1. As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5. one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6.one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Time is very short and there is so much to do! We have a lot of baptisms to complete, forgiveness to ask and time to spend with each other before the coming days are fulfilled.
This all sounds so difficult to complete but one Saturday & Sunday will do it. During the ceremony for Rosalie it dawned on me that we have just begun our journey of renewed Faith.
Tita and I discussed (as most of you did) the need to draw close to The Lord because the times are changing. Didi and I talked about it while languishing in the sun between the death and burial of Tita. The answer is always the same: Jesus is Lord and we need to acknowledge that!
Collectively we have endured four deaths within the last 60 days. That is a lot of death for one family regardless of your unit of measure. But what do all these deaths mean? What can we gain from the experience?
The key lesson that continues to permeate my Spirit is that we must live in the present. We must embrace every day as our last and love strongly the folks that we hold dear. But what does “Love Strongly” mean?
It means “loving completely without complete understanding!” Tita had many faults as we all do but she did understand the value of unconditional love. We each found ways to disagree with her but through it all she always found a way to love us. It took some growth on her part and some of our own but we always managed to meet in the middle.
I think that is what Love becomes: the ability to forget self and recognize the face of God in others without sacrificing our beliefs and morals.
Each day I want to pick up the phone and call Tita to rave about a particular topic but I now spread the burden across many folks instead. The wheel and spokes that we embraced in the past with Tita has now become a wide area network of love and understanding previously not realized. Let us all embrace the change and see the fruit of our efforts.
The pictures in the previous post are only the beginning of a family renewed by tragedy.
Peace to All.
16 comments:
So beautifully said Ross.Thank you so much for that. I really feel a renewed sense of faith and can't wait to work out the details of my family's baptism. Lots to talk about tomorrow huh?
Ross, you are so special to this family. When we left yesterday, Morgan said to me.."mom, we have the most awesome family"....I know.
Don't be afraid, for I...have called you by name;you are mine.When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you.
Isaiah 43;1-2
Ross that was so well said. It is hard to understand how the non believers endure a death or any big bump in the road. But, I have to warn you, as a catholic, if you guys start speaking in scriptures and swaying back and forth I am out of there!!!!! Thanks for yesterday. love to all
didi..does this mean you won't be at our big tent revival.. .. good food, music, snake handlers....
I hope that the clock on this thing is wrong, you people have got to get some sleep! Amy, 4:05, really? Didi, 4:43? Oh and as far as the revival goes, nothin' says Christian Fun like turpentine! I quenches your thirst after handlin' all them snakes!
The clock is wrong, how do we fix that? Snakes,and turpentine, now you're talking fun!! I do love a tent but only at the beach. A great big old baptism at tha beach sounds good, but I prefer a line of beach chairs along the edge with everyone holding some kind of refreshing drink with an umbrella and fruit attached. And if forced, ok, a little rum or something for snake bite And let the healing waters wash over you, woosh woosh, praise the lord.
The baptism at the beach is not a bad idea!If Ross can give us a green card till we get our actual papers, we might be able wait til the family trip!
I am working on my Ordination from The Worldwide Christianship Ministries which will allow me to do all the "church" work we need done legally. You will each receive a Persoanlized Baptism certificate. I prefer doing the dunking in the river like John the Baptist. All joking aside this is an important sacrement that we should revere.
Ross remember the thanksgiving trip to galveston and the early morming baptism by the jetty with all the diapers, beer cans, body parts and other unmentionalbles washed ashore. Fun
Ross, I with you believe this to be a revered act, but i also believe that the Lord will receive anyone who's heart is completely and wholly turned over to him whether it is the guadalupe, Gulf of mexico, or my sprinkler system....everyone can say...amen
Amy, I agree with you. It can be in the kitchen sink as long as your heart, mind and soul are committed to the serving of Jesus Christ. There just be less interruptions and distraction at the river versus the beach. Its not my call, the ones called to baptism should decide where they want the ceremony committed.
Amy, I agree with you. It can be in the kitchen sink as long as your heart, mind and soul are committed to the serving of Jesus Christ. There just be less interruptions and distraction at the river versus the beach. Its not my call, the ones called to baptism should decide where they want the ceremony committed.
This is too stupid to put in a blog post, but perfect for a comment. Most of you know I went to Fuddrucker's tonight for a burger, fries and of course, melty cheese, mayo, tons of lettuce and pickles. I will say this about my meal, it was like Amy's Mariposa house. It sounded like a good idea at the time, now I just want to unload it as fast as possible. Ya'll have a good night, I think I'm gonna be sick! Hope all the kids got home safe Ross. No chicken for the welcome home dinner I hope! Love to All, A
Hey where has everybody been today, no emails, no posting, no nothing. I feel so alone, where is all that codependency I was promised don't tell me you changed your ways. only kidding. Manda never eat anything that outweighs you, words of wisdom. xxoo
Very wise words Didi. Plus, I love Amy's nickname for you DidiP. Do you still drink that? Has anybody heard from Ross, how are the kids? Did they have a good time? Hey Didi,when do ya'll leave for your trip and is Samantha going too?
Of course sam is going, wouldn't miss, even the dog is going. Yes ddp is my drink of choice, nothing else will do. bob and sam drink regular. we leave aug 5 and come back aug 18 this is my 50th bday present, 7 yrs late. come on down. we really need to instant message each other or get a chat room, ross how about it.
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