“Thank you, God, for all your blessings to me and my family.

 For the strength you give me each day, and for all the people

around me who make my life more meaningful.”

Recently I’ve been praying and thinking a lot about “family,” spending some quality time with them and just being grateful for the “family” God has put in my life.

Like my daughter Taylor, son-in-law David and “Little Men” Easton and Beckett.  I’ve been spending a lot more time with them lately and realizing how much I truly love them all and what a blessing they are to me.  I pray that I may be the same to them every day.

And my Mom and Dad, brother Dean and sister-in-law Susan. Though they live 5 hours away in Northern Virginia, my relationship with them is probably as loving as it’s ever been.  I recently got to spend a few days with them, and we had such a loving time just catching up and “being with each other.”  Though my parents are getting up in years and probably won’t be with us much longer (especially Dad), and maybe because of that, I cherish every moment we have together.  My brother and I now have a relationship that didn’t exist for almost 25 years!  And Susan has become like a daughter to my Mom and Dad, and a sister to me. How grateful I am for all of them!

And then there’s my “WBFJ Family.”  We’ve been together for over 9 years now, and they’re not just “Co-workers” but brothers and sisters in Christ.  They have stood by me and “put up” with me through thick and thin; including the loss of my sister, my stroke and other “health issues” over the years. And recently I was reminded once again of how much each and every one of them mean to me.

My prayer and hope for you is that you too are blessed by the family and friends God has put around you that make your life more meaningful.

Grace and Peace,

Dennis