Father's Day

Dads have such an influence on their children! I’m so thankful for the wonderful dads in our family!

I had (and still have!) such a loving, honest, smart, handsome and FUN Daddy! My Daddy started his days in the Word and ended them leading me and my sister in devotions and prayer. He loved my mother. He was transparent--the same person at church, at work, with friends and at home. I never heard him curse. I never saw him drink. He was consistent in his expectations and clear in his boundaries. He made me feel important and treasured and beautiful and loved. He took time to play and laugh and be silly--I delighted in being the girl with the “fun dad” that my friends adored. I’ve always respected his thoughts and decisions, but I can’t recall a time in my teenage or adult years where he actually came out and told me his opinion of what he thought I should do or not do. Instead of making decisions for me or trying to pressure, bribe, persuade or guilt-trip me into doing what he would want me to do, he taught me to consult with my Heavenly Father when it came to life’s choices and decisions. He might offer some wisdom if I asked for help in listing pros and cons about something on my mind. He would pray with me and for me and encourage me to continue praying and listening for God’s direction. I learned to lean not on man (even a wise, Christian man) but on God and His Word, and to be responsible and accountable for my decisions and actions. That was so valuable!

Me and My Daddy:

As a little girl, I decided I would only date boys I thought would be good husbands and daddies. And early on, I could tell D would be both! And though we broke up a couple of times, he never really gave me any reason to date another (and all others fell short of the gold standard he set!). Over our many dating years, I carefully studied his family and how the members of his family treated one another. I watched him interact with children, particularly my baby brother. He genuinely enjoyed hanging out and playing with my little brother and his little nieces and nephews. And in some of our earliest conversations, we discovered that we both pictured ourselves having big families and hoped to grow our families through adoption (and we both envisioned transracial adoption-certainly not that common back in the 80s!).

D has turned out to be an even more terrific Daddy than I imagined he would! I am so blessed to be able to partner with D in parenting our girls. He is so affectionate, tender, nurturing, present, hands-on and intentional with them. At 5 and 7, our big girls already have weekly “dates” with him. Whether it be showing up to have lunch with Miss M at school, taking Miss A out for a Thursday morning diner breakfast, grabbing a smoothie or an ice cream cone or sneaking one of them off to an after-school matinee, he has a way of connecting with them and making them feel special. He treats me the way he hopes their husbands will treat them. He is their “strictest” parent when it comes to expectations and discipline, but he’s also their “funnest” parent when it comes to making memories and goofing off. Our girls know that their Daddy’s love for them is surpassed only by God’s love for them. And like my Daddy did, he leads our girls Bible and prayer time each evening. Our girls are crazy about their Daddy! I’ve always said God made D to be a Daddy to little girls, but I really can hardly wait ‘til a little boy joins the mix!

My Daughters and Their Daddy:

I know D is such a great Daddy largely because he was also raised by a loving, devoted Christian father. Dad B taught his boys to love the Lord, honor and respect girls and women (our parents were teaching purity when teaching purity wasn’t cool), work hard (the B boys were running their own business before they finished middle school!), be handy (B and his brothers all know how to do basic auto and small engine repair, woodworking, gardening, and other helpful skills) and of course, fly fish! Dad B raised three sons who are all now great dads themselves, and his legacy is evident in the young men that our nephews, his grandsons, are becoming. It is a huge blessing that our girls are surrounded by such fine men. Their Daddy, grandfathers, uncles, and cousins are setting the bar high. I pray this will shape their picture of what a gentleman should be and what they will one day look for in their own husbands and the fathers of my grandchildren.

Pictures from our Father's Day Festivities--building sandcastles and enjoying a sunset seafood dinner at our favorite beach! (We missed Mr. B’s Dad, who is spending the month fishing in Colorado. Stinker!)