Proverbs 23:22 "Listen to your father, who gave you life, ......"

Today is Friday, June 15, 2012. It's actually Friday the 1300th for me in terms of the number of blogs I have pasted out on the worldwide web board. But I will have something to say about that at a later date. This coming Sunday is the day set aside to honor fathers here in our nation. The role of dads in today's upside down world is constantly undergoing revision and redefinition. However, God had a very specific idea in mind when He created them male and female. Those of you who have read my blogs for anytime at all know how blessed I am to have had the influence of the dads that God has placed in my life. Although I did not get to come up in life under the tutelage of my biological father because of his untimely death in 1954, I do thank God for him and the life that he gave to me. One of the most significant impacts on my life has been the influence of my grandfather, Paw Paw Mac, my mom's dad. After dad passed away, mom and the six of us moved to a rural town in Louisiana. We moved in with Granny and Paw Paw Mac. We lived with them for a time until we got our house built but my granddad's influence continued and even though he went on to his reward in 1971, his influence, his example, and his words of wisdom are a constant companion to me, and I do thank God for His provision in giving to us this rather simple but Godly father figure. I read an obituary this week and it summed up the influence of their dad in this way: "Our father taught us the ways of Jesus Christ which he modeled. We thank God for the gift of his life and pray that he rest in God's peace." I couldn't have said it any better.

I also rise up to pay homage to my step dad who has for these many years been a faithful husband to our mom and a caring dad to our blended family. Dad has proven himself loyal in his military career, his working career, his twenty years as a public official for the town, and as an encourager and supporter to us kids. When I think of him I thank God because He surely has blessed us through this man. I say Happy Father's Day Dad. May God bless you for being the dad that you have been and are today. Amen. I also pause to remember my wife's dad, my father in law, and the relationship he and I enjoyed for so many years. He was someone that I knew was always rooting for me. He was another of those handfuls of blessings given to me by God. I then think about other dads that have influenced my life. My uncles, teachers in school and those in the local fellowship where we attended. Men I have worked with. Men I have served with. It's not easy to be the kind of dad that God wants us to be. But, in my life I've learned that regardless of how things have gone in the past, we dads can do what we can today to live out the truth that we desire to see carried forth in the lives of our children, our grandchildren, and our great grandchildren. I do wish all dads including our three sons a wonderful Father's Day and may God bless us all as we seek to model the example He has called us to be. Amen. Have a great Saturday and Lord's Day Sunday, and I will catch up with you next time, right here, on this same station, Lord willing, of course.          .....More later.