Acts 16:34 “And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.”
Sunday is a beautiful day, always has been for me. Growing up and while I was attending school, from first grade and on up – I’ve always loved Sundays. It was a time of worship services, and then afterwards just a general day of rest with my family.
After Church services – I remember going home changing out of my Sunday dress and going into the yard to read or play with my dog. My mom would have this great pot of marinara sauce with meatballs, spareribs and pieces of beef, and it would permeate throughout the neighborhood; causing people to salivate as they walked by our house. To accompany that incredibly delicious sauce was usually ravioli, or lasagna (our favorites) or baked ziti – depending on what my mom wanted to make. Salad, antipasto – and afterwards desserts my mom made the night before-so delicious.
Acts 16:31 “And they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
Company (family) would be over every single Sunday. My great grandmother and her son/my uncle; my mom’s mother and dad/my grandmother and grandfather; my dad’s mom and father/grandmother and grandfather; and usually most times my two Aunts, along with my sister’s friends, my brother’s friends, and at times, one of my friends.
Of course, myself and my two siblings, and my mom and dad completed the picture. It was fun and so many laughs took place in that time of which they would visit. I thought it would never end.
Sadly, we all got older, and my grandparents passed away, as did my dad; and my mom- but those memories live on in my heart, they are treasures of the heart. And the Lord provided them by blessing me and my family with the opportunities to gather, and to “rest” in the love of God on Sundays.
Those are the days I recall with vivid detail – I can almost smell my mom’s sauce as of this writing, she made the best sauce in all the land! The crowd on Sunday solidified that entirely.
God is a provider of all that we need, and He is a God of pure and true love. It is because of the grace of God that I am able to look back and smile, and realize what an incredible family I have had, and so many friends that came and walked through our household and our lives.
Some have been called home, but their memories linger on. They are all living with our Savior, and all of which we will see again one day. The way that we act with family and friends, and people in general is something that will “carry over into eternity when we join them in heaven.”
The bonds we form with our family and friends, and how we treat them, will carry over into our Father’s house in heaven. That is the only thing that we will carry over from this earth, from this world, are our righteous acts, our way of interacting with family, friends, people, strangers- that will determine our wardrobe in heaven.
Please, if any of you have a “quarrel” with someone, or if you have “heard something” that was allegedly said- don’t hold on to this, forgive and move on – it is what Christ wants us to do. The enemy is the one that wants us to “fester” and make a boil bigger and bigger until it is about to burst causing considerable pain. God wants you to be happy, pray together have fun together, and help each other while doing so.
I will always remember those days of my childhood, family friends, and my mom’s incredible food after the early morning Church services. It was such a beautiful day of peace, rest, and love – just a few ways we can describe GOD!
Have a blessed day filled with peace, love and rest in God! I pray you all have memories and treasures in your heart of which God blessed you with, and I pray you will forgive and forget if you are not speaking to someone you love.
I will see you next time,
Peace Blessings and God’s love.
“Dear LORD, thank You for all things past, present and to come, may I continue to honor and serve You with love, obedience and joy all the days of my life, in Jesus’ name, Amen.”
