to our church I don’t understand you – it is that good a church. But I feel even more badly for you if you’re not in our small group. Really and truly, I deeply hurt for you. Because our small group is, for lack of a better word, amazing. Amazing. We have people from all walks of life, all different ages and stages with kids ranging in age from in utero to 14 and we have a blast.

We got together tonight for a cook-out. The kids (well, most of them; the youngest grew a bit weary towards the end) did a great job playing together and sharing. When I say that the kids got along well, please understand we’re not talking about four or five kids. We are a very prolific group and between the six families we have 20 kids with two more on the way. Thank goodness for a great big backyard to play in, and a general spirit of helpfulness among the little people.

With the kids occupied by a swing set and endless bubble juice, the adults were able to sit around the kitchen table and chat. We’re still getting to know one another, well, except for the cousins in our group. C. and J. grew up in the church and it appears they know everyone in the church and are usually somehow related to them. Seems we can’t have a conversation without one of them saying, “He’s my uncle,” or “She’s my mom’s cousin twice removed.”

I’m so thankful we were invited to join this group. They are a great bunch of fellow sinners, calling each other to learn more of God’s truth, love God’s word, live what we learn, and love each other, our families and our world as Christ has loved us. These are the people I want walking alongside me as I stumble through the sanctification process. And even though I don’t know any of them terribly well, I know I could call any of them at 2 am if I needed to. What a gift.

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:23 AM

    Good for you! Of course, I'm jealous, since I still miss our NC from several years ago (before y'all moved). And not to ignite another firestorm, but how's your book club going (or is it done now)?

    /tina

    ReplyDelete
  2. Book club is over and finished well - thanks for asking. But I have another post coming on Babywise because the little girls from Full House have started a bit of an uproar: http://www.celebrity-babies.com/2008/06/candace-cameron.html

    Hope all's well - miss you!
    Christy

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