• • •
- Freedom for ALL
- Little Moments. Like That!
- The Content of Contentedness
- The Age of the Engaged Dad
- The Relationally Messy
- My Father’s Ebenezer Stones
- Break time!!!
See you all again on July 5th! - Screaming Got Us Into This Mess: Reflections on an Infant Inspired Blog
Originally posted on JustDad.Blog:
There’s been a lot of screaming lately… a lot of screaming….. Even I have been tempted to scream. Which reminded me that it was said screaming that inspired this Blog. My first entry was: Why I’m Just a Dad So I would like to circle back around to it. Why? I guess it’s good to remind yourself why you do what you do every once and a while… Especially when you have two teething toddlers, one girl who is “no longer four”, and a lot of accompanying chaos. Do any of you remember the season… - X-wing Flight SuitIf you were forced to wear one outfit over and over again, what would it be? I think an X-wing flight suit. Lol
- Dopamine Vs. Jesus: The Struggles of a Recovering Dualist (WordPress Prompt)
How important is spirituality in your life? Very 😀 I happen to have one dwelling in my soul…. Actually not only do I have “a” spirit. I have THE Spirit. My rough draft for this post looked… very different at first. I planned on leaving a rather short answer and leaving it be. My answers MAY be a bit shorter this week since we have been up with teething baby and I actually have a commute (1 week a month, can’t complain TOO much. It just throws me off) That being said, as I lay back down next to my… Read more: Dopamine Vs. Jesus: The Struggles of a Recovering Dualist (WordPress Prompt) - Livin’ on a Prayer: How do you practice self-care? (WordPress Prompt)
How do you practice self-care? So this one digs a bit because I admittedly haven’t been doing great at this…. So I am literally Livin’ on a prayer right now. That is also my answer however. I am almost always at my best when I am praying daily. All other care and love flows out of a place of communion with my creator. As to not reinvent the wheel… I have written about this before a couple times (see below) AND - Wasting Time?: “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” (WordPress Prompt).
How do you waste the most time every day? “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” Albert Einstein What IS wasting time? The Definition of waste is: /wāst/ verb I definitely HAVE wasted time. I’ve been a video game addict most of my life…. And I have spent numerous hours to no purpose. I probably do it now and again these days…. That being said… I’m not sure, as a general rule I waste much time, in terms of “towards no purpose anymore”.. I definitely have fun… and in that sense I definitely feed into the careless and extravagant…. Writing on here… Read more: Wasting Time?: “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” (WordPress Prompt). - Our Dad Who Heals (Again): רָפָא
The post below documents two healings that I personally witnessed last month… interestingly enough the first one happened the day this blog was founded. Jesus is funny like that. In one of my posts this week I documented a third healing.1 I thought it might be a good time to share it again, because it contains some of my favorite thoughts on the subject. Enjoy! Footnotes 1. The Relationally Messy: The Father’s Definition of Pure and Undefiled - Screaming Got Us Into This Mess: Reflections on an Infant Inspired Blog
There’s been a lot of screaming lately… a lot of screaming….. Even I have been tempted to scream. Which reminded me that it was said screaming that inspired this Blog. My first entry was: Why I’m Just a Dad So I would like to circle back around to it. Why? I guess it’s good to remind yourself why you do what you do every once and a while… Especially when you have two teething toddlers, one girl who is “no longer four”, and a lot of accompanying chaos. Do any of you remember the season 7 opener of the hit… Read more: Screaming Got Us Into This Mess: Reflections on an Infant Inspired Blog - Every Crazy Year: Which food, when you eat it, instantly transports you to childhood? (WordPress prompt)
Which food, when you eat it, instantly transports you to childhood? I must like childhood… because I have this food every year for my birthday. Salmon and Spinach Mashed Potatoes. My Mom had mastered the recipe for this. It is so much better than it sounds. The Salmon is cooked with butter and then Lemon juice and seasoning is added. The Spinach Mashed Potatoes have lemon juice and sour cream in them… along with the standard butter. So Good. What about you? - The History Nut Goes Bananas: Who is your favorite historical figure? (WordPress Prompt)
Who is your favorite historical figure? This one caused a lot of reflection for me… not because I didn’t know the answer… The only question that truly remained was: How to write about it. I spend the majority of my time on this blog talking about how my favorite historical figure isn’t ONLY history to me, but is also my best friend. This is possible because of the Holy Spirit. In case it is unclear: my favorite all time historical figure is Jesus… any other person I could list would be because of Him. I considered writing about my second… Read more: The History Nut Goes Bananas: Who is your favorite historical figure? (WordPress Prompt) - The Relationally Messy: The Father’s Definition of Pure and Undefiled
