A tribute to my DAD

Yesterday was father's day.  I have always loved holidays that celebrate people in our lives - Mother's Day, Grandparent's Day, Anniversary's & Birthdays - because it gives you the opportunity to tell them how much you appreciate them.  So often, in our busy lives these days, we do not take the time to really express how we feel about those closest to us.  It's so important to say the things on our hearts....to let people know how much we love them and what it is we love most about them!

So, back to yesterday..........we had my parents and some dear friends join us for a BBQ.  It was great to have them here.  It was a busy afternoon of preparing food, enjoying some good wine, visiting and - of course- eating!  But, somewhere amidst all of the hub-bub of housefull of rowdy teenagers, an overactive dog and everyone else in between.....I had this overwhelming feeling of enormous  love & appreciation for my Dad.  

My Dad has always been a man of incredible sacrifice.  Most of my fondest memories of him are full of his fun-loving, self-sacrificing, kind-hearted and Christ-like heart.  I remember as a small child he would gather together all the neighborhood kids on our block and play frisbee-golf until it was so dark we couldn't even see the frisbee anymore (there were no other Dad's anywhere to be seen).  Many of these kids were unchurched at the time and he would load many of them up in our family car and drive us all to church, sunday-school, vacation Bible school and youth group events every week.  Many of these people are still walking solidly with Jesus today!  Praise God!!.......................Another thing I've always loved about my Dad is how he would strive so hard to read the Bible to us, when I was growing up.  Family devotions were a very regular occurrence in our home and most of the time, it was my Dad who would read the Bible to us and discuss spiritual truths regularly.  To this day I see my Dad as a man who sets out to be in God's Word daily, an example that I still benefit from today, as do my children................My Dad has always been the kind of guy who would give you his last dime, if you genuinely had a need for it.  I remember being on a family trip one time and  we encountered a homeless man who asked my Dad for some money.  Most people would have just walked right on by and ignored such a request from a stranger on the street - but my Dad took the man down the street and bought him a meal right then and there.  It was kind, compassionate acts like this that taught me to give to others, even when you don't HAVE to.  He has routinely been "Jesus" with skin on to many people over the years, some close friends, some complete strangers..................Dad is all about his family, too.  He loves to have his kids & grandkids around as much as possible.  He loves his family with every ounce of his being!  He has always been ready to drop everything and rush to the side of any one of us when we were in a bind, or a crisis of any kind.  Once, in college, I was rushed to the emergency room in Newberg at 3:00 am and my Dad drove 90 miles an hour to get there and be with me and make sure that I was alright.  I am certain that he would move heaven and earth, if he had to, in order to make sure that any one of our family members was okay......................My Dad is great FUN, too!  He is all about having a great time and finding a way to make ordinary things extraordinary!  He is such a kid at heart!  He has custom-designed many a scavenger hunt for me and my siblings, over the years, and I'm not too sure who had more fun on the hunt - us, or him???

So, by now you can surely tell how fond I am of my Daddy!  He is an amazing man and I truly feel privileged and blessed to have him.  He is so much more than a Dad....he's part of my foundation in Christ, he's my rock-solid support, he is the picture of unconditional love, he's my hero, and he gives the biggest, best hugs of anybody I know!    I thank God for so richly blessing me with my Dad and I pray that I will have him by my side for many, many more Father's Day's to come!

  ".....choose for yourself, this day, whom you will serve.....but as for me and my household, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD!"........................Joshua 24:15