I left last Thursday for a family reunion in Estes Park, Colorado. I stayed at a lodge. My room was close to my sister and brothers.

At first it was quiet and serene. https://singleparents.dfwhostingwebsites.com/family-reunions/

Then the rest of our extended family arrived. It was hilarious! The halls exploded with conversation and joy at seeing one another again. I thought at any moment the lodge would crumble due to the loud sound. We were all talking at once!

One of the nice things about my family is that most of us enjoy exercise. We don’t mind eating too but we would rather be hiking, swimming or biking than eating. It was so much fun to hike in the mountains. My uncle, who is eighty-six years old, kept up with us younguns on a hike that was 3-4 miles long!

There was one day that I actually hiked over nine miles! My legs were not happy to come back home to Texas, they yearned for mountain hiking the first few days back home. I have to go for a long swim today just to calm them down.

With any family reunion there is a heritage factor. Some families have fame, others have politics or public service, some have tragedy. The heritage factor at my family reunion was faith in God. Almost every member during our devotional time talked about being active in their church.

I felt bad at first because that is not my gifting. My gifting is writing. This blog has over 21,000 followers at the present time and this is only a portion of my ministry.

God has been working on me in the self acceptance realm. The Holy Spirit assured me that if I was busy working in the church I would not have time to write. Comparison to others is not His will. He has called me to be a Christian author and that is where my joy resides.

The only person who did not claim to be serving in the church or having a ministry was my older brother. My older brother and his wife are by far the kindest and most considerate people I know. They are peaceful and calm. They have an amazing marriage. They are always thinking of others but they do not go to church.

How can that be?

The answer to this question lies in wisdom which my dear first cousin, Sarah, imparted to me.

She said,”Church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.”

PS. If you go to Estes park look for my novel, The Shattered Vase, in the library. I am sending them a copy today. If you can’t go to Colorado you can still buy it by clicking on the following link.https://store.bookbaby.com/book/The-Shattered-Vase