My Daddy

I've been watching my dad, lately.  Just like I did with my mom I've been noticing his actions and responses to the situations that we find ourselves in.  My dad is encouraging, strong, and full of love.  And I want to show y'all that that's exactly how I see him.

My whole life my dad has always been there for me.  In every smart pursuit I wanted to follow he was always right there telling me that I could do it or pushing me to strive harder towards the goal I had for myself.  He taught me a lot about music, even though he doesn't even play an instrument.  His encouragement in the music part of my life gave me the confidence to become the pianist I am today. 

If I was ever down about something or didn't know what to do he always did.  He'd grab my hands, bow his head and begin praying to our Lord to show me the way.  Of course he would give me fatherly advice, but at the end of it all, he always left it in the Lord's hands where it belonged.  He always encouraged me to trust God with my troubles.

Some people would say my dad is too strict of a person.  I think I would prefer to use the word strong.  Just because my dad has rules doesn't make him too strict.  All of the rules he implements in this family are because he believes it's the right thing to do or to protect us from making stupid decisions.  In my case, I've made some stupid decisions anyway, but I've regretted them and wished I hadn't done them.  But even when I do stupid things, Dad still loves me and explains why he does certain things and most of the time I learn from those mistakes.

My dad is strong in his faith.  He believes in the Lord Jesus Christ and he points us to Him every chance he gets.  He sets an example I hope I can one day follow with my children.  Every time he sits down to do devotions with us he talks about the gospel and the wonderful and terrible God that is behind everything.  He is steady in his beliefs and wants his whole family to believe and be strong in the Lord.  I pray to one day be as good an example in this area as my father is to me.

My dad is full of love.  Everything previously mentioned proves to me that he loves his family.  But there are other tells.  When he comes home from working late and I've been waiting all day to talk to him about something, whether it's exciting or troubling, he doesn't just talk to me about it - he wants to talk to me about it.  He gives me money when I don't ask for it but he knows I need it.  He works as much as he can to provide for his family.  He supports us in our good endeavors.  And I believe it is also love when he doesn't support us in our endeavors that may not be so good.  He kisses my cheek every morning; I love that.

My dad can be scary to some people, but I'm pretty sure that's only because they don't know him.  If they would take the trouble to get to know him they'd probably see him how I do: as a godly man who loves his family and strives to take care of them.  I'd say he does a pretty good job of it.

You know, in some of the job interviews I've had I was sometimes asked who would be my hero outside of my own family.  Well, when I think of a hero I think of my dad.  I always thought it wasn't fair for the interviewer to put stipulations on who would be my hero.  My dad isn't just my hero because he's my dad.  He's my hero because of everything he stands for and everything he does and everything he is.  My hero is encouraging, he's strong, and he's loving; he's the perfect role model.  And that's my dad.

So I want to thank my dad for being the best dad out there.

I love you, Daddy!

Happy Father's Day!

My Mother

I've been thinking a lot about my mother, lately.  For the past couple of months I've been noticing the way she conducts herself on a regular basis.  I've seen her attitude, her demeanor, and her grace.  I've been noticing her.

I know almost every person says this about their mom and I think each person really believes it.  I know I definitely believe what I'm about to say: my mom is the best mom in the world!!!  Is she perfect?  Of course not, but she makes french toast and bacon for every birthday and every other special day in the year and that's near perfect, right?  

Seriously though, my mother loves me.  And she loves my dad.  And she loves my brothers and sisters.  I can see it.  It's plain as day.  And I think that's what makes her beautiful.

My mother and I don't always think the same way.  Sometimes we can be quite opposite in our thinking.  In times like these it's easy for me to get frustrated with her.  I know my mom can see my frustration, but she rarely gets frustrated back at me.  If it's a simple misunderstanding on my part she gently makes me understand.  And she talks things through with me when I'm really upset and tells me why this and why that.  Mama almost never gets upset; she's always calm and knows just what to say and do.

She encourages me.  Even when she's not trying, she's an encouragement.  It doesn't matter what I'm down about, if she knows about it she makes time to talk to me about it and tell me that everything will be ok, no matter the outcome.

I never ever hear my mother complain about anything.  She takes things as they are and if they're a little rusty she still makes the best of them.  

The most gracious person I know is my mom.  She always thinks the best of people and gives the benefit of the doubt when it's needed.  She never jumps to conclusions and she's always careful to say the right thing at the right time.  She never makes hasty judgments and she never intentionally says anything that could be interpreted as the least bit insulting to anyone.

Mama forgives, even when she isn't asked to.  She never holds anything that she's forgiven against you.  She doesn't ask for an apology; she just loves you even when she's been hurt by you.

My mother is the picture of what I want to be.  I look up to her and I hope to one day be just like her.  I feel like I fall so short of that.  It's difficult for me to forgive; I'm not very gracious; I'm not near the encourager that my mother is; and if I have to get up early to make breakfast for everyone chances are I'll be kind of grumpy.  So I think God knew exactly what He was doing in giving me my mother.  He gave me someone to learn from and someone to help guide me along life's road.

So I'd like to thank my mom for being the best possible mother she can be to me.

I love you, Mother!

Happy Mother's Day!