Thankful Thursday

It’s “Thankful Thursday” again & today I am thankful for… my family.  I am a man most blessed to have the family I have.

PR31

“The man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favor from the Lord.” (Proverbs 18:22)  That’s my life… God has shown me great favor by placing the treasure of Angela in my life as my wife.

She is the epitome of… no, the incarnate representation of… the Proverbs 31 woman.  She does all she can to support me & make my life easier.  She makes me laugh when she pretends to cry.  She is my best friend and confidant.  She is my loudest & proudest cheerleader.  She loves God for reals. (No, I didn’t mis-spell it.)  She has an incredible sense of justice.  She is talented, craftsy, loving, generous and an amazing cook!  Did I mention that she is also smokin’ HOT?!

So I’m thankful for a partner in faith & love with whom to do life together.

Da Boys

We weren’t able to have kids biologically for the first 12 years of our marriage.  We had decided that adoption was our best option, and even that wasn’t working out.  So you can imagine our excitement when out of nowhere the Lord miraculously helps us become pregnant with Alex.

We were thrilled!  And since we wanted more than one child, we stayed in the adoption process… which still didn’t work out.  And then two and a half years later, along came Austin.  Our delight at least doubled!

I’m obviously biased, but those boys are intelligent, funny, good looking, strong, talented, and basically amazing in every way.  (Told you I am biased. ha!)  And I can’t imagine life without them.  They keep us on our toes… and on our knees.

The Rents (aka The Units)

I feel so blessed that Angela and I each still have both our parents alive.  Both sets of parents have been in ministry for nearly 50 years and are people of impeccable character, honor and integrity.  They raised us to love and serve.  They have been so generous to us.

The legacy handed to us from our parents is almost unbelievable.  There are times I actually almost feel embarrassed for having such a leg up in life and ministry because of the homes in which Angela & I were raised.  We are reaping the benefits of godly parents and even godly grandparents on both sides.

Sibling Rivalry

I would put my sisters up against anyone else’s siblings.  They love fiercely, argue passionately, pray sincerely & give freely.  Sure they drive me nuts sometimes.  (Don’t all siblings?)  But I also wouldn’t trade them.

Growing up with sisters, I always wanted a brother. And while God did not see fit to give me a biological or adopted brother on the Chapin side of the fam, He did decide to give me three brother-in-laws… one married to one of my sisters and two from the Cumpton side.  Those guys are gold!  All three make me laugh like crazy.  One has my back whenever I’m being treated wrong, one keeps me up to date on tech-stuff, and one influenced the man of God I am today.

Lagniappe

In Louisiana, the Cajun French word for “a little something extra” is “lagniappe.”  And I don’t have time or space to list all the nieces, cousins, uncles, aunts, grandparents, et al who make up my family.  But I can tell you this, I am a man most blessed when it comes to family.

Some we only keep up with on social media.  Some we only see from time-to-time.  But all are blessings from God.

And so this Thursday, I am thankful for all the family with whom God has blessed me.

What about you?  Do you have any family for which to be thankful?  Why not take to your social media accounts and give them some verbal applause?  Then challenge others to do the same.  Maybe, just maybe, we could generate a movement of letting those we love know that we love them and are thankful for them.

And before you go to bed tonight, how about taking a few moments to thank the Lord for the blessing of our families?