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All about the Dads!

Confession: More times than not I get so focused on being a mom that I don’t brag on the dads nearly enough!

So it’s Father’s Day weekend. A designated day to celebrate the fathers in your life. I know I can’t be the only one, but I find myself focusing on all of the daunting tasks of being a mama and so this post is dedicated to all of the dads out there. You deserve way more than one day of recognition.

When we think about the reason dads are so important, there are a few things that immediately come to mind. They mow the yard, they work hard to support their families, they play ball, give piggy back rides, and fix every single thing that breaks. They are the masters of the grille, the hogs of the remote, the protectors and the rock. Dads are so much more than those things though. Dads kiss the boo-boos, and attempt to fix their little girls hair too. They are the lap you curl up in when everything is going wrong. Dads teach you right from wrong. They celebrate your successes but are there to jerk you right back in line when you aren’t doing whats right. Even when you know you’ve messed up, you know your Dad is there just waiting to help you through it. Dads are some crazy amazing people yall.

When I think about my relationship with God, I realize that I’ve learned about the love of our Father…. from the love of my father here on earth. Bless his heart, I’ve always been a very stubborn and outspoken and handful of a personality even as a child, so there was lots of tough love involved in raising me, but even when that love was tough I knew it was unconditional. There was nothing I could ever do that would make him stop loving me, I was his child for the long haul, nothing or no one was ever going to change that like it or not. I am so thankful for that understanding of that relationship and that love. Knowing that love makes it easy for me to understand the unconditional love of Jesus. There is nothing I could do to change His love for me. I am His child forever and nothing can change that.

So mamas, let’s take this weekend to celebrate our fathers and the fathers of our children. Thank them for the things they do and the things that they don’t do. Most of all, let’s use this weekend as a kick off to really start praying for these fathers. Pray that they will be the kind of father who doesn’t only teach their children about God’s love for them, but shows them that unconditional love every single day.

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Pan Handlers and Jesus

Confession- These pan handlers have had this mamas feathers all kinds of ruffled this week!

So maybe where you live pan handlers are the norm. If you live in a big city you probably pass a pan handler about as often as we pass a church or a BBQ joint here in our small little southern town. These past few weeks have been quite a different story as we have been graced with the presence of a man who is apparently well known as being a scam artist and moves on from one area to another.

It bothered me. I own a small business and work hard to be able to provide for three children and sometimes after paying a big ol’ chunk in taxes things get tight. These scammers are pocketing money, tax free, and quite possibly doing better than I am. How dare they? Over the course of the week I had developed an almost bitter attitude about the subject and I was mulling the situation over in my head as I drove to tackle the dreaded task of grocery shopping.

I’d seen so many posts about the issue with all kinds of opinions and I was really just trying to decide what the “right” thing to really think about it all actually was.

At this point in my life, I think God has finally come to terms with the fact that I need things thrown in my face… subtle hints and nudges aren’t really my specialty. So as I’m unloading the groceries into my car, I see a very hippie looking girl get out of an SUV full of people. The SUV was pulling an old pop up camper. I’m not sure why I even noticed her as she was parked several spaces away from me. The next thing I knew, I realized the girl was headed my way. She walked right up to me and said “Do you happen to have any spare change? We’re just kind of on hard times right now”. In my head I almost started laughing… YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME GOD? Like I said, He knows I don’t get subtle very well.

I scrounged in my purse and found a $5 bill and handed it to the girl. It wasn’t much but it’s what I had on me. As I handed it to her I asked if she would mind if I prayed with her. I wanted her to know that the money wasn’t a conditional gift I would give only if she agreed to pray with me. I was giving her that $5 even if she turned and walked away. To my surprise, she agreed and I reached out to hold her hands as I prayed for her. I prayed that God would find a way to just give her a big hug that day and then…. I thanked Him for placing her in my path. I’m sure she must have been confused but she didn’t let on. She thanked me and went back to her friends and they all waved at me as I left.

Wow. I deal best with black and white answers to things and God sure gave me that one loud and clear. I can’t let my heart be hardened by the scam artists of the world. The Bible is full of stories about Jesus meeting peoples’ physical needs BEFORE He met their spiritual needs. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Maybe you are being given an opportunity to meet a need and by meeting that need an opportunity will be presented to share Jesus or just to pray with someone.

I would have never just walked up to a random stranger in the parking lot and asked to pray for her. BUT because she asked me for help, I was given the opportunity to give her more than just money. Thank you God for giving me that opportunity and opening my eyes and my heart to that.

As a mom, this is what I want my kids to see. I can’t just tell them to share Jesus with others…. I’ve got to SHOW them by doing it myself.