Daddy's Girl

I am a Daddy's girl. No better day to celebrate that than Father's Day. Now, I am amazed at how God has blessed me with such an amazing daddy for my babies in Chad. He is just the BEST at being a daddy...it is one of his spiritual gifts for sure. Having said that, and not saying all the other GREAT things I could say... I'm going to make this post about my daddy because like Claudia, I am a daddy's girl...through and through!


I took this today when we were visiting my daddy. I love this picture because of all the things I see that make me think of my daddy. First, if you look closely, you will see a barbed wire fence. My daddy is a lover of horses. He has ridden horses all his life. His prize horse is Dusty. Dusty is old and is never ridden but will always have a home in daddy's pastures. A bad knee has forced him to turn to a covered wagon and a team of mules but his heart will forever be on the back of Dusty. You can also see the deck rails. My daddy loves to be outside. He loves nature and spending time in God's creation. His favorite activity is camping. You can see the daylilies that he loves. He loves his yard and spends a lot of time keeping it the way he likes it. The green pasture reminds me of the beautiful place he lives. He lives in the country on family land where I grew up. It is beautiful and peaceful there. It is quiet and it suits him to perfection.

Some things I love about my daddy that the picture does not show...he loves to read and has a ton of books, mostly western novels; he is one of the last true cowboys; he fought in the Vietnam War in the First Calvary division of the US Army and he earned a Bronze Star while he was there; he had nightmares from the war for years and when I was little, we always knew not to startle him when waking him up; he had several nicknames for me including pumpkin, cricket, and Lynipoo; he was so amazingly good to his mother and he and I were holding her hand when she went to be with Jesus; he loves Jesus and tries to live for Him; he is the BEST storyteller and can keep me in stitches for hours; he treats everyone the same, with respect, no matter who they are or what they have or do not have; he is crazy about his grandchildren and loves to spend time with them; he and I can chat on the phone for a long time and he really does not like to talk on the phone; he can be the most unpredictable predictable man I've ever known...just when I think I know exactly what he will do, he goes and gets a cell phone...

One time he and I drove to Townsend, TN and rode horses in the Smokies. We almost got blown away one night of that trip as we slept in the camper and it rocked back and forth. It snowed the night before we got there so as we rode, the view and scenery was amazing. We spent a lot of time together on that trip and we talked and laughed and had so much fun. Riding horses is not really my thing but I did it a lot just to spend time with him. The memories I have from those trips, especially that one, are precious to me and I will treasure them always.

My daddy has heart problems. God has rescued him from several heart attacks and has provided life through 12 stints over the years. There are lots of memories of sitting in waiting rooms begging God to give me just a little more time. I'm so thankful for every bonus day He has given us. I never leave him without thinking as I hug him that this could be the last time. Today was no exception. Today I gave him an extra tight hug, a kiss on a sweaty cheek, and prayed it would not be the last time. It happens everytime, without fail. I continue to pray for more years to share with him. Losing my daddy one day will be an experience with grief and loss that I cannot bear to try to imagine. One thing I am thankful for is that I know he will rest in the arms of Jesus and one day, I will be there too!

Daddy has lots of wisdom and while I have taken a lot of that for granted, there are lots of distinct memories of times he has passed his wisdom on to me. He is proud of me, and that makes me proud of myself. He approves of the life God has built for me and he is proud of the family God has given me. He loves the way Chad treats me and he is proud that God blessed me with him. Having him be proud of those things makes me feel indescribable because I am still his little girl in my heart and still long for his approval.

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful daddy. I love you more today than I ever have and I am so proud to be called your daughter. You have taught me about the saving grace of Jesus, you have taught me that we can all fall to sin and temptation but that God is always there with redeeming power and that He can and will change us when we seek Him. You have taught me so many other things that I won't list here but they are permanently stapled on the bulletin boards of my heart. Thank you for everything!

Note: my daddy will never read this...he hates computers...but I will have this documentation of my feelings on this day.