Romans 5:8- “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 10:9- “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”
These are two that our family has memorized already…how about you? How is your memorization journey going?
Romans 3:23- “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
Romans 6:23- “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
What translation are you using to memorize? Are you keeping up?
So week one was easy since they were verses we already knew by heart. This week there is one we know, and one we don’t:
John 1:14- “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
And a more familiar one near and dear to our hearts:
John 3:16- “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
…that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. There it is. I urge you, if you don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as your savior, there is no time like the present. Salvation is a gift, there is nothing we can do to earn our way into heaven. It doesn’t matter how good you are, or how many people you help in your life, without Jesus it’s all for nothing. Our days are numbered. Do you know where you’re going when your days are up? Pray today. Right now.
Dear Lord. I know I am a sinner in need of a savior. I believe Jesus came and paid the price in full for my sins. I repent of my sins and I ask Jesus to come into my heart and to take control of my life. Amen.
There is no exact prayer for salvation, and the one I shared with you above is just a simple example. If you pray something like that, declaring with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead after He was crucified on a cross, than it is my belief that you will be saved. Find a bible based church. Get to know God’s word by reading and studying the bible. Pray. Now, don’t wait. In the blink of an eye it could be too late.
There have been lots of changes in our family over the past few months. Whenever our family is dealing with something, we talk about it. A lot. It was during a recent conversation where our girls were working through their feelings about my niece coming to live with us that I posed a question to them: What makes our family special? We all took a turn sharing what we thought our best quality as a family was.
My husband said he thought what makes us special is that we love God. We strive to put God at the center of our marriage, and our family. When we lose focus we feel the strain in our relationships. We also feel the strength and unity and peace when we don’t.
I said I thought what makes us special is that we love each other. Katie and Frankie may bicker uncontrollably at times, and Sam may be testy and crabby sometimes. And there are times, plenty of times, when my husband and I are short with each other. But we all love each other fiercely and unwaveringly. Absolutely and unconditionally. God hand picked each one of us to be together as a family, and we thank Him for it almost daily.
Katie said she thought what made our family special is that we homeschool. As she said that, she paused a moment and added that homeschooling is also an example of love. When I asked her how, she said that instead of sending them off to public school every day, I show them that I love them and want to be with them by homeschooling them. I cherish our talks; I just love to hear how her mind and her heart work. Both are such an amazing gift from God.
Francesca shared that she has a friend who talks about visiting her dad on the weekends. She thought what made our family special is that we’re all together. Amen.
Sam waited until the end to share what she thought made our family special. As she was pulling her daddy out of the room to go play a game with her she said we’re special because we communicate. It was the single most perfect answer my sixteen year old could have given. From the time she was old enough, one of my highest priorities has been having open, honest conversations with her. When she was happy, we’d talk about it. When she was upset, we’d talk. When she was confused, or frustrated, or scared, or disillusioned…we talked through everything. Of the many things I’ve gotten wrong with her over the years, I am so very thankful that I got at least one thing right.
Katie, being Katie, had to have the last word. She added one last profound thought to the list. Our family is special because we have amazing digestive systems. Where does she come up with these things?!
Why Our Family IS Special
We love God
We love each other
We homeschool
We are all together
We communicate
…and we have amazing digestive systems
What a fun idea! On the first of every month I’ll be taking pictures of our everyday life and sharing them here!
