Happy Fathers Day!

I was asked to do a Father's Day Tribute of sorts for our All For One Service today. Here's what I wrote up! Enjoy :-)

Dad.
Daddy.
Daddio
Father.
Papa
Sir.
Mr.
Pops
Dude….

Whatever we call you or however that name may change through the years, you always have been and always will be our Dad, the other parental unit that helped bring us into the world.
There really are so many variations on “Dad” isn’t there?. What sort of Dad’s have you known in your life? I bet by asking that simple question, your mind has already complicated your answer.
Some of us are familiar with the present, active and interactive Dads, the one who comes to every sporting event we have or even coach our teams. They cheer loud as we score, achieve and accomplish. Their the ones pushing us a little bit further to be all that they know we can be and more. They don’t give up and encourage us to keep hangin on. Their disapproval may seem intimating at times, but it really is probably for our own good. Some dad’s have an interesting tactic when it comes to motivating us.
Others of us have known the Dad’s whose voice is not welcome and who take a back seat in times of conflict and crazy circumstances. Maybe they easily give up and become discouraged. Maybe they walk out. Maybe they wound and hurt and tare.
Some of us are Daddy’s little girl or Dad’s buddy. Maybe in your eyes Dad is your hero and someone who you aspire to be. He’s like your big Teddy Bear, the one whose strong arms are the most secure feeling in the world. And guaranteed He’s the dad who’ll be cleaning his shot gun while asking his little girls future husband 20 questions.
Perhaps all of us have had a “Father Figure” in our lives, someone who became dad and took the place of a non-existent Father for a season or for all of our lives. Maybe this man picked up the slack, rallied on your side, gave you the advice you were starved for. Maybe he was just there and that’s all that mattered. He filled the shoes that you have always longed to be filled. He asked you the tough questions and really caused you to the think and evaluate major life decisions.

Dad’s, in all of their different dimensions and varying roles are someone we have all experienced in our life. Dads are at times overlooked and underappreciated for the ways they provide and sacrifice. Some dance the tango and float between being vigorous both at home and at a job. Their lives are not always planted in front of the tube, eatin chili and burgers, gettin their “man” time in. Their not always the Tim the Tool Man Taylor Grunting sort of fella’s. Can I hear some grunts from the men this morning?!
Many Dads run their course full force. They should be praised for their leadership and the many times they “take one for the team” (their families). Being a Dad often looks like less sleep and more worry. They for sure have a huge load on their shoulders. And, I am personally thankful for my Dad and all the Dad Figures I have had through my life. My own Dad showed me what unending perseverance through storms and valleys looks like. For all the times I may not have seen eye to eye or disagreed with certain rules or moments I wish he would just take a chill pill, My Dad was the epitome of endurance. Even through living a life full of rejections and limitations on the job front and his physical health, my dad is still my hero for how he walked through the valley. He never sacrificed his family or time with us. I know that at the back of his mind he kept pushing on because of us. Maybe you have had a Dad like that in your life as well. Maybe you are that sort of Dad.

And, how awesome a comfort it is to know in the family of God that even when our earthly dad’s have walked out and stressed out, Our Heavenly Father walked in and provided peace for our souls. He is the Father to the Fatherless, the Strength to the weary, the Healer to the Broken. We can, by His Grace and Mercy, approach our Abba Father, our Daddy without fear, but in confidence. The gap has been bridged by the blood of His Son, Jesus. Now, we who are in Christ, are adopted. We are sons and daughters of the Father of Heaven. When you are hanging on by a thread, He’s got your whole life in His hands. And, “The things that are over our heads, are under his feet.”

So Dad’s, you’ve got some big shoes to fill, yes bigger than your beefy man size shoes!
But, I think you’ll be up for the challenge. For you see, even though you helped form our physical bodies and we carry part of your traits, mannerisms and features, you didn’t form our hearts, minds and souls. Those were lovingly pieced together by the one whose shoes you can never quite fill, as hard as you may try. Dad, the greatest example you can give to us is to show us what a heart and mind look like as they pursue the heart and mind of our Abba Father.
You see, even God the Father knew what it meant to sacrifice, to give of himself on behalf of his children. When He sent his only Son to the world, He did it on our behalf. He thought of us. He took one for His team, us. Jesus Christ, His only Son, who had never sinned, became sin for us. Just as the Father sacrificed His Son, His Son Jesus sacrificed for us.
Like Father, Like Son has never taken on a more powerful depiction.
Sometimes Dad, we learn best by example. When you take a lesson from the Master Father, we know that what you teach us is genuine and full of truth and grace. We will know what true sacrifice, patience and endurance look like in our lives because of The Heavenly Father you are modeling before us. When you love us with His kind of love that is full of compassion and no fear, that gives us some great tools to pack into our life bags, to carry with us into our futures.
Check it out dad… you and I can approach our Heavenly Father without the fear of him cleaning his guns as He asks us 20 questions about our life choices!
So,
Dad, Daddio, Daddy, Pops, Big Cheese, Your Royal Pappyness…
Near to us, distant, vocal, silent, stressed, compassionate, disciplinarian, Fun-Lovin…
Whoever you are and whatever we call you, Biological or Father-Figure…
Thanks for hearing us out. Thanks for being an example to us, for your hard work and all those times you gave up something for us.
Thanks for picking us for your team!

Father's Day

I have been struck at the awesome blessing that fathers are. I cannot imagine my life without a dad, without a strong male figure in my life. We have been through some incredible pits and valleys, yet also some joyous celebrations as well.

With the youth that we work with, I've really grown to appreciate stable fathers all the more. What a rarity we have on our society's hands: male role models who exhibit commitment, honesty, integrity and leadership. I've thought about some of the young girls, especially, that God has placed in my life this past year. Their fathers are absent, unprotective and for some, they don't even know their own father but wrestle every day with knowing what a good father/daughter relationship even looks like. Josh has even become "dad" to some of these.

Fathers. As much of a bad rap these men get most of the time, most of the time we fail to recognize those men who go out of their way to model and give hope to the hopeless.

I'd like to thank all the dads out there who go beyond themselves to look at the needs of their wife, their children, their society and their church.

And thank you to my own dad who, despite up hill battles, has always taken time to listen, give advice (even when I didn't want to hear it), protect and provide. Thanks Dad for not walking out and just leaving, but for sticking with it. I love you.

We sang this worship song this morning. It's become a favorite of The Inn, our 18-30 group at church...the first few verses really spoke to my heart this morning. For some, the idea of a father is vague and uncertain. For some they have been fatherless. Thank you Father God for giving us an example of a heavenly father...

Artist: Charlie Hall
Song Title: Marvelous light


Verse 1
I once was fatherless,
a stranger with no hope;
Your kindness wakened me,
Awakened me, from my sleep

Verse 2
Your love it beckons deeply,
a call to come and die.
By grace now I will come
And take this life, take your life.

Pre-chorus
Sin has lost it's power,
death has lost it's sting.
From the grave you've risen
VICTORIOUSLY!

Chorus
Into marvelous light I'm running,
Out of darkness, out of shame.
By the cross you are the truth,
You are the life, you are the way

Verse 3
My dead heart now is beating,
My deepest stains now clean.
Your breath fills up my lungs.
Now I'm free. now I'm free!

Bridge
Lift my hands and spin around,
See the light that i have found.
Oh the marvelous light
Marvelous light

Lift my hands and spin
See the light within...