{"id":5370,"date":"2017-12-01T19:56:45","date_gmt":"2017-12-02T01:56:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/?p=5370"},"modified":"2017-12-01T19:56:45","modified_gmt":"2017-12-02T01:56:45","slug":"building-a-forever-family-a-blueprint-for-my-unknown-loved-ones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2017\/12\/01\/building-a-forever-family-a-blueprint-for-my-unknown-loved-ones\/","title":{"rendered":"Building a Forever Family: A Blueprint for My Unknown Loved Ones"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Sharon Simmons<\/strong>
\nPerhaps, by reason of health and strength, I will be blessed enough to participate in the lives of my grandchildren. But I have accepted the fact that I have little to no hope of experiencing an earthly relationship with my family beyond that extent. For that reason, I write this letter in hopes that by sharing some of the methods our family\u2019s current generation is using to reach the eternal shore, future generations may be encouraged to attain their own Heavenly reward.\u00a0<\/span>
\nTo my unknown loved ones,\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>
\nAt the writing of this letter, our little family consists of four precious souls: my husband and your great-(to whatever extent) grandfather Jimmy, myself, and our wonderful children, Luke and\u00a0Layla.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>
\nJimmy is the first preacher in his family. Sometimes being the first bears a heavier load since it neglects to bring with it the experience and edification of successful\u00a0forebearers. Whether or not any of our lineage continues\u00a0employment in preaching, our prayer is that you first and foremost bear the most desirable moniker on earth: \u201cChristian.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>
\nWe live our lives not perfectly, but certainly dedicated to the goal of rooting our family\u2019s source of strength deep within the perfect Word of God.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>
\nI\u2019d like to share with you some of the techniques we\u2019re using to build our \u201cforever family,\u201d as we\u2019ve termed it. It is my most earnest prayer that you will learn from our mistakes, perfect our successes, and dedicate your family to God.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>
\nCome home to Heaven. I\u2019ll meet you there.\u00a0<\/span>
\nWith eternal love,\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>
\nYour great-(to whatever extent) grandmother Sharon\u00a0<\/span>
\n\u00a0<\/span>
\nOur Blueprint<\/i><\/b>:\u00a0<\/span>
\nStep 1:<\/b>\u00a0Meet the fifth member of our family, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit.\u00a0<\/span>
\nOne day, while contemplating John 14:15, I began to ask myself, \u201cHow am I going to teach my children to\u00a0want<\/b>\u00a0to obey God?\u201d\u00a0For, I do not desire any obedience rendered to God to be done so on a compulsory mandate (something done only to please Mom and Dad), but rather as an act of love from a thankful heart.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>
\nWhile meditating, the verse itself gave me my answer. It was found in the third word of the verse,\u00a0love<\/i>. \u201cIf ye love me, ye will keep my commandments\u201d (KJV). I knew then that I must \u201cintroduce\u201d Luke and\u00a0Layla\u00a0to God. They had to know God in order to love Him. And love is necessary for obedience. I knew that I must make God so much a part of our family life that He will always seem like the very present fifth member of our family that He is.\u00a0<\/span>
\nSo, we speak of God on a daily basis. We talk about all the wonderful things He does for us. How He has blessed us. How much He loves us. And how, to show our love for Him, we will keep His commandments.\u00a0<\/span>
\nStep 2<\/b>: Let the Jones\u2019 win.\u00a0<\/span>
\nTo borrow the words of Patricia Schroeder, \u201cI have always preferred having wings to having things.\u201d In Ecclesiastes 3:11, we learn that God placed eternity in our hearts. I have heard it described as our souls having a \u201cGod-shaped hole\u201d that only He can fill. My journey thus far has born that as fact. Seek \u201cwings\u201d not \u201cthings,\u201d and your life will be fulfilled.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>
\nStep 3<\/b>: Laugh. A lot.\u00a0<\/span>
\nHere are some of our favorite funny family quotes:\u00a0<\/span>
\nLayla: \u201cBoys are He-larious. Girls are Her-larious.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>
\nLuke: \u201cWhat does P.E. mean?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>
\nMe: \u201cPhysical Education.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>
\nLuke: \u201cOh, I thought it meant \u2018Playing Eternally.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/span>
\nLayla: \u201cNo, Luke. That\u2019s Heaven. Not the gym.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>
\nMe (during our family devotional): \u201cOver what time span was the Bible written?\u201d\u00a0<\/span>
\nLuke: \u201c\u2026A.M. and P.M.?\u201d\u00a0<\/span>
\nLayla: (in her all-or-nothing manner) \u201cAre you going to get me a strawberry pop tart? Or are you going to go to the\u00a0devil?\u201d\u00a0<\/span>
\nLaughter is the one medicine you\u2019ll never mind taking daily (Proverbs\u00a017:22).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>
\nStep 4<\/b>: Read. Remember.\u00a0<\/span>
\n\u201cThe joy of life is living it and doing things of worth,\u00a0<\/span>
\nIn making bright and fruitful all the barren spots of earth.\u00a0<\/span>
\nIn facing odds and mastering them and rising from defeat,\u00a0<\/span>
\nAnd making true what once was false, and what was bitter, sweet.\u00a0<\/span>
\nFor only he knows perfect joy whose little bit of soil\u00a0<\/span>
\nIs richer ground than what it was when he began to toil.\u201d\u2014Edgar A. Guest\u00a0<\/span>
\n\u201cFor this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe\u201d\u00a0(1\u00a0Timothy 4:10)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sharon Simmons Perhaps, by reason of health and strength, I will be blessed enough to participate in the lives of my grandchildren. But I have accepted the fact that I have little to no hope of experiencing an earthly relationship with my family beyond that extent. For that reason, I write this letter in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[52,66],"tags":[1135,1198,120,1176,1199],"class_list":["post-5370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family","category-think-excerpts","tag-1135","tag-blueprint","tag-family","tag-september","tag-sharon-simmons","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nBuilding a Forever Family: A Blueprint for My Unknown Loved Ones - Focus Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2017\/12\/01\/building-a-forever-family-a-blueprint-for-my-unknown-loved-ones\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Building a Forever Family: A Blueprint for My Unknown Loved Ones - Focus Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Sharon Simmons Perhaps, by reason of health and strength, I will be blessed enough to participate in the lives of my grandchildren. 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