A Father's Love

I've learned a lot over the years, especially through my father, who through example, has taught me the basics of being a good man. He is

1. A dedicated husband and father - He worked all the time when we were younger so that we could get by comfortably, set up a college savings account very early on, and thought ahead so that not only we, but his wife could live in peace knowing that our future was well-planned.

2. A Protector of those he loves - Without thought, my dad fearlessly (and sometimes foolishly) protects my mom and us. When someone says anything bad about any one of us, he is the first one to fight back and stand his ground. He always protects.

3. Dutiful - He never lets my mom do any of the "dirty work." He's always cleaning the bathrooms, fixing the yard, taking care of the bugs, and taking out the trash. On top of that, he even cooks (if my mom lets him near the kitchen :-))

4. Humorous - The comical relief out of my parents. He jokes around at the right times. He enjoys watching us all laugh.

5. Extremely Caring - He doesn't like to show it, but internally, he has a well of emotions. Although his hugs are few, I know he loves me and he lets me know it through his annual birthday poems that he writes for me

6. Hardworking - I have never seen my father be lazy. While we were young, he worked very weird hours, yet he would be up before we woke up, and slept after we slept. Even though he was always very tired, he'd sit my brother and me down and tutor us so that we could appreciate education and be one step ahead in the classroom.

7. A Father that he never had - My father didn't always have a father there for him, and he grew up in a family with many hardships. Yet he tries hard to be the best father that he can be without having had a great father-like figure in his life.



I am truly blessed to have my dad :-).

And what's crazy is that even with this great dad, I have an even greater Father in heaven who loves more than my earthly father can love, and teaches more than my earthly father can teach.

"Jesus gave them this answer: 'Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.'"
-John 5:19-20

Happy Father's Day!

Misunderstood

I think Jesus must have felt like this penguin above. He was a man on a mission, with a purposeful life, but because other people could not see his mission, he felt alone. He was loved and revered, but even his closest friends could not understand him. I think the more I read the Bible, the more I realize how he was so misunderstood.

Yet in his loneliness, he found strength and a powerful companionship in God. He knew his identity in Christ, stood up, and took the cross.

God, will you give me this faith and this strength to stand up and take your cross.

The Heart of God

Today, someone in small group shared about her recent missions trip to Haiti. All of her stories were touching and made me think about how humbling it must be to go into a foreign land to help those in need. She talked about how she felt so powerless since she wasn't a doctor or a dentist, but at the same time, how she had to rely on God for power and for God to pour His love upon the children and people she encountered. It's amazing how powerful we can be when we rely on God because more than physical healing, we can give a Godly hope.

With that aside, one story really stuck out. There was a 19 year old Canadian girl (oh you Canadians...why are you so nice), who literally slept and lived with 70 orphans at an orphanage in Haiti to help them. Since clean water is not readily accessible there, the orphanage relies on an organization called Samaritan's Purse to bring water. However, Samaritan's Purse had not come the day before and so they were without clean water for 2 days. Our small group member and her team gave this girl some of their own water to keep her strong, but instead of keeping it for herself, she took a small sip and shared it amongst the children. pause here Think about the beauty of this scenario, here is a 19 year old girl who is blessed with so much and can have a healthy comfortable life in Canada, but instead, she's living in the slums of Haiti, amongst the orphans, in poor conditions, clearly very thirsty, AND while she has the chance to have some comfort through clean water, she instinctively shares it with the children that she came to love. WOW.

I heard this story and inside, it felt like my heart grew. That is God's love in that girl because what she is doing is very much what Jesus did when he came down to earth from a heavenly throne to die for our sins. That love became so tangible to me through this testimony that tonight, I feel very very blessed and reminded about the sacrifice that God made for us.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." - John 3:16-17