A Father of Faith and Fear

I asked the kids to write something about you and this is what they said:

Noelle: I love you so much. I love you because you love me. I love you because you take care of us. You teach us about Jesus and God the Father. Thank you for showing me how to have a servants heart. Be safe at work. You are the best daddy in the whole world!

Calvin: I love you daddy. Thank you for teaching me to pray.


Jackson: I love you daddy. I hope you can hold someone down and pepper spray someone. I hope that you could have a nice day and night.
I am thankful that you are the best daddy in the entire world. You showed me how to pray and how to have servants heart and how to be a hard worker. I am glad you can take us to church. I am glad that you are our Pastor.

Silas: All he said was," daddy" with great excitement in his voice, then he began to say, "where daddy, where daddy"?

Honey, Thank you for being a father of faith and fear of the Lord.

You may not be the kind of dad that rolls around wrestling the boys or plays games, but you a bedrock of faith and the temperate, gentle, humble dad that they need - the man that I need.

You are the kind of dad that plays nature videos from You Tube to show the children the greatness of God as creator. You are the kind of dad who reads out loud to your children. You are the kind of dad that doesn't mind answering questions like, " what is a harlot"? and " why do girls mostly birth boys"? You don't tell you daughter, "go ask you mother". You do all of this in faith. You have entrusted yourself to our great God and Savior Jesus Christ and fully believe that God is faithful and that His way is best; and you live that out in your role as a father.

You consistently remind me to discipline and train in faith. You encourage me to trust that God's way is best and that we will see Him at work as we discipline in faith. I am thankful that you don't just preach it to me, but live it out.

Thank you for being the kind of man that doesn't have "bad days". We do not have to wonder, is now the best time to approach him? You have so cultivated a heart of thankfulness that you are always pleasant to be around and easy to please.

Thank you for being the kind of man that sees all the spiritual disciplines and acts of service as ways to pursue humility,and thank you for pursuing it. It's hard not to admire a man who believes that I think more highly of him than I ought to think, and is pretty sure that no matter what he thinks of himself it is most likely more than he should. It shows in your devotion to us and others. It shows in your demeanor. It shows in your willingness to examine any criticism anyone brings before you, and in your eagerness to confess sin and seek forgiveness.

Thank you for being the kind of man/dad that I feel comfortable saying, "I still mean every word I wrote last year".

We will follow you and we eagerly support you in your pursuit of becoming a more equipped shepherd because we know it to be an act of faith. We have considered your faith and it is worthy to follow.

We love you babe and pray that the Lord will bless you as you walk in faith and fear.

Psalm 128:1-4 How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,

Who walks in His ways.

When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands,

You will be happy and it will be well with you.

Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in your house,

Your children like olive plants around you table.

Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed who fears the LORD.