ReThinking Mission Trips

Here's real "food for thought". I've been on a handful of overseas mission trips, and Claudio has it right I think...have a look, take some time....think about it.

Thanks to Randy for directing me to this rethinking.

Jared's New CD - Available Now!

Name it, Claim it? John Piper names it for what it is!

Thanks to Brandon for this powerful presentation,
Thanks to John Piper for his clarity and conviction.

My Dad, My Hero

Today, March 7th, would have been my Dad's 83rd Birthday.  The photo above was taken at the celebration of his birthday last year.   He smiled that day so big...but then he always did.   Whether it was because Red Skelton had done yet another hilarious act, or if my Dad himself had teased someone with such love...Dad's smile lit up the world.   Within a few short months, he was gone.

I miss my Dad so very much...I wish we could've gone fishing one more time, that he could've seen his grandchildren grow up, that he could've done just a bit more.  And yet, he gave so much in the time he was here.  He will forever be my hero, the one man I've looked up to and longed to be like...his love, his care, his focus on others.  His commitment that was unwavering; his loyalty unfaltering.  In the last years of his life, after I'd moved away from home and had a family of my own, my Dad began to express his love more...with words and hugs, always hugs...big, Dad-sized hugs that I never outgrew.   So many times lately, I've wanted to just call him, hear his voice again, see him open the back door of the house, and step out onto the concrete steps, his big hand on the railing, his shoulders so broad that had in these last years become bent over with years of weight that Dad carried...When I think of my Dad now, it's hard to breathe...tears fill my eyes, and I struggle just to get beyond the moment.   

Last time we were in Hibbing, we went to the cemetery.  The stone marker was there...from the Army, and it was cold...the snow had drifted around the stone, and I just couldn't let it remain...I brushed away what I could...I had to see his name...was it really true?  So cold...so hard.  We drove by the house, but didn't go in...couldn't.  It's not home anymore...my Hero, My Dad is not there, and Mom now lives in the nursing home in Chisholm.  It's so hard...when you come to that point when you realize ... home as you once knew it...is gone.

Dad...thanks, for being my Dad, for being my Hero.  I miss you.