Happy Birthday!

Now, this is not Joshua...this is Rachel from Hopejourney (his sister by the way ;) Today is Joshua's Birthday and I just wish him a wonderful birthday full of God's blessings!

Spending Quality Time With Family

This time of my life has probably been the most profitable ever.  A couple of days ago, for the first time in awhile, I was on my way to prayer meeting, which is over at my Grandma and Grandpa's house.  I was fully expecting the regulars to be there.  However, God had a different agenda.  It turned out that my Grandpa canceled the meeting, because my Grandma was a bit under the weather, and I had no idea the meeting was canceled.  So, I arrive at their house and knock on the door.  Grandpa graciously opens the door and is surprised I am there, but nonetheless glad I decided to stop by.  Then, I realize through conversation that prayer meeting was canceled.  I was a little bummed, but the cancellation of prayer meeting was not going to stop Grandma and Grandpa from having me over.  This is what I absolutely love about my grandparents.  They love to have their grandchildren over.  

Now, since I am in college, it is a bit more difficult spending quality time with my family especially my grandparents.  Most of my college days are spent studying, working, going to school, and so on so forth.  But, I am so thankful I was able to spend ample time with both sets of my grandparents this week.  It is very important, because I do not know how much longer they will have to live on this earth.  I do not know how much longer I will have to live on this earth.  Death is inevitable, and I hope it is still a long time away for each of my grandparents and me, but it is coming.  That is why I want to be able to cherish these memories with them.  I know I have many memories with each side, but I want to continue those memories.  I love those memories and I love my grandparents.  Spending time with them means a lot to me, and I never want to come to a place in my life down the road where I realize I did not spend enough time with them, because I was so busy.  I know times change and things happen, but when I live generally close to my mom's parents and dad's parents, I feel that it is best to spend quality time with them as often as possible.  I love them, and I should make it a habit to spend time with them.   

Now, going back to the story, I ended up talking with Grandma and Grandpa for nearly six hours that night.  I was dumbfounded by how fast the time flew by that I did not want to leave.  We talked about a variety of different things, but the conversation kept coming front and center back towards Christ and His cross.  Christ was the center of the night.  We each commented on and thanked God for giving us the magnificent gift of His one and only Son, because God did not have to give us His Son.  But, he chose, HE CHOSE.... to give us His Son despite our being in the guilty party.  It is a love, a crazy love, an infinite love, an astounding love that surpasses all of our own wisdom and comprehension.  Think about it and stand in awe..... Wow!!!  The night was quite like that.  It was one of those nights where you yearned for the conversation to continue, and it kept going.  We talked, prayed, and talked.  It was a wonderful night and I was glad to be a part of it in spending time with my Grandma and Grandpa from my dad's side.  

However, I was able to spend the night with my grandparents on my mom's side on Friday night.  During the day on Friday, I was able to check out Grandpa's ten stitches on the side of his forehead and I thought he looked stylin'.  Man oh man, he looked great.  Then, I went home to finish up a few chores.  Later, I called Grandma and asked her if I could come over to spend the night.  She thought that that would be a splendid idea, and I always know how Grandpa reacts when any one of his grandchildren come over.  It is a great memory in that he joyfully shouts, "Oh boy."  You would understand if you were a part of my family, but it is a joyous occasion every time I go to their house.  On that night, we watched the ballgame, played Yahtzee, and watched/talked about what was going on in Egypt.  It was a wonderful time and I am so thankful that I was able to spend that time with them because it was such a blessing.  God is so good in giving us those blessings, and I magnificently thank him for those blessings.  No doubt! :)