Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful fathers out there. I happen to think my dad is one of the greatest dad's there are, but I know many of you, would fight me to the finish, because you also think your dads rank numero uno.
My dad was a Navy man, ending up in a submarine slot, working with the radar control boards. He left the military after 20 years of service, as a chief petty officer. That is pretty wonderful, for a young man working his way up in the ranks. He told me it was a very hard training period that all of them had to go through, and obviously, he did his best and was successful in his career.
At some point, in his younger years, he and my mom became Christians, and gave up the lifestyle they were living at the time. They have lived for the Lord ever since, and my dad finally gave into God's call in his life, and became a minister/pastor after he left the military. He is one of the best pastor's I have ever had the privilege of knowing, and it is because of his and my mom's love for the Lord, that I have such a strong foundation of faith.
My dad and mom had eleven kids, so you know their home was full of life. My dad taught us to respect my mom, and if he caught us sassing her, boy were we in trouble. I always respected my dad for how he stuck up for my mom. It meant a lot to me, as a young girl, to see a man give respect and honor to the one he loves. My dad also taught us that if he or any other preacher preached something from the pulpit, we had every right to go and check it out for ourselves, and make sure that what was being said, lined up with God's Word. That is a pretty big gift, in this world of "Do as I say, and only as I say" world. I use this gift sparingly in my eyes, but maybe some pastors that have had me in their congregations wouldn't agree that I was so quiet in my opinions. But, I do read my Bible, and I do confront what is not following closely to God's Word. So, thank you, daddy, for allowing your daughter to seek after God's Truth for herself.
My dad loves his kids with a full heart, but I truly believe his delight is in his grand kids and great grand kids. He loves those little and big ones so much. I watch him with the littlest ones, and his love and care is so special to see. Both he and my mom were great parents, but they are even greater grandparents, which is saying a lot about how wonderful they are.
I watch my own husband with his kids, and I know that I have been blessed with a loving husband to me, and father to our kids. His greatest joy is to take us on outings and trips. He loves to see nature, and share what he sees with all of us. He has gotten each of his children to love fishing, even though the girls don't really care to eat the fish, they love fishing with their daddy. I was never a real fish eater, either, but in being married to this wonderful man, I have grown to love eating fish, and if you ever tasted his fish gumbo, you'd love to gobble that up as fast as you can, because it is so good. I have been telling him to make it again. Maybe soon! As you can see, he has impacted our lives in a huge way.
Our older daughter's and Roy always come to him for help with their cars, and he is always willing to drop whatever he is doing, to help them out. What a loving gift that is. My dad did the same. Kaylee loves watching certain shows with her dad, and they laugh and giggle and make me smile just to hear them, and watch them.
Isolino's dad accepted me into their family, and treated me like a daughter. I never had any problems with him, and he tested me one time, when we first got married, by making me eat a hot pepper. It was really hot, but I knew this was important to pass this test, so I ate that pepper, and didn't beg for water afterwards, and he shook his head up and down, and indicated that I was all right. I had passed the test. I learned some Portuguese words from him, like "frio" and "cabeza". He loves to use his hands when he talks, and I would get the understanding of what he said, just through his hand motions. He loves his grandchildren, and many would fall asleep in his lap.
Our heavenly Father, is even better than our earthly fathers. He says in the Bible, that "if our fathers, being good, give us good things, than how much more will He, our heavenly Father, give us good things?" Think about that. We tend to blame God when bad things happen, but really, it isn't God who is to blame, but our enemy. God allows it, but He didn't set out to ruin something in your life. He tests us, to see what is in our hearts, and that is why He allows the enemy to do things, but God gives good gifts. He has given us all we have need of, but we just don't understand how to accomplish the tasks He's set before us, because we are not really in tune with His plans. We try to understand, but we have a lot of stuff that gets in the way. That is why we need to have daily Bible reading or meditating on His Word. That is why we need to be in prayer daily and in a spirit of praise at all times. I know all of that sounds hard, but really, we only need one Word from Him a day, to keep us focused on His will for us on that day. Try it. Ask Him to help you understand His Will for you each day. Let Him "fix" what needs fixing, and help you stand up and be victorious in Christ.
I pray you will all be blessed by your earthly dads, but I really pray that even if you didn't have a great dad, that you would know how much your heavenly Father loves you and wants to help you in your life. I pray that you could understand that the bad things that happen, aren't happening because God has cursed you, but because the curse came about through sin, and it is only the Blood of Jesus that can cleanse us from that curse. It is God's greatest gift to us. The Blood of the Lamb, that set us free. That cleansed us from all unrighteousness, and took the sin upon Himself, so that we could truly live as conquerors in our lives, overcoming the enemy and being victorious in living a life to the Glory of God. Let God help you to see that victory in your life. Let God help you to know that your life is precious and that as your Father in heaven, He cares about you intimately and completely. He wants to shower you with good things. He wants your life to be full of joy. Full of wonder at all He has done. I pray you see that today.
