Today is a Day to Honor….

It is a day to pause and to reflect on the goodness of God to give such a wonderful gift as a father. Not all men deserve this honor, but there are a select group of men that, although are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, strive hard and give their best to be a father, husband and man deserving of honor and respect.

Today, as I think about the many friends that I have who either lost their dad at an early age or was brought into this world by a man that may embody the term by gender  but insults the very meaning of the word in deed and lifestyle, my gratitude to God increases for the dad that he allowed me to have and the time he has given me with him.

My dad is not perfect, but he is a man that deserves respect and honor. He helped lay so many of the stones that I now walk on as a foundation for my life. He modeled what it means to live a sacrificially for those that you love. That sacrifice may have embodied working multiple jobs to pay the bills or going without personally so that his kids could have what was needed, but whatever form it found itself in, it was modeled in quiet humility, never demanding or requiring gratitude or the slightest appreciation. If I had to describe my dad in two words it would have to be quiet and steady. He always just does what needs to be done. He has never been one to seek the spotlight or wanted to attract a lot of attention.

My dad is a man of conviction and integrity. In 2007, he ran for the U.S. Senate against Lindsey Graham and later the U.S. Congress. Some may have looked on in disdain or with a slight snicker under their breath because of the great odds that he was up against with a career politician. But, how many other men can say they had convictions about the way our country should be run and stood up to do something about it? Win, lose or draw…you can only make a difference if you get in the game…my dad got in the game and made his voice heard as loud as he could with as much platform as he was allowed to have. I always believed he had a chance to win!

There have been times in my lifetime that I have seen people rise up against my dad, falsely accusing him of things and trying to ruin his name, and while everything inside of me wanted him to fight against them and tell them how things really were, he was quiet and steady; just doing the right thing and not answering fools according to their foolishness (Proverbs 26:4).

My dad helped lay the stones of my faith and my involvement in the ministry. He didn’t look down on me because of my age, but he allowed me to serve in various roles as a young person and many times by his side on the Migrant Fields of South Georgia. It was through this exposure and this experience that I felt God calling me into full time ministry. My dad didn’t always just teach me what was right and wrong, but he challenged me to compare my own personal views to the teachings provided to us in Scripture. As I made a choice to walk away from some of the traditions I was raised in within the church (although I have never walked away from the faith), my dad stood by quiet and steady and allowed me to forge my own path for which God uses to this day. He never forced his opinions or his convictions on me, rather he allowed me to be led by God on the path he helped lay.

My dad taught me how to be faithful and committed to my family. To marry a woman that is better than the rest. He taught me on my first Christmas to take his better power drill back to the store and keep my wife’s crappy drill…he assured me things in the home would run much smoother if I did…so I did as he suggested.

I could go on and on and on about the lessons I have learned from my dad and the positive impact he has had on my life. Today, I am blessed that God, in his mercy, was so kind to give me a dad I could honor and be proud to call my own.

Today is a Day to Feel Honored…

Being a dad is a scary proposition. You’ve never been one until you’ve been one. Today, is a day that I get to pause and reflect on how blessed I truly am and how honored I am to be the dad to my three children: Gavin, Tristan and Hailey.

All three are unique in their own way, but they all make me smile and they all make me feel a little closer to God knowing how he must look down on us, his children, with joy, laughter and pride.

I am honored that many times as I walk towards the door to go to work, I can’t get there without all three of my kids tackling me, almost knocking me to the ground to make sure they hug me goodbye. I am honored that many times as I walk towards the door to come in to the house as I am returning for work I am greeted in the garage or in the doorway with their hugs and smiles greeting me from a long day a part.

I love the gift God has given me of fatherhood. I love chasing my children around the house and having pillow fights. I love having them beg to ride in my car home from church. I love knowing my kids love me and want to be a part of my life and want me to be a part of their life. What joy it is to be a father. I desire to be the kind of father that deserves respect and honor.

Being a dad is scary and there are always fears of screwing up and making the wrong choices or having to watch your child deal with the pain of their own bad choices. I am blessed and honored to have the greatest woman on the planet to be by my side and to forge this journey together. Nicki makes me a better man and she challenges me, whether I always admit it or not, to be a better man. I wouldn’t be anything my children deserve without her by my side. I hope that in the end, I will have impacted my children’s lives in the same positive way my dad impacted mine.