An Abundant Life

Posted by Anna



The institution of the family has been set in place since the beginning of time by God Himself, and it was established as a picture of Christ and His bride and of God and His Children. The family was set up to be the launching pad for the rest of humanity. When sin entered the world by man's choice, Satan used the opportunity to take hold of what God called good on this earth, and has corrupted it. What God set in place at the beginning, Satan has come against and sought to completely destroy.



But God, in His perfect love, justice, and mercy toward us, planned a way of redemption for us to be reunited back to Himself and live forever with Him, the way He had in mind from the beginning! That Way is Jesus Christ, Who was Crucified to pay the complete price of our sins, Risen to give us His eternal life, and Coming Again to receive us to Himself to be forever with Him in the New Heaven and New Earth He is preparing for those who have received the free gift of salvation through His blood, the Forgiveness of sins! 

That is the one and only hope for the family today. Where it not for Christ, God's only begotten Son, every one of us would be doomed to everlasting fire and brimstone in eternal separation from Him. But through His grace, He has given us the commission to go and teach all people about Him, including the little ones that He places in our care and possession here on this earth as our children. 

Some families He chooses to give more, and others He gives them few, but He has a special plan for each family, and knows the exact tools they need to fulfill His purpose and will in their lives. And God never does anything for less than two reasons, as one preacher said. He also has a specific plan for each individual child He places in each family, and, though the whole family as a unit has a call, each person has a call on their lives as well. The family then takes the role as training ground for each person to grow, learn and prepare through the various lessons that are unlimited within a family of any size.
Living in a large family and still learning how to get along with each other ourselves, we have found it humorous to come up with a list of "large family statistics". With so many people living under one roof in our household, there have been plenty of times we have gotten rather cracked up at all the many kinds of things that happen with so many people so close together. Traveling together is the kind of adventure that makes great, hilarious memories! "Regular life" details are enormous when taken in from an "outsider's" point of view, and though it may look like a wearhouse at times with everything going on with everybody every time you turn around, God has proven time and time again that His grace is sufficient, His strength is sustaining, and love is everlasting!  
       
Here are a few things that we have noticed within our own family, as well as some ideas that other families have donated on the topic of: "You know you're a large family when…"

~ You fill up every stall in the super center Walmart bathroom, and still have people in line…

~ The only vehicle you have to learn to drive in is a 15 passenger van...

~ When you are 16, just obtained your license, and you can legally drive more people than your friends (because they're all your siblings)...

~ You are the last one to get the family cold, and no one has any sympathy left...

~ You go to the grocery store and someone asks you, "Are ALL these YOURS?" and you answer, "No, the other half are at home."

~ Everyone is seated in the living room for family devotions and there are no more seats available...

~ You have just finished serving everyone ice cream, and the third person you served asks for seconds...

~ When a bathroom break at a single restroom stop takes 30 minutes, and that is only giving everyone 2 minutes each. Then by the time everyone loads back up and is ready to head out again, the first one who went has to go again...

~ No table is big enough to seat your family...


~ No dining room is big enough to hold your table...

~ Your cellar is too small for everyone to have a seat in the event of a tornado...

~ A 10 lb bag of potatoes is not enough for an adequate amount of mashed potatoes for just your family...

~ You no longer can ride together in a 15 passenger van...

~ You have enough children for two volleyball teams...

~  You have to reserve the restaurant's party room for your family when you go out to eat...

~ You are asked if you own a daycare...

~ You go to Taco Bell and a taco order of 50 doesn't quite fill everyone up...

~ It takes about an hour (or two) to cook and flip enough pancakes for everyone...

~ When your family drinks over 10 gallons of water a day...

~ The store-classified "Family size" is not enough, so you have to revert to a restaurant supply store...

~ Your family goes through half a cow in four weeks and you still had to ration the proportions...

~ A 12' church pew does not hold everyone...

~ When one of the younger ones comes out of a room and declares, "There's TONS of people in there!"

~ You hoard/hide food and snacks…

~ You get excited about having a closet, or even a bed, to yourself…

~ The only "alone time" you get is in the bathroom…

~ When there's no more hot water on a sunday morning…

~ Your personal articles (toys, books, shoes, clothes) aren't where you left them…

~ Church attendance doubles every time your family goes…

~ Dental cleaning appointments for your family takes 4 hours…


* Here are a few add ones about children since we first published this post by some good friends of ours:

~ "Who needs weights when you have children?"

~ "When an alarm clock won't do the job, leave it to a child!"

~ "Children are stress creators, but if you watch them long enough, they become stress erasers." :)


* If any of you have any ideas we would love to see them in the comment section below! Please share them with us, and we will add them to our ever growing collection :)


"Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD; and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate." 
~ Psalm 127:3-5 ~ 

Comments

  1. That was cute :)

    Aunt Esther

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  2. Anna, I once asked you how y'all manage the bathroom. You answered rather matter-of-factly, "Well, Grandma, someone is always in there, someone is knocking on the door, and three are squirming on the couch!"

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  3. Emily Cannon (Grandmama)August 27, 2014 at 12:31 PM

    Also, the pictures are absolutely adorable!

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  4. What a HOOT! Very creative blog. The pictures are great and what you had to say is hilarious. Your introduction to What Is A Family was so accurate. You write as though you have actually experienced everything you've written.

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  5. This is the first time i have encounterd you family. i was brought to you page from a link form another blog. you all look so sweet and strong in the lord. It's so inspiring. you see i'm new in my relationship with the lord and as an adult it can be a strange path to lead but oh so worth it. I started a blog myself to hopefully help others navigate the same path i'm on. http://alifeingod.blogspot.ca/ thanks so much for a little inspiration for my day :)

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    Replies
    1. Hey Christine! So glad you stopped by! I was thrilled to hear that you have found Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior! The Christian journey is challenging at times, but He promises to stand by us and lovingly lead us if we seek Him with our whole heart! I look forward to visiting your blog! And Lord willing, meeting you in person some day!

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  6. Thanks so much Anna. Each day can be a challenge especially coming into it raw but i found if you leave the choices and explaintions of life up to the lord it all comes around to him and it makes it a little easier. I have found a great deal of peace of giving up the control and leaving it to him who knows all. I hope you can visit my blog i'm trying to spread a little love with it. My way of ministry as my community isn't exactly one filled with faith filled people i am in the minority, but i'm happy there. I pray others will find there way as well.

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