I want to tackle the first part of this passage first: Visiting orphans and widows in their distress. Have you spent any time reflecting on this passage…. To be honest… until recently I hadn’t. Partially, it was because when I came upon this passage I was the one who needed to be visited and my temporal distress meant I wasn’t exactly up for being the embodiment of it. Then I think I just put the verse on the back burner somewhere. This all changed when one of my wife’s friends lost her husband. It became real. We aren’t super close… Read more: The Relationally Messy: The Father’s Definition of Pure and Undefiled - When I’m In His Presence
When I am in the Presence of He who gave me life: I find my peace. When I am in the Presence I write. Whether or not Eric Liddel ever actually said: “When I run I feel God’s pleasure” When I write I feel his pleasure… and when it stops I stop. A week or so ago… it just stopped. It was like the fire of hydrant of ideas was turned off. I sought Jesus about it.. I made a course correction. Fire hydrant came back. When I am at church…. Surrounded by those who truly have the Spirit of… Read more: When I’m In His Presence - Crushing!:Write about your first crush. (WordPress Prompt)Write about your first crush. For obvious reasons I will not be using names. I’m not really sure WHO my first crush was. I think I identified someone in the third grade with that… though I wonder if it was the second grade. Regardless…. One of the interesting things about most of my crushes across times is they contain some very identifiable similarity with my wife. Listing common characteristics by grade crush Grade 2- Nerdy best friend Grade 3- Strong personality Grade 4- Smartest girl in class Grade 5- Smart new girl obsessed with words Grade 6,7,8- Back to the… Read more: Crushing!:Write about your first crush. (WordPress Prompt)
- The Whims of History Nut… Who Loves Jesus: What Countries Do You Want to Visit? (WordPress Prompt)What countries do you want to visit? I was once scrolling through a list of messages by one of my favorite speakers when my mind tricked me. I thought I read “the prophetic destiny of America in scripture” I thought Allen is off his rocker! You can’t find America in Scripture So I started listening to the message… kept listening to the message… when I realized… he wasn’t talking about America… He was talking about Armenia….. By this point I was hooked. I listened to the whole message… Refreshed I began sharing it with others. Armenia has another name known… Read more: The Whims of History Nut… Who Loves Jesus: What Countries Do You Want to Visit? (WordPress Prompt)
- Story Upon Story
My life is literally a record of story upon story of God meeting me where I am… even when I run away from Him. From the time he pushed my car off the road to prevent me from ruining my life…to the day he told me Jordan was the gal for me. From the day I saw the giant 17 in the water.. as a sign for our children.1…To the day I held Haddie in my arms… My life is living testimony of how God meets me where I am at. The Bible is literally a record of story upon… Read more: Story Upon Story - Passion: What’s your favorite thing about yourself?(WordPress Prompt)What’s your favorite thing about yourself? It has to be the passion that God has given me. When I got diagnosed with ADHD… the one thing my wife told me about going on meds… was if it changed my passion she was concerned. It didn’t… I’m still a very passionate person. In the interest of not recreating the wheel: See the answer to “What are you passionate about?”: Passionate You Say?
- The Father’s Freedom: Emancipation Day Reflections (Repost)
This is technically my post for today… but I wanted to post it early since it was the day of. Nevertheless, I’m not going to post anything else, in hopes that you read this. Thank you for reading🙏 - The Father’s Freedom: Emancipation Day Reflections“While Independence Day marks the conception of a free nation, Juneteenth is a celebration of the fulfillment of this ideal through the Emancipation Proclamation.” Gov. Tom Wolf (former Governor of Pennsylvania) So…. I was one of those people that didn’t know Juneteenth was a thing…. I wish I had had…but I didn’t. I grew up in a small town in Northern Michigan… about as far from Galveston, Texas as you can get in the U.S. I had a total of three people in my class of African descent. All three of them were pretty cool…. There were some others with… Read more: The Father’s Freedom: Emancipation Day Reflections
- I don’t… well, ok I do.. but I don’t!: How do you want to retire? (WordPress prompt)
How do you want to retire? So let’s define retire… I know if you are one of my frequent readers… it’s probably getting cliche now. I don’t know how to break the habit. I’ll work on it. Retire (verb) leave one’s job and cease to work, typically upon reaching the normal age for leaving employment. I don’t know that I’ll ever retire… not everything anyway. I understand that there is a certain point where the body needs some more leeway and all that jazz. But I want to be as active as I can as long as I can…. And… Read more: I don’t… well, ok I do.. but I don’t!: How do you want to retire? (WordPress prompt) - Preview of Heart of the Father: Journey to FatherhoodNew Preview for Ep. 1 of Heart of the Father: Journey to Fatherhood. Check it out!
