Love, Dad: Letters of Faith to My Children

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I may not tell you enough, but I love you and appreciate you more than you will ever know. You have stood by me and supported me through any obstacle life has thrown my way. You gave me the most amazing childhood a girl could ask for and are one of the hardest workers I know.

Most importantly, you are the best papa to my kids, and that means the world to me. Thank you for everything that you do. You have been the stronghold in my life. You set a firm foundation and precedence by making church a priority and for that I am forever grateful. You have always been such an encourager, motivator, and listener. I have countless memories with you as a child, i.

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As an adult, I cherish the close relationship that I have with you. I especially enjoy our road trips to FSU games.

We have had some great laughs and memories and I look forward to many more. Thank you, Joe Christian, for being an amazing father. I just wanted to say you mean so much to me. You make me happy on rainy days….. What would life be without a dad like you? You were pulling up carpet, exposing the old pins and nails, and laying down the new. There was a glue strip set underneath the seams, and you had to melt the glue with a hot carpet iron.

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I remember your hands and forearms, which looked so massive at the time, and I remember thinking that being a man was to have hands like that. Even then, I was aware it went more slowly with me involved. I also like when you try and read me Bible stories, but all I really want to do is chew on the pages. I love you da-da. When my earthly father died 2 years ago, You gave me a song every day, for two weeks all day and all night. One day, when I was alone, my heart remembered the words of Psalm I knew then, and I still know now … You love me! You are the awesomest Dad ever!

You have inspired me to play soccer. I like watching the World Cup with you. You make me run faster, you have taught me your dance moves, and your singing is awesome. I like how you taught me to be a Christian. I love doing family talk with you at the dinner table and that you wake me up for school in the morning. You have taught me right from wrong.

You have always been my daddy, playmate, hero, coach, mentor, and teacher throughout my life. You have opened my eyes to who I am and who I want to be. You were always the one to push me harder, faster, stronger to make me the woman I am today.

I am so thankful to have you as a dad because you have always taught me to keep God first in my life and to always believe in myself. I hope one day soon that Craig and I will be able to have a child of our own and teach that child some of the same morals that you helped me set in my life. Thank you dad for always being there when I needed you and to continue to always being that caring, loving, giving man that you are. The three of us wish that we could be there to celebrate you today. Your constant love and support has meant more than anything.

You sat through countless softball games, pageants, and graduations throughout the years. We owe a great deal of our individual successes to you. From all of us, thank you for being the best dad that any girl could hope for. My dad is caring, strong, and a man of conviction. Dear daddy, I just wanted to let you know that I love you so much. I appreciate how incredibly hard you work and all that you do for our family.

Thank you for everything. Every Sunday we were there, with our tithe of 7 pennies each; one for every day of the week. Sunday was also a day of rest. Dad would nap in the afternoon and only to rise to milk the cows again in the evening. We learned to work and take care of the things God gave us. Dad taught us many things, not by telling us, but by example. From generation to generation, my gentle, loving Dad has been a picture of my heavenly Father.

I am blessed beyond measure. From one man to another…. A man that is oh so similar to you. What a great thing. Courage, strength, character, decency, honor, love, empathy, respect, and so many other characteristics ingrained into my soul because of you. While today you may not remember some of those moments, I will remember for you. You are leaving me and my family in a much better position that you were left in. A foundational cornerstone that all fathers wish for their children. You may not remember that you have done this for my family, but I will remember for you.

Letters To Dad

While you struggle to remember day to day issues, while a fog rests over past times, and while soon you may struggle to remember me, I will remember for you. You are my on call maintenance man, for anything that can and does go wrong. Or that UPS left something at my house? My auto mechanic; if I run into your house for more than five min my oil is checked. If you have to add two quarts does that count as an oil change? You love and support my spoiled children. But most of all … you love me. You do way too much for me.

I appreciate you and love you. I remember when you jumped on the trampoline with me. Dear Dad, I love you.

I also think you are very funny. My favorite thing is when me and you play football. I was still a little boy, but even then I could see, the Lord had touched your life and blessed our family.

Something else you used to say. God is looking for a man. Someone who will stand and live the truth no matter who agrees. Papa, you have been His man. I know I still have much to learn, but i have begun to see, How blessed I am with a Father who has loved and corrected me. I thank the Lord today, for the Godly man you are. I want to honor you in all I do and say.

They teach us how to grow. How to catch a ball. How to take care of others. You will meet lots and lots of girls in your lives. Treat them all with dignity and respect. Care more about their inner beauty than their outward appearance. Get to know her, build a relationship and take the time to see if she is the ONE. You will eventually know if she is and she will be looking at you in the same way. Be counter-cultural, do the right thing and save yourselves for marriage. The world might make fun of you, but Jesus will love you for it. You have heard your mom and I say this a million times: Someone has to be responsible, why not you?

If you are involved in an activity or project, act responsible and be a leader. If you make a mess, clean it up. If you say you will do something, do it.

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It may be up to you. Be true to yourself and your friends. Hang out with people who share your values. Be a good enough friend to others that you always tell them the truth.

This is the sign of a true friend. If your friends go down a path you know is wrong, stand your ground and do not follow. The tricky thing about friendship is you sometimes find yourself alone because you are committed to following the teachings of the Church or the values you learned.

What can I do to prevent this in the future?

Trust me on this one — never abandon your faith or your values to follow the crowd. On the other hand, you will hopefully have a few close friends who stay with you a lifetime and they are to be treasured as gifts from God. You are who God created you to be. Reflect on my favorite quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: I will stop with these eight lessons and we will dive into other valuable topics again in a future letter. I hope you read this and come to me and your mom with lots of questions. I promise we are here to help you.

Letters To Dad | Victory Church

Did you know your mom and I have a vocation job given to us by God? Our vocation is to help our family and everyone else get to Heaven. That is our number one responsibility as parents. You are going to stumble and struggle at times in life, but always remember we are here for you and we love you.

Most importantly, God loves you and he will never abandon you. He wants you to learn, grow and think for yourselves, but never stray from His love. Boys, your mom and I want one more important thing for you. We want you to be happy. Do you know where joy comes from?

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