Father

 

So I have to confess…I love being a daddy.  As of this writing I am waiting for my new daughter to arrive which will be any day (She is technically due in 3 weeks).  I have son, Evan, who is 8 and is ready to take on the world.  He has a heart of compassion.  My daughter Amber, who is 4, and who believes that she is a princess…and she is...she loves to sing.  I love getting up early and cuddling with them and talking to them.  Evan always tells me that, “God gave me a special daddy.”  Amber is never short of “Daddy kisses and hugs.”  I love being a daddy.  Unfortunately their daddy isn’t perfect.  I have so much room for improvement…I am constantly striving to be a better.  I always seem to have to ask my children for forgiveness.  I mess up.  He is what blows me away.  Evan not too long ago said, “Dad, I forgive you…I know that you aren’t perfect…only God is…and you always seem to love me even more when I mess up.”  I didn’t know how to respond to that.  I have to confess that I am embarrassed of what I have put on that the cross.  I feel like David who confesses to God, “I know my sin” (Psalm 51).  What blows me away is that there is a God, despite all of my failures and horrific choices that has a heart for me.  I don’t deserve love.  But I have a Father in heaven that won’t stop loving me.  What a Father!  Paul tells us that, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).  I am thankful for my Father in heaven.  When was the last time you, as a child of God, just told Him how much you loved Him?  If you are reading this and your relationship with your earthly father isn’t/wasn’t very good…in fact it didn’t exist…well I am sorry.  I feel for you because everyone should have that opportunity to have a relationship with their daddy.  But this is reality and reality is painful.  However, there is a Father that doesn’t fail and longs to have a relationship with you.  Believe it or not, He created you and has a plan for you existence.  “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalms 139:13). “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).  I have ranted long enough…I love being a daddy but I love my Father in heaven more.  He is the reason I am daddy, He is the reason for all the good in my life.  For all of the Christians reading this…give praise to your Father.  Adore Him!  Speak of His wonders and His love.  For those desiring to know their Father in Heaven, won’t you, “Taste and see that the LORD is good…” (Psalms 34:8a).  Have a blessed day!    

Behind the name...

I was asked about the meaning of my blog…I am a simple guy, I enjoy food and Jesus and it seems for I can accomplish both at the same time.  Dinner time at my home is important to my wife and I as our family comes together and we can discuss our day...and eat.  It’s an opportunity for my children see my wife and I model Jesus for them.  I am a bit old school and love to visit people but life seems busy for everyone and it tends to be easier to meet people for lunch...we can eat and talk about Jesus.  As an associate minister at West Orange Christian, I have been given the freedom to design events…and I always have the people together and it always involves food.  Jesus seemed to recline at the table quite bit and teach people.  He sat and at with sinners…something my good friend Arron Chambers talks about in his book “Eats With Sinners” (you can check it out here http://www.eatswithsinners.com/).  A lot can be accomplished when you minister to those that are lost, especially around the table.  We remember Jesus and what He did for us every week as we take the emblems from the table.  When I disciple someone, it usually involves food…in two ways.  I am a simple guy.  I love to cook.  I love to cook for my family and friends…for church functions.  And I love Jesus and what He has done for me.  I am His and He is mine.  He is my Savior and I am His servant.  I am a simple guy…I am not deep.   I enjoy food and Jesus…and chicken wings rhymed with Jesus things…there ya go.  Be blessed!

...love

I don't believe I have blogged in 5 years.  Maybe 6!  It's been awhile.  That's not important, though, as I didn't come here to tell you that.  I wanted to tell you that I love my wife!  She is packing her bag this week in preparation for our third child.  Its girl, her name is Addyson, and she is supposedly coming in 4 weeks.  She’s an awesome mommy and along with being an awesome wife.  I am not sure that I can put in words why I love my wife the way I do but I really love her.  She has put up with me for almost 7 years...she is a very patient woman with a heart of gold (I know it’s a cliché, but I couldn't think of anything else).  The words of Jesus run through my head when I think of her..."A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."…now the reason these words run through my mind when I think of her is that she always shows me that she loves me by what she does.  What a woman!  The heart she has for me humbles me!  I know she loves me the way that she does because it comes from the love that she has for Jesus.  Jesus is funny like that.  The more you become like Him, the more you love God and the more you love people the way He did.  I think that’s how it works, I could be wrong.  Jack Lup who is the minister that I serve side by side, said in his sermon yesterday that Jesus never really spoke the words, “I love you” but instead showed everyone that He loved them but how he lived.  I believe that speaks more volume than words.  I am guilty as a husband and dad for saying the words “I love you” and not backing it up with action.  I am guilty as a son and brother as well as a friend for the same thing.  Here’s a question to all my homies (Christians):  Do the people around us know we are Christians by our love?  I know that is a line to a song that we sing but work with me.  It’s just a thought, I am done rambling…have a blessed day.