pride.

A lot of time when people think of that word, it's not good.

Like in the instance that someone is too full of themselves to swallow their pride.

Or when a person has a proud, arrogant spirit.

But today, I see the word differently. Today I take a bit of pride in my community...I guess the Homecoming bug has hit me ever-so-slightly. I wore my red and while I've purposed to never do it myself, it's nice to hear about all the reunions that are taking place this weekend (stay safe, folks).

Beyond today, though (as this post has been formulating in my mind for quite a while), I take pride in my family.

We're a silly, fun, awesome group of people--and I don't mean that conceitedly. We are. When we all get together we laugh, play games (that lead to more laughter), watch sports--which gets fun when my mom and brother Andres are rooting against each other, and watch shows where we spout off most all the quotes (i.e., Arrested Development).

...We have a good time together.

But I take pride in our family not just as a unit, but individually. I'm proud of my brother and sister-in-law who have such a desire and drive to seek out the word of God as they instill it in the lives of my niece and nephews. They're a family who are willing to abandon what they were used to in order to search for the truth. I love their boldness to not back down and share what they've learned with others, especially with us.

I'm proud of my other brother and sister in law--a family who has faced many health situations but I've never heard them complain or develop a "woe is me" attitude--they give it to God. My sister in law is strong; my brother is very caring for her and my nephew. I love that about them, and their resiliency.

I've shared it before in my news columns, but my pride swells for my parents. They are seriously the most hard-working people I've ever met--their work ethic puts people in my age bracket to shame. Their ministry to our church and commitment to the Father amazes me, and it's infectious. I thank God that He blessed me with such awesome folks to learn from and look up to.

I think of my twin sister, and my pride continues. Seriously...she's one of the most talented people I know--I don't think you could put something in front of her that she wouldn't be able to excel at. And recently, I love that she put her need to be taught at the forefront so she can dive deeper into the Word.

And I think of my uncle Tim...he's been there for all four of the kids since FOREVER. My all-time favorite memory of him was when he went with us to Safety City in Abilene and watched a bunch of third graders fail miserably at "driving"...and even more so, the moment he had to pick up the statue (which WASN'T connected to the ground!) of Ronald McDonald because some kid make the decision to try and climb it.

But as much pride as I have for my family, I understand this: we wouldn't be where we are--individually or collectively--if it wasn't for the provisions, blessings and favor of the Father.

And for that, I thank Him.

The Serrano family, circa December 2012