FAMILY...

I really love my family. We just got back from our christmas in north carolina Tuesday night, and it was such a great week at home seeing everyone.

While we were there, Clay brought home his "woman";) for us to meet. He proposed to her last night...she said yes :) She is a beautiful person inside and out that loves the Lord, and we couldnt be happier that she is joining our family.

So, when we were driving home Tues night, I was thinking about how blessed I am to have been raised by parents that have instilled such great values in their children. Mom and dad understand that self-worth doesn't come from what you have , what you look like, how you dress or who you know. Things have never impressed my parents...and whatever other people thought or did has never mattered to them. I mean, here are two people that go to Bojangles for date nights and think its special! I love that about them. They could be millionaires, and we would never know...thats just how they are. And because they are that way, they have 4 children that are not high-maintenance or needy or "IMPRESSED" by things or other people...we all understand that our self-worth comes through Christ and not from what we have/dont have or the way we look or dress. And all 4 of us have found spouses that are the same. So, whenever we are all together, its just easy. Everything is real and authentic. We genuinely love and LIKE each other and each others families...we want to be a part of each others lives.

I remember when Jeremy and I were dating, and I brought him home to wilson for the first time to meet my family. He said he instantly felt at home and comfortable. And its because, he never felt pressure to impress...he never felt like he had to prove anything, or that he had to look or act a certain way. No one is "fake" and no one "acts", it is always just authentic and real. Its easy there, and I love that about home. And I love that i was raised that way, because it has made me who i am today and made our family what it is today.

So many people today try to find their worth in what they do, or who they know, what they look like, or things they have etc etc...so, they end up never having a PEACE on the inside. When you are constantly trying to impress, you can never rest...there is no peace. When you get to the point where you really realize, that your worth comes from Christ, and who in the world cares what anybody thinks about you other than Him, then it can be so liberating. Jeremy and I were talking last night about how beauty really comes from the inside. When someone is truly BEAUTIFUL, there is light that shines from their core...there is a strength and a confidence in a person that finds that truth and lives for Christ rather than for men. The world's idea of beauty is so off the mark, and has created a world of people striving to look like someone else, or dress like someone else etc etc...its so sad.

I pray that Jeremy and I can instill those same values my parents instilled in us, in our children. And 35 years from now, when our children are grown, i pray that they are confident in the people they are, that they do not want for anything, and that they know what true beauty really is. I want our children to know that their self-worth comes from Christ and not from what they do or how they look. I want them to be radiant with a beauty that can only come from the inside. And Jeremy and I want our house to feel like a HOME to anyone who ever comes in. A place where you just feel comfortable being you...where you dont feel like you have to take off your shoes, or worry about spilling a drink, and where you can come over in sweaty clothes and not worry about sitting on the couch. A place where you never feel the need to impress or be someone that you arent. And 35 years from now, I hope that Jeremy and I can find the same enjoyment out of a date night at Bojangles that my parents do now. It really is the simple things that make life wonderful.

There is just so much to be thankful for. I feel so blessed to have the parents, brothers and sisters that I have, and so blessed to have a husband that shares my values and a beautiful daughter that is already headstrong :) Jeremy said last night, that we have nothing to want for, and that is so true...God is good!!

Happy 2009!