{"id":2782,"date":"2018-01-11T05:50:51","date_gmt":"2018-01-11T12:50:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/?p=2782"},"modified":"2018-01-11T09:53:44","modified_gmt":"2018-01-11T16:53:44","slug":"cousins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/?p=2782","title":{"rendered":"cousins"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kinsey, Jordan, and Owen came to our house from Birmingham a couple of days before Christmas. Karlyn, Taylor, Emma, Wilkes, and Macy planned to join us Christmas Eve for a nice meal and gift exchange. On their way to church Sunday morning, Emma turned to Wilkes in the backseat and said, \u201cWe are going to Opa\u2019s and Susu\u2019s house this afternoon! And guess who else will be there?\u201d With excitement, Wilkes asked, \u201cWho?\u201d Emma replied, \u201cYour cousin Owen!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"img_7023\"<\/a>Wilkes will be three years old in March; Owen is a little over a year younger. Staring out the window from his car seat, Taylor and Emma heard Wilkes say to himself, \u201cOwen\u2026 I wuv that wittle man.\u201d<\/p>\n

My prayer is that my children\u2019s children experience the same healthy relationships growing up with their cousins and extended family as our kids had. The Saturday after Christmas, we went to my parents\u2019 house in Chattanooga. Everyone could not make it, but many of the family gathered around my parents\u2019 table and enjoyed food and one another’s company. My brother\u2019s son Jeremy, his wife Whitney, and their two girls were home on furlough… they are missionaries in Peru.<\/p>\n

Jeremy is thirty-two years old and Taylor is thirty-one. They grew up spending holidays together and playing at their grandparents\u2019 house. At the close of the day as people were leaving, I witnessed a beautiful sight as I looked out the window. Jeremy and Taylor were giving each other a big hug, knowing they probably wouldn\u2019t meet again for a long time. I wonder if in thirty years a similar embrace might take place between Wilkes and Owen.<\/p>\n

Many think Jesus and John the Baptist were second cousins because Gabriel connected Mary as being related to John\u2019s mother. \u201cEven Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age\u2026\u201d (Luke 1:36) Just six months apart, John and Jesus loved each other deeply.<\/p>\n

John set the perfect example for all when he said, \u201cHe must become greater; I must become less.\u201d (John 3:30) When Jesus spoke of John who had been imprisoned by Herod, He said, \u201cTruly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.\u201d (Luke 11:11)<\/p>\n

May all cousins love one another! And may all God\u2019s children love one another! Love is the proof that Jesus rules our lives\u2026 and it is what the world needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cA new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.\u201d John 13:34-35<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kinsey, Jordan, and Owen came to our house from Birmingham a couple of days before Christmas. Karlyn, Taylor, Emma, Wilkes, and Macy planned to join us Christmas Eve for a nice meal and gift exchange. On their way to church Sunday morning, Emma turned to Wilkes in the backseat and said, \u201cWe are going to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-love"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2782"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2782\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2786,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2782\/revisions\/2786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/airwoof.org\/journey\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}