Hi Friends,

Intra-familial sports rivalries have been part of our family culture for a long time, but we’ve decided to up our game a bit. You may wonder — with an University of Tennessee graduate and an University of Georgia graduate (as of a week from today) – – how we could possibly turn up the heat, but we’ve found a way.

This fall Nate will be a graduate assistant at Auburn University while he earns a Masters of Accounting. Sam will be up down the road a bit as a Blount Scholar at the University of Alabama. I’m excited about us all converging in Alabama this fall to cheer on whichever team is playing. I will never stop singing lots of Rocky Top, and my Georgia Bulldogs won the football championship Nate’s freshman year. Still, I am willing to spread my SEC love.

The truth is, being an Auburn fan is not exactly new for me. If you’ve ever been there you know: it’s a special place. Likewise, the University of Alabama has an incredibly beautiful campus and the program Sam is doing is perfect for him. Plus, I realized on my visit to Tennessee in February that I really do miss the South and its alluring charm. Next month marks a full three years in Florida and while I never tire of swaying palms and sunshine, I do appreciate a little variation now and then. Lookout Mountain’s four distinct seasons, with just a dash of winter and daffodils by the end of January, made it ideal, but Alabama is similar. So I am excited to be able to combine getting a taste of seasons with seeing my sons.

Some families do not follow sports at all, but for us it has been a fun way to spend time together. Now with 25% of the SEC covered by Jacksons, we are almost guaranteed a winning Saturday every week!

Later this month, I am speaking to a Moms’ group about building a strong family culture. I will probably mention sports, but that won’t be my main focus, obviously. But I’d love to know some of the ways you have bonded with your own family. Are there things that pop to mind immediately? Are there things maybe you wish you had done more of? Or maybe less of? What kinds of things have especially glued you together?

Of course I believe the most important foundation is God and His Word. We are knit more closely together as we grow closer to Jesus. That is just the basic design.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:5-9.

Love,

Kristie

P.S. These fierce logos are my favorites!