The Most Important Things

               It has been a long time!  We apologize profusely for not writing on here for so long, and to all of our adoring fans out there we ask for your forgiveness.  J  A lot has happened to our family in the past 8 months, but we won’t give you all the boring details, we’ll just cut to the good stuff.

               Our lives were changed forever on September 3, 2014, when this little guy was born: 

This is Luke, and his mom and dad love him to death!  We absolutely love being parents, although it is very difficult.

               I’ve been thinking a lot today, trying to figure out what would be the best thing I could share in this post, the first message we’ve posted for a long time.  The purpose of this blog is to share Christian Family Values.  And the most important family value to me right now is this: there is NOTHING more important than your family.  Not school, not sports, not work, not anything; there is nothing more important.

               The world would have us think otherwise.  The world seems to think that families are an annoyance.  Why have kids?  They just get in the way and keep you from reaching your full potential.  Why even get married?  Just enjoy a non-committal relationship where you can be “as fulfilled” as you would be in a marriage. 

               In the Bible we’re taught that “therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”  Cleave means to adhere closely; to stick; to cling.  I really like the imagery created by the word “cling”.  We should cling to our family.  When I think of the word cling, I think of someone being pulled away and clinging to something so they’re not dragged off.

               This brings to mind an image: I envision a father clinging to his family, while work and other responsibilities grab on to his ankle, trying to pull him away.  We must cling to our family, or we will be drawn away into other paths where our family cannot follow. 

               I know, for a fact, that God wants me to first and foremost be a good husband and father.  I know that if I make my wife and son my #1 priority in my life, then God will help me to do my best on the other responsibilities I have. 

               This has been especially poignant to me during the past few weeks as I’ve dealt with three 400 level math classes and a part-time job.  These take up so much of my time, I feel like I never spend time with my family.  But I have been reminded time and time again that nothing should take precedence over my family. 

               I have learned for myself this week, through multiple experiences, that if we tell God that we want to spend time with our family, then he will help us to finish everything else that we have to do.  God wants us to be in families.  He knows that eternal happiness can only be achieved in a family setting.  And I testify of that fact: I did not know true happiness until I met Gauchay and got married.  And I could not have imagined then the extreme joy that would be mine every time I held my son.  I love my family and want to always remember that there should be absolutely nothing in my life that is more important than my family.