- The Age of the Engaged Dad
This post is a prayer… a prophetic declaration over Dads this Father’s Day. In the movie of the Lord of the Rings: the Dark Lord Sauron sends his army to destroy the city of men. The general of the Orc army makes an interesting (untrue) declaration. “The age of men is over… the age of the Orc has come” I want to use this structure to make a somewhat ironic, hopeful statement… that I pray becomes continually true. The age of the disengaged parent is over… The age of the Engaged Dad has come! Two quick disclaimers: 1. I have… Read more: The Age of the Engaged Dad - Old Gym Shorts, Our Bed, or the Book: What’s the oldest thing you own that you still use daily? (WordPress prompt)
What’s the oldest thing you own that you still use daily? I had to think long and hard about this one. I woke up with the baby an hour ago… just got her back down. So I think my answer to this depends on one’s definition of daily… and what you mean by own… currently the oldest thing I own that I’ve been using every day lately is an old pair of gym shorts that I wear at least once in the evening. I have newer ones… but they currently need mending… so again for the last week or so… Read more: Old Gym Shorts, Our Bed, or the Book: What’s the oldest thing you own that you still use daily? (WordPress prompt) - Favorite Moments (WordPress Prompt)
Describe one of your favorite moments. One? You are going to make me pick one? Ok. I’ll pick one. While we were dating Jordan and I went to a prayer meeting that I was leading. I had been going through the ringer of emotions. For the last 7 years I had been addicted to pornography and really didn’t want to be. I was only recently becoming aware of the impact that it was having on my current relationship. While there,some of the guys in our group prayed over my situation and especially my emotions. For my frequent readers, this was… Read more: Favorite Moments (WordPress Prompt) - The Dream about the Dogs Birthday Party and the Man Who Couldn’t Find the Bathroom:What Notable Things Happened Today? (WordPress Prompt)
What notable things happened today? It is interesting to me… this prompt… because I normally write these prompts in the morning… or start them anyway. So maybe I should write this post later… But for now two notable things have happened. 1. I started writing a post for posting tomorrow about “The Parable of the Criminally Engaged Dad” 2. I had a funky dream. In the dream we were throwing a birthday party for our family dog Appa. ——5pm EST I’m taking my daughter to the zoo And I played cards with my wife - A Family of Common Community (Acts 2:42 Series)
“They were devoting themselves to the teaching of the emissaries and to fellowship, to breaking bread and to prayers.”Acts 2:42 TLV To fellowship? Some things are easier caught then taught… fellowship is one of them for me. For example? Last week I came home from work earlier than anticipated yesterday. I still had to do some work from home, but while taking a break all of my children started piling on top of me. I felt so loved. Last time my sister in law was here, we started playing games and cards consistently for the first time in a while.… Read more: A Family of Common Community (Acts 2:42 Series) - “Heart of the Father” YouTube Channel
This channel is all about sharing the Heart of the Father. In May 2023 I started this blog… justdad.blog. It became apparent very quickly that some content would be better packaged in a different format. This channel and that blog share the same mission: Share the Heart of the Heavenly Father and of His Son Jesus. - Passionate you say?
What are you passionate about? I have been passionate about many things in the course of my lifetime. The Chicago Bulls Star Wars The Justice League Beast Wars: Transformers My current job Doctor Who My friends Community… and the list goes on… I expect the list will only continue to grow I’m kind of a passionate person…. The things that will always be on this list are three: My kids, my wife, and my Jesus - My Father’s Ebenezer Stones
What are Ebenezer stones? When people think of the term Ebenezer they probably think of “A Christmas Carol.” In it, Ebenezer Scrooge goes through a trying night and comes out on the other side thankful for life and for the people in it. In truth his life becomes an amazing example of what an Ebenezer stone actually is. The term originally comes from the book of 1 Samuel in the Bible: “Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named Eben-ezer saying, “Thus far Adonai has helped us.”” 1 Samuel 7:12 TLV Translated literally Ebenezer… Read more: My Father’s Ebenezer Stones - Subjective Seasonry! (WordPress Prompt)
What is your favorite season of year? Why? The answer to this question is very subjective for me… based on where I am in the world and what I’m doing there. It used to be winter in Northern Michigan…. Before seasonal affect disorder took over and made this difficult. My birthday is in February and I used to live next door to a ski hill. So fun. But right now I would have to say my favorite season has been Late Spring in Florida. My two older kids LOVE to swim.. and my youngest loves the water too. My answer… Read more: Subjective Seasonry! (WordPress Prompt) - Storing True Treasures with The Father and the Study of Humanics
Humanics Noun the study of the nature or affairs of humankind. I was sitting on the couch holding my wife’s hand and being bounced on my my oldest two kids. I was taking a break from my job answering phones in the financial industry when this thought struck my mind. It is something Jesus said: ““Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in or steal.” Matthew… Read more: Storing True Treasures with The Father and the Study of Humanics - Three Layers of Luxury (WordPress Prompt)
What’s the one luxury you can’t live without? lux·u·ry noun the state of great comfort and extravagant living.”he lived a life of luxury” Luxuries are a subjective commodity. For some people, a luxury could be a steaming jacuzzi on their patio. For others, it could be owning a house in a suburban neighborhood. And for many, it could be the chance of eating seafood for dinner. Luxuries could be things we take for granted, or even things we don’t even deserve. But most importantly, they should be something we can live without. What Makes a Luxury by Ariel Barbera of… Read more: Three Layers of Luxury (WordPress Prompt) - A Man of Many and the Master Of (Taglines and Nicknames): If humans had taglines, what would yours be? (WordPress Prompt)If humans had taglines, what would yours be? To be honest when I started writing this post I was a little fuzzy on the difference between a Tagline and Nicknames… so read this post with that awareness: I have had many Taglines over the years… some I have enjoyed, others less so… at least at the time. Apparently I am very tagline susceptible. tag line (noun) INFORMAL•NORTH AMERICAN So what have my taglines been? Let’s see….Vest Man, Man with a Beard, “The Guy”, The glue of our team, Most passionate Help Desk you’ve ever met, and then of course: just… Read more: A Man of Many and the Master Of (Taglines and Nicknames): If humans had taglines, what would yours be? (WordPress Prompt)
- The Content of Contentedness
I was reading an article that WordPress put out about the importance of a good title… after which I wrote this down: The Content of Content Until I wrote it down, I had NO clue that the two main words of my title were spelled the same way. This presented somewhat of a conundrum, because there was no way for my title’s meaning to be clear. The conundrum was solved, as a great many conundrums are: by the wit and intelligence of my wonderful wife. She presented me with the articles current title. Why do I share this with you?… Read more: The Content of Contentedness - Update on Acts 2:42Just so you know… I have Part 3 of the Acts 2:42 all ready to go, but I have to get one persons approval before I use them as an example. Once I get that posted I’ll start in on Part 4.
