“It’s cold in here” I took a break from my phone and announced

Ben looked at me with amusement “It’s because you’re wandering around in the ice age”

And it’s true- Deborah messaged us crowing about her newly achieved favorite daughter status “Did you know that in the 1731 Father’s great-great-great-great-great-great grandad was buried at sea on the way to America leaving a wife and 3 sons? Someone shared this app the family tree and I’ve been knee deep in genealogy ever since.” (Android users, this is not your link-but don’t despair, just search “the family tree” or FamilySearch Tree in your App Store. I had a little trouble getting my family to pop up, but Deborah says it searches obituaries, so once I added info from my grandparents who have passed, it dug up all my info)

I couldn’t let Deb be the only one who was up on family history, so I set myself up a free account and followed Fathers line back as far as it went. I sorted thru all the different stories- lots of Dukes and the random couple (that lived 0586-0650 that decided to become a monk and nun after they had their second son. Grandmonk couldn’t be excused from his service for king at the time, but Grandnun became a nun at Treves. Towards the end of their life, they had to meet to settle some affairs and she was so concerned that he would fall back in love with her, that she shaved off her hair as a deterrent. It worked- he was horrified. Hmmmm

I kept going to until I came to Quintus Sulpicius de Rome 0060 BC, Roman Empire… unreal! “Romans” Nate spit in disgust when I called Deb to compare notes. My mind is just blown to imagine my grandfather a few times removed could’ve been the soldiers marching thru Jerusalem attempting to keep peace.

So that’s what I found about my dad’s family. He’s a skeptic as to the accuracy of this.

But on my mothers side of the family… I haven’t found that her pedigree (that’s what the app calls it and it makes me feel like I’m researching dairy cows or Labrador retrievers) goes back to the Roman Empire- but it’s equally as colorful. Grandpa Sir Hugh Montgomery was over in Ireland storming around in the late 1500s and got involved in the feud between Clan Montgomery and Clan Cunningham. He chased a Cunningham that had offended him clear to Holland where he combated him with a sword. A supposedly deadly blow was deflected by Cunningham’s belt buckle, and Grandpa ended up in jail until he broke out with the help of a Scottish soldier. Grandpa Montgomery “received a reprimand from King James but was soon back in favour.” Fact or fiction 🤷🏻‍♀️

And then I put a puzzle piece together that perfectly explains my nephews: Ragnar ‘Loðbrók’ Sigurdsson Danish King of Lethra, Russia Supposedly my moms family is from this well know Viking king. When I googled him I hope that the nephews don’t try out his warfare strategies, but sometimes when I’m trying to talk to my sisters on the phone I can understand what a Viking attack sounded lol Just kidding.

So is there merit perusing these stories of ancient days? I went to Scripture to be reminded again that God encouraged telling stories from generations to generations.

Joshua 22:28 Therefore we said that it will be, when they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say, ‘Here is the replica of the altar of the Lord which our fathers made, though not for burnt offerings nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between you and us.’

Psalms 78:4 We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.

Psalms 22: ³⁰ Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. ³¹ They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!

Conclusion: 2 things: 1. These verses are instructions for families to tell stories from generation to generation about how God had moved. I’m not sure that Viking or Clan Montgomery were the type of stories that fall into that category. Or even the nun/monk ancestors. Who raised their sons after she joined the convent? 🤔

2. Today matters! If the world stands and in 200 years someone is reading a paragraph on my life, my legacy is important and it’s up to me-today- to chose what it says.

My cousin Marj came to visit and summed my life up in a coffee cup and I love it. But I hope my life is more than my garden or our farm, or a blog that keeps my family on pins and needles about what I’m going to post next.

I pray that my life paragraph states a strong faith in the goodness of God.

Ephesians 3:²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his powerthat is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!

Amen.

Kendra Horst Rohrer, distant daughter of so many people; current daughter of the Everlasting King