Beloved family.

My heart has been filled lately with thanks and praise to God for the family He ordained for me to be in. It's not always easy to be the only believer in the midst of a large extended family of unbelievers, but it is a blessing, privilege and a perfect ordinance of God. In the last year alone God has been at work in so many ways in my own sanctification, but one that is so vividly obvious is both my attitude and relationship toward my family. I continually praise God for this!

I think often of why God would choose to save me, and those thoughts often lead to "Why would He choose me? And why would He choose me out of this family? Why me? Why the privilege of sharing with them the good news of Christ?" It seriously blows my mind! Then I again think of how blessed I was to have such a loving upbringing. My family (and extended family... which really is extended! It's very large) have always been loving and supportive of both myself and my brother.

One thing I am specifically SO thankful for is my mom, my Grandma Philips, and my aunts on my mom's side. My Grandma always taught me to be silly; she always wore quirky sunglasses and I intend to continue on with that tradition in her honor. My mom has taught me how to clean, cook, bake, sew, knit, make butter (for goodness sake!). She homeschooled me; taught me algebra even when we both wanted to give up, was patient when I despised the subject of history, and so willingly let me go when I wanted to move on to taking community college classes. She loved me and was patient with me through my early teen years when I was so horribly stubborn and snotty. She's held nothing against me and has put up with much turmoil that I have thrown her way. I'm so blessed by my mom. Though her teaching was not with biblical truth, her bringing me up in a home where "homemaking" was always encouraged has been a great blessing. It has helped make the call for women to be in the home sweet music to my ears. I thank God for her and pray fervently for her salvation every single day, often unceasingly.

I cannot express the amazement and thankfulness I have for my salvation. That God would choose me, choose me out of the family I am in! Pull me out of my hideous sin and deadness and give me life in His son, who bore my sins upon the cross though I was an enemy of Him and deserving of the punishment He bore. I just praise God so much for saving me! I thank Him for giving me the family He has given me, for the privilege of sharing with them the gospel, and for the way God has used them in my sanctification. I don't know what the future holds or if it is in God's plan for them to be saved, but I pray for them with anguish and zeal. I don't want to see the family whom I love so much and have been blessed so much by go to hell. So dear blogger world if you happen to be reading this please pray for them as well. God's wisdom and sovereignty is perfect, but that doesn't give reason to give up on the unsaved we must fight the good fight, and pray steadfastly for the unsaved.

A lyric from "O Church Arise" by the Getty's kinda sums it up...

"Our call to war to love the captive soul,
But to rage against the captor,
And with the sword that makes the wounded whole,
We will fight with faith and valour"

For Christ's glory,
Willa