Have You Been Added to the Family Tree?

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!

—1 John 3:1

My cousin and I are co-chairing a long-overdue family reunion for our mothers’ side of the family.

I assumed the responsibility of creating the family tree and am taking advantage of a free trial period with Ancestry.com. I’ve been busy plugging in names, birthdates, and places of birth and am amazed at how the tree is taking shape. I’m especially delighted whenever a green leaf appears on my screen, which means the database has an ancestry hint for me. It could be a documented record of birth or a census record indicating a place of residence. I consider each hint to determine if it’s applicable and decide if I want to add it to the family tree.

My Most Romantic Valentine

A little deviation from my usual post...

I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.

—Song of Solomon 6:3 

“Really? But I’m trying to write my blog post.” Still in my pajamas and propped up on pillows, I hammer away at the keyboard—in between checking Facebook, of course. I read my friends’ posts and like their Valentine’s pictures.

“Shut it down. Let’s go for a walk.”

“Huh?  It’s 8:30 in the morning.”

“Put your sneakers on.”

“But what about my sprain?  The doctor said…”

“Put your sneakers on.” (Psalm 37:23)

I trust you, so I dress quickly. I slip on my sneakers. Hmm…my foot doesn’t feel too bad. I think I can do this. (Philippians 4:13)

"Could we drive to the dumpster first?" I ask. "I have a pile of junk to get rid of." (Ephesians 4:31)

You smile and nod, as if that were all part of your plan in the first place.

I drive to the barnyard dumpster and am careful to avert the muddy ruts left by those who have been here before. I would hate to get stuck in this mess. Quickly, I throw out a bag of garbage and a box of things that weren't working. Whew!  It feels good to pitch them.