Every girl has a Father, but not every girl has a Daddy. I
am one of the lucky ones.
Today my dad turns 55, so I thought I’d share how thankful I
am that he is MY dad. Thousands of people look up to my dad, seriously
thousands. He is Pastor Jeff, the Senior
Pastor of Valley Family Church, the spiritual leader of our congregation. He is
the guy in charge, a spiritual Father to many, and people look to him for
guidance and to set the example. My dad
is the kind of guy that you want to
follow, he is one of those leaders that you just watch in awe. His character is impeccable. Who he is on stage is who he is at home and I
am so thankful that THAT kind of man was my dad.
He was intentional about the time he spent with me. Every
morning when he would take me to pre-school, I remember singing a song that
always ended with him calling me Sunshine. When we got a little bit older, he
would take each of us to practice. In between shuffling the 4 of us from
building to building, we’d have “down time” before the next kid had to be
picked up, during that time we’d drive through the back roads and go “deer
hunting.” Of course, this wasn’t real
deer hunting, but to us it might as well have been. We’d drive until we spotted a deer, then we’d
just sit and watch. That’s when my dad
taught us the valuable lesson, “when there is one, there is two” and sure
enough, there has always been a second deer. It’s silly, but he was intentional
about the time he spent with us.
Once we got into middle school, my dad started “Big Daddy’s
Bistro.” We loved Big Daddy’s Bistro.
Every morning for 12 years my dad prepared a hot breakfast for us to
enjoy before we left for school. Each morning my dad would prepare, French
toast, eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, breakfast burritos, waffles, fruit
parfait, crepes, you name it – we had it. Our time at Big Daddy’s Bistro wasn’t
just so we could have a 5-star breakfast every morning, he used that time to do
a devotion with us and then we always end with some time in prayer. He was intentional about spending time with
us each morning.
My dad also rarely missed one of our games. (My mom didn’t
either, but today is about my dad.) Among all of the other responsibilities
that he had, he always took the time to come to my games no matter where in the
country I was playing. Now, we wasn’t
perfect and sometimes things came up, but even if he couldn’t be at a game I
knew that he had tried really hard to make it happen because he was intentional
about being an involved dad.
My dad was and is, intentional. He was intentional about
being a reflection of my Heavenly Father.
Although he had other things to do, other responsibilities, other people
counting on him, he was intentional about putting everything else aside to
spend time with us. I know, because of
the example that my dad set, that my Heavenly Father desires to spend time with
me. I know because of the example my dad set, that my Heavenly Father will
always provide for me. I know because of the example my dad set, that my
Heavenly Father cares about what is going on in my life. I know because of the
example my dad set, that my Heavenly Father loves me unconditionally.
I have high standards because of him. I’ve seen how my dad
treats my mom, how he has treated my sister and I, how he raised my brothers
into men of God and that’s the kind of man that I want to marry. My dad is the
best leader I’ve ever known, he is the smartest man I know, he is one HECK of a
teacher, he is funny, loving, a man after Gods heart, and always looks out for
other people. He is the best dad that could ever walk this planet and best of
all he is MY dad.
I could go on and on about how great my dad is. This dumb
little blog doesn’t even come close to showing how thankful I am that Jeff
Jones isn’t just my father, but my daddy.
Happy Birthday Dad, I love you with all of my heart! Thank
you for setting an example that thousands can follow. Thanks for being a reflection of the
character of God. And thanks for giving me a reason to set the bar high. Happy
55th birthday, Senior Citizen! : )
