One thing that helped me embrace my family was to take time to reflect on how God created me and my husband.  What were we like and what did we like?  Take the time to discover this and then Embrace the creative way God made you.Do you love music?  Then sing!Did He create you or your husband to love running? Then run all the races and time your kids with a stopwatch in the front yard.Does little Billy or Susie or you love nature?  Then camp and hike and be outside.Are you artistic?  Then go to art museums and spend a fortune on art supplies.Do you like to create?  Then invest in Legos and blocks. Build and tear down and build some more.  Or buy sewing supplies and fabric and yarn and popsicle sticks and craft kits and C R E A T E .Is Johnny or Jenny competitve? Then collect and  play all the  boardgames there are and enjoy winning and losing.Do you love gardening?  Then grow beans and corn and tomatoes and get dirt between your fingers and toes. God did not create you to C O M P A R E. No, sir.Comparison is the thief of all joy!  Don’t look at other families or their kids and wonder and wish….

Embrace who you are.  Embrace those kids you have.  Embrace the Family you were created to be.  Talk about this with your husband.  Dream a little.  Talk about this with your friends and get some good ideas.  Talk about it with the Lord and gain His wisdom and insight.  Be the Family He wants for you.

I would often say, We are the Johnsons and Johnsons __________________ , and I would fill in the blank.  For example, The Johnsons play the piano and love music.   So we invested in years of piano and listened to music all the time at home and in the car.  That was our gig.Or, The Johnsons are helpers and we share the work around the house.  Each of the boys had a chore chart and started helping around the house at a young age.

It doesn’t matter what goes in the blank, but it does matter that it isn't blank.

What is your gig? Or you sweet spot? DO IT!

Today, E M B R A C E the way God created your family to look and work:  the Gifts, the Talents, the Quirks and the Fun!  The Sursee is to discover how He created you and your family and then R U N with it. Embrace it.  For more on this subject of embracing, go read my post about Embracing the children God gave you...

These photos are from the giant tree swing in Red River that sadly, is no more.  What fun it was to swing out and feel like you were flying...