- The Pearl of Great Price and The Most Important Things in Life (WordPress prompt)
What are the most important things needed to live a good life? My thoughts on this hinge on what we mean by the word good… I say this because there is some confusion over what it means…. And I want to be clear. Some of my readers may come from a religious context… some less so. Regardless of where you come from I want to be clear AND I would like to bring us to the table in unity where possible. The Hebrew word for “good” is טוֹב (ṭôwb, tobe) The first time it shows up is in Genesis 1… Read more: The Pearl of Great Price and The Most Important Things in Life (WordPress prompt) - “The Queen, the Prince, the Princesses, and the Lord of Time Himself: Who do you spend the most time with?” (WordPress Prompt)
Who do you spend the most time with? I could choose to answer this question a series of different ways…. Who is with my ALL the time? Jesus. The one who is always there and has always been there for me. Who do I spend the most time with physically… visibly…well that would be my wife. We literally sleep in the same bed and spend significant amounts of time together, especially since I work from home 75 percent of the time. We nerd together, date together, cuddle together, etc. Barring the more obvious answers though… it’s probably Lizzie. Her designations… Read more: “The Queen, the Prince, the Princesses, and the Lord of Time Himself: Who do you spend the most time with?” (WordPress Prompt) - The ClingOn Assistant and My Little Golden Whirlwind
It can be hard for a Dad to connect with his children before they are born. This post… if it is anything… is an attempt to connect with the heart of my unborn daughter. It is HARDER of course for their mother who actually does the work of carrying and birthing the baby. I am privileged to walk alongside my wife, the Empress Jordan, as she does so. I woke up this morning thinking about my daughter Havilah Louise. We plan on calling her “Lou” Lizzie and Lou are going to be the almost official definition of Irish Twins. They… Read more: The ClingOn Assistant and My Little Golden Whirlwind - To Change or Not to Change! (WordPress Prompt)
If you had to change your name, what would your new name be? So this is an interesting question for me because I’ve already had to contemplate it. Explanation: Im adopted and my adopted parents got a pretty messy divorce. Im the season before healing had really started to take root I had at least people ask me if I had considered changing my name. I was actually born with a different last name… I was a ward of the state and bore my birth mother Faith’s last name. When I was adopted I changed my last name to what… Read more: To Change or Not to Change! (WordPress Prompt) - “Describe Your Dream Chocolate Bar” (WordPress prompt)
Describe your dream chocolate bar. I don’t have to describe it. I’ve lived it. Reese’s Eggs, pumpkins, footballs, hearts… and if all of these are unavailable. Big cups. - The Father’s Goodness
“Are you really that good God?!” I had just gotten done watching an episode of The Chosen. This is a show I highly recommend. The show seeks to bring to life to the experience of Jesus and His disciples when He walked this earth.1 In it, there are many compassionate portrayals of Jesus words and actions towards his fellow humans. I’ve long struggled to believe in God’s goodness towards me. Much of this comes from feelings of abandonment I have from losing my Mom and Dad (from birth) and from my adopted parents divorce. Or rather I should say from… Read more: The Father’s Goodness - “Do you remember your favorite book from childhood?”To set the tone: imagine I was your witty literalist friend Do you remember your favorite book from childhood? Define… childhood noun Ok…. So what is a child? noun Ok… so what is puberty? (Yes I know what it is but I’ve already started…. Noun 1. the period during which adolescents reach sexual maturity and become capable of reproduction. If you can’t tell… my impulse is to answer questions literally… so I had to define my parameters…. I’m not exactly sure when I hit puberty… but I’ll use age 12 as a general guideline. In the spirit of specificity to… Read more: “Do you remember your favorite book from childhood?”
