Blessed To Be A Dad

Today is Father's Day. When you think of a father what comes to mind? A provider. The disciplinarian. Mom's husband. Someone strong enough to open new pickle jars. The one with the big wore out work shoes and favorite hat.

You've heard the saying that anybody can be a father but it takes someone special to be a dad. Dad's teach their kids to work but can make work fun by helping them. You have to be intentional to be a dad. That takes time and thought. 

 Being a dad is including kids in busy schedules. Children are affirmed when their Dad shows interest, teaches, and encourages.

The more a dad has his kids with him the more they learn. Mom's have a huge place in children's lives however they can't replace a tough and tender dad.

When kids are taught by their dad they end up not being scared of responsibility and are soon able to do projects on their own. All my kids have become better at things than I am. That's not a threat. That's a blessing. 

Kids know their Dad cares when they are able to be with him.

 Kids also know their Dad cares when they see him helping others. In the picture below are my brother Doug and Ginger's girls, Ki and Olivia, on the left. Son, Karl, and daughter-in-law, Kristin, in the middle. And my brother Bill and Julie's kids, Andrew and Mariah, on the right. They went with our young people's church group to Missouri this week to help folks who had floods earlier this year.

One day this week I was spraying and Brad, our help, was tendering. Brad's wife Julie and Brad's three girls caught up with him and they had dinner together. This is Brad and Julie's third daughter, about a month old.

 Brad and Julie and their family live on a very neat farm just around the corner from us. It used to be owned by Brad's grandpa, Lyle.

We had a busy week spraying and are getting caught up unless it stays dry. If it stays dry the aphids, spider mites, and grasshoppers come and then we will have to spray everything again for bugs.

 I spent some time spraying down south as we call it. Down south the fields aren't always visible from the road and you have to go down a path to find your crop.

 Although I don't admit it very often, farming in the southern counties between the trees has it's own beauty. This is about a 20 acre field on a hill top between the trees about 6 a.m. in the morning. On dry years we have such beautiful early mornings and late evenings.

This is my Dad. He took me with him all the time when I was a little kid. And that's a long time ago because Friday I'm going to be 60.

 I remember as a pretty little kid going to this place. Those of you that are old and local, do you recognize where this is? This was Carmichaels, a Ford tractor dealership north of the fairgrounds. The building on the right was where you walked in and bought parts. One of the two metal hoop buildings was a repair shop and the other was a paint shop. I can still remember 55 years ago the mechanic in the repair shop swearing a lot.

 Although we moved some and I changed schools 5 times my Dad and Mom always sent me to Christian School when they were able and I have always appreciated their example. This was the old Oskaloosa Christian School our grandfathers bought from Penn College for $16000. When you went through that front center white door the principle's office was to the left. Once when I was in 8th grade and had been helping my Dad farm for 4 days in a row Mr. Bouma stopped me and asked me how farming was going because it was time to get back to school.

Because of my Dad being a faithful Christian father, he has influenced 3 more generations.

Next to being an adopted son of my Heavenly Father and a husband, being a dad is one of the greatest blessing I have been given. These are my kids and they are now all parents themselves. These gifts are the few things that will last forever. Have a good Sunday.