Dear Dad

Dear Dad,

I don't think a letter (or in this case a blog post) could ever do justice to what my heart really wants to say but here goes..

You are truly my hero in ever sense of the word...when I look at you I don't just see my Dad I see a strong ,honest, hardworking man that loves his family and always puts them first..Thank you for that.

Thank you for loving me for me, through all the messy and unpretty parts of my life, for picking me up when I thought there were no parts of my life to be picked up and helping me put back together things that were very broken in my heart.

Thank you for always teaching me that everyone needs compassion, no matter what the outside looks like we were put on this earth to minister to the hearts of people and you have been the shining example of a compassionate person..Thank you for that.

Thank you for always taking time to be a Father to those who don't have Fathers in their life...you may not remember them all but I know they will always remember you.

I love you more than words could say...

I am truly blessed to be your Daughter!

Happy Fathers Day...I love you!
M

SWIM!!

I heard a story about a young girl that wanted to break a record in swimming it was a very long distance and as she swam her Mother was in a boat along side her encouraging her coaching her, cheering her on. The distance was long and with each stroke she became more tired, the fog began to set in it was thick and heavy after hours of swimming and miles of cheering from her Mother the young girl stopped and ask to get into the boat, she said she couldn't go any further it was just to hard, as she crawled into the boat and her Mother gave her a towel the fog began to lift and the young girl could not believe what she saw....

Land...the finish line on the horizon only one hundred feet away...

The young girl looked at her Mother and said "If I had known it was that close I wouldn't have got into the boat...I would have finished."

I have thought about this story alot lately, and even shared it with a few people...

How true it is to God's direction in our life.

You know the questions we have like

"What in the world am I doing here?"

"How long will this last Lord?"

"Will this ever end?"

"Did I make the right decision?"

Sometimes God speaks and we hear him loud and clear we jump in with both feet and swim like crazy, but the longer we swim the harder it gets and doubt sets in our arms feel like paper weights and we are all but doing the dog paddle to stay afloat...

The bills are piling up...SWIM!

The kids are needy, whiny, and unappreciative...SWIM!!

You can't take one more day of deadlines at work....SWIM!!

You want to give up, you just don't see God's plan...SWIM!!

Many times we swim in this big lake called life praying God will show us what to do which way to go, feeling very alone..like he doesn't hear us but his word says

"I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:20
I think that means he hears us loud and clear, he sees the bills, hears the kids, knows the deadlines and most of all...

Sees the BIG picture, above the fog.

This weekend has been a long one, and when I say that I mean I wanted to crawl in the boat a few times...there were a few times I was barely treading water...but I know God is in control.

He sees what I can't and knows what I don't.

Sometimes we are all to quick to give up crawl in the boat only to see the fog lift and miss what we have been swimming for all this time...

Swimming blindly not realizing with each stroke and kick God is at work it could be a person that is touched and changed...

Which brings me to this thought...

If we quit and climb in the boat who else will it effect?

How close were they to the finish line when we decided to bail?

SWIM!!!

The fog will lift and when it does you will see the bigger picture and know that so many more doors were open, lives changed and it was all because you chose not to give up...

you chose to swim.

Blessings.

M