- A Family of Common Trust (Acts 2:42: Part 2)
“They were devoting themselves to the teaching of the emissaries and to fellowship, to breaking bread and to prayers.”Acts 2:42 TLV They devoted themselves to the teaching of the emissaries….. or in the Greek: Apostolos, transliteration into English: Apostles. The emissaries here were 11 of the original 12 disciples of Jesus who he appointed to be his apostles, or missionaries, if you prefer. The root of apostolos is “sent one” so using the word emissary or missionary is appropriate. More emissaries come later on… but these 12 (with one replacement for Judas) had a specific mission. They were called to… Read more: A Family of Common Trust (Acts 2:42: Part 2) - “Prepare for Battle!”
I’ve been under attack the last few days… spiritual attack that is. Nothing in the ballpark of giant cannons… but enough to keep me contemplative… stuck in my head. Thereby this post cannot avoid being both autobiographical and perhaps dull! If you remember from a couple weeks ago we have been working on sleep training Lizzie.1 Thank you all for your prayers. She went down the first night so well, and then the second, and the third…. About a week in is where she started waking up in the middle of the night in a way that really cut into… Read more: “Prepare for Battle!” - “Three impactful books” (WordPress Prompt)List three books that have had an impact on you. Why? Ah.. such a timely question. My wife is reading one of my favorite books right now and while we were out at the pool this weekend I asked her to read me the introduction out loud. I’ll save that and the best for last- 3. The Horse and His Boy by C.S Lewis. This story has had a huge impact on my life. Really the whole Chronicles of Narnia… but the Horse and His Boy is the one I relate to most. As an adopted kid I relate well… Read more: “Three impactful books” (WordPress Prompt)
- Defying Materialism
“Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”1 John 5:21 ESV Oooo… a red Tesla. It would be nice to have a Tesla. I want it. Wait I don’t need a Red Tesla! Nor do I really want it! Immediately I realized what my mind was doing….I was striving after something and it was making me jealous…..and “The Speculator” returned.1 Not that there is anything wrong with wanting something, and working hard to get it. There isn’t. There is something wrong with putting something else in your heart before Jesus. This may in fact influence what you want… I pray it does.… Read more: Defying Materialism - “Describe one simple thing you do that brings joy to your life” (WordPress prompt)Describe one simple thing you do that brings joy to your life. Limiting me to one huh? Cause I could say all sorts of things about deep breathing and reflection…. Cuddling my babies…Sitting in the pool with my two youngest born splashing in the water…cuddling with my wife, nerding out with my best friend(also my wife) But if you must limit me to one. The days I am most joyful are the days where I pray. I’m trying to be more consistent with this…. I turn my attention to God. Thank him for all the blessings in my life. Ask… Read more: “Describe one simple thing you do that brings joy to your life” (WordPress prompt)
- Unplugging (WordPress Prompt)How do you know when it’s time to unplug? What do you do to make it happen? You mean like I’m supposed to be doing today? I know usually because I start to live from striving and not from joy and love…this creates anxiety, which can result in anger… which can result in broken relations between me and those I love. To make it happen: I usually leave my phone in my bedroom or put it on Focus/Do not Disturb. I also have to spend time in prayer. This usually restores joy… though sometimes it takes more time and often… Read more: Unplugging (WordPress Prompt)
- The Kind Father and Jireh
I’m tired… oh so very tired… I let myself be worried about money yesterday… I feel distant from Abba…. I’m weary, burdened… needing rest. It’s time to get close to my Father again On my lunch break I turn on some worship music. The song Jireh by Maverick City Music came on. Perhaps you are like me and need some rest today… so here are some reminders. “I’ll never be more loved then I am right now” “You would cross an ocean, so I wouldn’t drown” The word Jireh comes from Genesis 22:14. Where God provided for Abraham in his… Read more: The Kind Father and Jireh - “Quality in a friend” (WordPress prompt)What quality do you value most in a friend? The quality I value most in a friend is faithfulness. I want you to show up… even if you do it imperfectly. Admittedly I’m not ALWAYS the greatest at this. I get busy. I lose track of time. Things happen. But I want to be faithful and I’m getting better at it. Before my wife was my wife she was my best friend. She came to this conclusion before I did. One time she told me: “You have to stop acting like I’m going to go away. I’m not going to… Read more: “Quality in a friend” (WordPress prompt)
- “What jobs have you had?” (WordPress Prompt)What jobs have you had? So many jobs. One time I interviewed at KMart and the general manager was super concerned at the number of jobs I had. I think he was concerned I would leave. Most of my jobs have been in some form of customer service. I worked at: A toy store, a skydiving company, Kmart, Target, a local grocery store, and more. I was also a Lifeguard, and I started out by cleaning carpets and toilets ( usually not at the same time.) Now I work as a customer service supervisor. Most of my job is teaching…… Read more: “What jobs have you had?” (WordPress Prompt)
- A Family of Constant Communication (Acts 2:42 Series: Part 1)
