WE ARE FA-MI-LY!
/John & I are on our way to New Jersey to spend time with my amazing family. We are happy to be there to "celebrate" all the years we have been together for family parties at my beloved sister's house at the Jersey Shore. But the celebrating will be bittersweet because it is the end of an era. Dear Nancy & Vic, our gracious host and hostess, are leaving Jersey to begin their next stage of life as retired folks in Florida. So there is grief for the rest of us and, I suspect, for them too.
In light of this all this change, I would like to share a post from 2012, after one of our special times together at Nancy's. So may I introduce you to these precious folks who have beckoned me back to New Jersey again and again.
♥We are fa-mi-ly...my mother*, brothers, sisters, and me! ♥
OK, I did change the lyrics a bit...but that's who* we Renners are, since our daddy went home to God more than 25 years ago.
And I am blessed beyond measure to be a part of it all...the oldest of 7 and the "Boss of the Mob" according to my mom :)
Most families are a mess today! We're a mess too (aren't we all?!), but with one big difference. A rarity, in fact! We love and support one another...and we actually want to be together! What an undeserved gift...and I certainly know it!
Now don't get me wrong! Some of us are quite "crusty" -- a tad bit difficult to get along with! Then there are the "mushy-gushies" -- the affectionate mercy-showers. And everything between!
But above, round, over, and under it all is a lot of GRACE!
My mom is our cosmic glue, so to speak. She says that when she's gone, we better get along and love each other...otherwise, she will come back to haunt us! Those of you who know our mom wouldn't doubt it.
In fact, I can hear Jesus say to her, "OK, Jeanette, your kids are bickering! Go get 'em!"
Another thing about us Renners is that there are many others who are part of us...either permanently or temporarily. So over the years, the Renner family has included distant relatives, in-laws, out-laws, boyfriends and girlfriends, various friends, "enemies," pets, neighbors, etc.-- Renner-wanna-be’s, if you will. And that's a good thing!
These days I attribute this largely to my sister Nancy. What a gift she is to all of us! Nancy's Belmar beach house has become the gathering place for all of us Renners and Friends. Why? Because of hers and Vic's generous hospitality and loving inclusiveness. Thank you, sweet sis!
I grieve for others who don't have this closeness in their family (come be part of ours!). I thank God for His unconditional gift to me...
But I realize that what we Renners have is just a feeble picture (as good as it is) of another family...a forever family -- God's family!
Oh on this earth, even God's children can be a bit crusty and hard to get along with! Or mushy-gushy mercy showers! But no matter what, we belong to each other! We are united to each other in our Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son, our Brother...and our "Cosmic Glue!"
Let's thank God, embrace each other, and include all those who areGod's family wanna-bes through His Son!
Because ♥ WE ARE FA-MI-LY! ♥ Truly!
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1John 3:1
*Our Mom, our Cosmic Glue, went home to heaven in 2015. We miss her terribly!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We are family
I got all my sisters with me
We are family
Get up everybody and sing
Everyone can see we're together
As we walk on by
And we fly just like birds of a feather
I'm not telling no lie
All of the people around us to say
Can we be that close
Just let me state for the record
We're giving love in a family dose, yeah
We are family
I got all my sisters with me
We are family
Get up everybody and sing
And our goal's in sight
We are family
I got all my sisters with me
We are family
Get up everybody and sing
We are family
I got all my sisters with me
We are family
Get up everybody and sing
the Renners & friends 2012
For more family photos or to add some, go to facebook
Nancy's birthday
