whose in your family tree? what's your lineage?

i have been looking through the old testament this morning.. just flipping through.. and noticing all the lists of people's names, you know, how the start chapters sometimes.. "this man, son of this man, some of this man, who was such and a such"

it made me think of my heritage, and how important my ancestors were.. maybe not to other people, but definitely to me.

my grandma Bakker, for instance, was a FANTASTIC woman of God. she always started her day with a cup of hot tea (a little milk for creamer) and her Bible. she played the piano in her church, he brought up her children to fear the Lord.. all the while being a single mother. her ex-husband (my beloved grandfather) sired 5 children by her, all while being away from home 90% of the time, being married 5 times..

my mom grew up knowing how to do things for herself, learning how to make do with what she had, and all the while being grateful for everything she owned/possesed, because no matter how hard she had it (dirt poor), there was always someone worse off than her. and she always praised God for the blessings she had.. her siblings, her mother, a car, a roof over her head, food on the table, and a church family.

my grandfather Bakker was also a great man. he may have been on the road a lot, but all 5 of his children he loved very much. he settled down with his 5th wife, gave us grandchildren all the love he could, had a WONDERFUL heart.. and taught me that no matter what you do with your life, whether you mess it up or not, God can change anyone. i have no idea if my grandfather was a Christian at the end of his life (i believe so), but i do know he had definitely changed from the way he used to live.

my grandma TenCate (bless her heart) passed away when i was about 8 years old.. but what i will remember always from her is that she was SUCH a warm person, never judged anyone, made the most FANTASTIC sweet potatos at thanksgiving, and always gave of herself. i miss her.

all these and more made an impact on my life. and i'm proud of my lineage and heritage.

my grandma and grandpa Bakker came over from Holland when they were very young (before they even knew each other) and i'm proud to be a little Dutch girl. i have had the privilege of visiting Holland, Germany, Belgium, France and Denmark while I was on a missions trip in 2000.. and I gotta tell you, it's BEAUTIFUL over there.

thank you God for the fantastic people you have put in my life to raise me.
And for showing me that no matter what we do, you can always change a life. :)