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers.” Acts 2:42 HCSB And they devoted themselves to..the prayers In a prior post I briefly highlighted what prayer is.1 put simply… prayer is talking to Jesus.. talking to God… Communication. My relationship with Jesus began when I started talking to Him. The Holy Spirit revealed to me the impact of sin and temptation in my life. This revelation included an awareness of spiritual evil…. As I became aware that evil was real…I became aware that God was real. This compelled… Read more: A Family of Constant Communication (Acts 2:42 Series: Part 1) - “Do you practice religion?” (WordPress prompt)Do you practice religion? Ok, so now the speculator is back. See “What are you Good At?” For me the real question is what can I possibly add to this conversation. Or try to. I read two responses this morning: one by a Christian, the other by an Atheist. Ironically, I found myself agreeing with both. The Christian talked about how Christianity is about relationship, not religion. Something my blog whole heartedly stands with, as do I. The atheist talked about how religion is at the root of many of the worlds problems… something I also find myself agreeing with.… Read more: “Do you practice religion?” (WordPress prompt)
- Wardens of the Night Watch (a.k.a Parents)
Dedicated to my Mom Is that Asher? It must be Asher… I think I heard knocking. It must be Asher. Ok! Better check what he needs. I threw on my pants and went to the door. No Asher. Then I heard Lizzie crying and saw my wife walking into the room to get her. There goes Jehovah Sneaky again. You see Jordan and I had a deal that she would get Lizzie the next time she woke up, but I got up anyway because I thought it was Asher. I went to help, but I heard Lizzie stop crying. I… Read more: Wardens of the Night Watch (a.k.a Parents) - Quick UpdateSo in addition to answering the WordPress prompts I’ve actually been working on larger works in the background. 1. I’m almost done with my first post of the Acts 2:42 series 2. The response I got to the post about Lizzie: (Daddies’): Tales of an Infant Asthmatic got me thinking about what God must have gone through in forging me into a Dad in the first place. Much of my excess creative energy has gone into this project. 3. And most importantly… actually spending time this weekend with the family that inspires me in the first place. Blessings!
- Life before the internet? (WordPress prompt)Do you remember life before the internet? There are nuances to this question because it can be taken one of many ways. (From my perspective anyway) Do I remember a time before the internet existed? Well that depends on what you count as the internet since the formation of said internet goes back to the 1960s… and apparently the internet in its current form was a slow rolling development so I am not entirely sure I can answer that…. Believe it or not I had already looked this up before this prompt (though I did go back and check) However,… Read more: Life before the internet? (WordPress prompt)
- “What are you good at?” (WordPress prompt)What are you good at? Speculating on the nature of reality at the slightest provocation. For instance: This morning our son woke up with growing pains. After some time comforting him we invited him into our bed. As he was moving around me I was thinking about it. Why is it that we grow while we sleep? (Kids anyway) how cool is it that we grow while we sleep? How gracious of God to provide provision for our growth while we sleep… so cool. I could go on. So what am I good at? Speculating on the nature of reality… Read more: “What are you good at?” (WordPress prompt)
- A Family of Constants (Acts 2:42 Series Introduction)Edit: I updated the title of this post to hopefully convey better meaning… my focus in these posts is to talk about the culture of the community we have been invited into. Happy Pentecost weekend! Beginning on Thursday evening our Jewish sisters and brothers celebrated Shavuot. We call it Pentecost in Greek. The Jewish people celebrate it as the day that God declared his covenant with his people at Mount Sinai and formed them as a new community.1 As believers in Yeshua (Jesus in English) we celebrate that same day as the day God gave His Holy Spirit and formed… Read more: A Family of Constants (Acts 2:42 Series Introduction)
- “Having It All” in The Father’s Presence
What does “having it all” mean to you? Is it attainable? Every day WordPress, The platform I am so grateful for, has these blogging prompts/questions. I HAVE normally ignored these prompts because they aren’t always fitting with the theme of what God lays on my heart. Today I could not. Is having it all attainable? Yes. What is having it all? I want to answer that by sharing about someone who had it all and has it all still to this day. Someone whose name is ABOVE every other name. Has everything you could possibly have. Paul said it like… Read more: “Having It All” in The Father’s Presence - Behind (Daddies’): TalesSo… it’s true. I’m not the best at grammar. Which is interesting for a person that God called to write. I am NOW aware that Daddies’ is both plural and possessive. I briefly contemplated changing the title to Daddy’s Tales… but decided against it. The reality is this. These stories are not just my stories. They are given to me by God. God will often remind me of how he is fathering me through an encounter I have with one of my own children. Hence this blog. I am aware that the title could be misinterpreted, but the Daddies here… Read more: Behind (Daddies’): Tales
- (Daddies’)*: Tales of an Infant Asthmatic.
My youngest born, Lizzie, stands apart from her siblings. Not because she is more loved or somehow my favorite… but because in this season of her life she needs more love and affection. I used to think Asher would be the one who stood apart. When he was super young he was like a love sponge. He needed a lot of extra affection. He didn’t even want to sleep on his own… His first three nights home from the hospital: I literally didn’t sleep between the hours of 11pm and 5am. I just held him in my arms and about… Read more: (Daddies’)*: Tales of an Infant Asthmatic. - Husbands, Love Your Wives
I’m going to be taking a writing hiatus over the weekend (starting today) so I can focus on my wife and her birthday….This of course, reminded me of a story. When I was first dating my wife, she went on a trip with her family to Omaha, Nebraska. The night she was returning they were getting in rather late. I was going to have to work super early the next morning. I wanted to go see her, but this would mean sacrificing at least some sleep. I received good counsel from someone I trusted that I should really turn in… Read more: Husbands, Love Your Wives - Sharing Stories: SPOKEN VESSELS
One of my best friends shared this video with me today. It’s their story about having kids. It’s done so well. If you like it check out the other videos as well. - The Interpersonally Driven Dad
(Dedicated to the memory of Timothy Keller… who was used by God to teach me these truths) In a previous post I talked about how we are made in the image of God. See Our Father’s Resemblance: Our Raison D’etre Today I want to talk about my favorite part of that. When I was in college I made a decision to change majors part way through my sophomore year. I had various reasons for switching away from a pastoral studies major. What prompted it though was my university eliminating the major from their program. This meant I would have been… Read more: The Interpersonally Driven Dad - “I want you, Dad!”
My son walks into my office this morning, clearly upset. I had heard him crying on his way down the hall so I called out to him and told him to come to me. Then I asked him: “What do you need bubby?” Slowly and through tears he says: “I want you Dad!” I picked him up and gave him a hug: “I love you my little man!” We Merrill men are extremely sensitive creatures. At least by some standards, but this reminded me of the words of a Psalm: “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my… Read more: “I want you, Dad!” - The Matter of the Kingdom“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”Romans 14:17 ESV The kingdom of God IS a matter of: Righteousness: (δικαιοσύνη) Goodness: Things are as they ought to be. (You know, no murder, stealing, etc. check out the Ten Commandments) Implied in a “Christian ethic” is LOVE one another. Peace (εἰρήνη, -ης, ἡ) quietness, rest, prosperity (in a non materialistic, but you have what you need sense) and Joy (χαρά) cheerfulness, calm delight, gladness, greatly, exceedingly joyful In the Holy Spirit: Holy: ἅγιος, -α, -ον,… Read more: The Matter of the Kingdom
- Sabbath Post: Humility of Jesus
I wanted to write a post on the humility of Jesus… then didn’t feel qualified to write it! If you are wondering if this is a joke or serious. Yes. But in all seriousness I admire Jesus and His humility AND I feel like I am still and always going to be on this journey of learning from His humility. There are many definitions of humble… Humility… is so important, seeing that humility in Jesus… and mirroring it. So powerful. Today I just want to leave you with one of the defining passages on Christ’s humility. May you find the… Read more: Sabbath Post: Humility of Jesus - Our Dad who Heals: רָפָאLast night I witnessed God heal a man who is on his journey towards accepting Jesus. A week and a half before this we saw God heal a man of carpal tunnel to show him how much He loves Him. The Hebrew word for heal is rapha Strong’s Definitions: רָפָא râphâʼ, raw-faw’; or רָפָה râphâh; a primitive root; properly, to mend (by stitching), i.e. (figuratively) to cure:—cure, (cause to) heal, physician, repair, ×thoroughly, make whole. In the Bible, God says he is the one who heals us. Biblically speaking this word is applied in multiple ways. A few of them… Read more: Our Dad who Heals: רָפָא
- Our Father’s Joy
My youngest (born) has decided it is time to stand. She must stand. Last night, I was sitting on the ground holding her, and she insisted that I put her in the standing position. (You know how babies cry until they get exactly what they want) Anyway, every time I shifted her away from standing… yeah.. no good. So out the standing and walking toys came. Just to clarify…. This little girl hasn’t even figured out crawling yet, but she must stand! My wife came to take over and I went to do dishes, but I could still see her.… Read more: Our Father’s Joy - Our Father’s Resemblance: Our Raison d’être
rai·son d’ê·tre (noun) This morning I had both of my daughters cuddled up against me, with my wife sitting nearby. Looking at my daughters I was reminded how much they are like their Mom. Haddie looks SOOO much like Jordan. Lizzie acts SOOO much like Jordan. (People say she looks a little like me). My son was the first one to come to our door this morning, needing help with something. As I was helping him change his clothes, I was noting how much like me he was in terms of behavior and sensitivity. Our kids are OBVIOUSLY unique beings… Read more: Our Father’s Resemblance: Our Raison d’être - Our Father’s Witness: Jesus Story and Ours
My family and I were watching an interview done by Phil and Jase Robertson on their YouTube channel. Phil and Jase were featured on the show Duck Dynasty. They were interviewing Dallas Jenkins, creator and writer of the series “The Chosen.” They were talking about the power of seeing aspects of the gospels play out on screen. Something Jase said drew my attention. He told how he came to faith… This included two key elements…One was the Bible. The other was watching His dad, Phil, be transformed by the gospel. If you aren’t familiar with Phil and his wife Kay’s… Read more: Our Father’s Witness: Jesus Story and Ours - Happy Mother’s Day!
A quick personal reflection this morning. First, Happy Mother’s Day to all Moms! I already sent my personal note to each of the direct Moms in my life. I am so thankful for all you do! Adam (the first man) named his wife Eve because she was going to be Mother to all the living human beings ever to come.1 Women are SO MUCH MORE than Moms. They are so much more, especially physically. It was common in the first century church for both men and women to remain single as they sought Jesus. But they are Moms. They are… Read more: Happy Mother’s Day! - Reflections on “The Lord’s Prayer”: A Sabbath Post
I’m going to be taking a day off writing on Saturdays. To be present with my family… so today you get two for the price of one. Buckle up folks.. this is going to be intense. I promise it will be worth it I was reflecting on what I wrote in the previous post “Talking to Our Heavenly Father” and it caused me to think about how some people are concerned about people becoming too familiar with God… Up until somewhat recently, I was one of them. I certainly questioned whether or not God wanted to be all that familiar… Read more: Reflections on “The Lord’s Prayer”: A Sabbath Post - The Internationally Engaged Dad: Part 2
When my mom was visiting my brother in England several years ago, she happened upon a small prayer meeting. It was located down the street from where my brother lived. The story she told from that meeting has always stuck with me. Someone else at the meeting, an English businessman, told the story of his travels in Asia. I don’t remember which country it was but I don’t think he said. While riding in the cab from the airport, he made friends with his Cabbie. It became quickly apparent that they were both lovers of Jesus… and so the Cabbie… Read more: The Internationally Engaged Dad: Part 2 - Talking to Our Heavenly Father
Let me just share two songs that have been having a profound impact on my faith lately. (see videos below) 1. The Lords Prayer (It’s Yours) – by Matt Maher 2. Talking to Jesus- by Elevation Worship and Maverick City Music I find it difficult to do this very thing… talk to Jesus. To pray. Even though it is the very thing that brings me life. Jesus once said “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’””Matthew 4:4 TLV I am literally dependent on His words….entirely dependent.… Read more: Talking to Our Heavenly Father - Go Back: Reflections from Just a MomA personal post from Just a Mom (my wife) Go BackGod said “Go Back to what you once did” Life has been so full of blessings in the last decade. So many blessing that I could not begin to list they all. From provision, protection, multiplication, healing, and presence. God has done so many good things and I thank him so much for bringing to life dreams and vision that my family has had since childhood. We are truly living in a blessed season. And yet I have begun to feel the pressure of life. I feel distance forming between… Read more: Go Back: Reflections from Just a Mom
- The Internationally Engaged Dad: Part 1
In a prior post I talked about some of the big Holy Spirit outpourings in the history of America… and I discussed a dry spell that’s been happening in our nation. I’m not sure everyone would agree on that point. In fact in many congregations I’ve been in it feels “quite wet.” The Spirit is in fact alive and well in at least many of our churches. I want to be VERY clear. I am very excited for what I see God doing already in our nation and am always thankful for His presence. Wherever God has family… there He… Read more: The Internationally Engaged Dad: Part 1 - The Historically Engaged Dad: We are His Children
The point of THIS post is to express this: That God has been on the move throughout history. That there are very few decades where we don’t see some form of outpouring. The earlier ones are the ones studied in history books. And may not account for the smaller movements like the one that happened at Asbury University this year in 2023. This post is written for fellow sisters and brothers in the Lord… I don’t expect all people to catch the meanings of revival and outpouring… What I do mean though is a season of refreshing of the Holy… Read more: The Historically Engaged Dad: We are His Children - Why I’m Just a Dad: Servant and Leader
You know what’s funny. As I listen to my crying baby in the other room… Just thinking. She makes no distinction between the concept of servant and the concept of leader. To her they are one and the same. She just says. Dad. “But the greatest among you shall be your servant.”Matthew 23:11 TLV Dad… being the one who I love and adore. The one who I listen to. The one that feeds me, disciplines me, forgives me, the one who protects me from those big nasty dogs. ““Therefore, pray in this way: ‘Our Father in heaven, sanctified be Your… Read more: Why I’m Just a Dad: Servant and Leader - Retro Add: 2022: In ReviewCopying from Facebook…Mostly for context and anyone who reads without having access to my Facebook 2022: IN REVIEW I have a tendency of writing our “Christmas Card” on here and not sending it out until December 31. This was quite accidental the first time I did it (2017: The year Jordan and I got married) I see no reason to change my particular habit… especially since the time leading up to Christmas is full of planning and wrapping and historically focused on our small children.This year was no exception. “Last Christmas” we found out we were going to have a… Read more: Retro Add: 2022: In Review
- Retro Add: My Baptism and Sign of Sonship
It wasn’t the first time I got baptized… I didn’t technically ”need” to… but I did feel compelled to. You see the first time I got baptized it wasn’t for the right reasons… ok well it’s probably better to say it wasn’t for all the right reasons and It wasn’t by immersion. I always wanted to get immersed. One.. this is the baptism we see in scripture… two the imagery of being put in the tomb with Christ and being raised with him… awesome. More importantly it was years after I got baptized when I first experienced true relationship with… Read more: Retro Add: My Baptism and Sign of Sonship
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