I don't do this often, but tonight I felt like God was placing this on my heart so I wanted to share this. I want to share this for a number of reasons. It is very encouraging for anyone to read, but I know that someday Aly and Hannah will read this. My hope is that God will use this to speak into their lives no matter the place they are in.
It has been kind of a crazy month of July as we have been the only YL leaders in Gahanna and have just been busy doing a lot and spending time poorly in many areas of our life. I feel like we have been doing a lot of things 'ok', but neglecting the one necessary thing...seeking Jesus like a hidden treasure (Proverbs 2). So lately Jenn and I have started doing a reading plan and it has been great. We have been able to hold each other accountable for time with the Lord. I really feel like He has blessed it and made it good. It really unites us with each other and in Him. Anyway, today I spent 3 hours sitting waiting for Dave's (grandpa's) truck to have a bed roller and cap put on it. During that time I read my day's plan, read from the book The Call, and listened to a sermon. Here are some of the thoughts I feel like God put on my heart and I felt needed to be shared with my girls.
First off, Proverbs 5 talked about an adulterous woman who is smooth at talking, will draw you in and lead you in ways you don't want, which is much like sin. We get drawn in and before we know it, we are so deep it has created a mess of our lives and eats at us from the inside out. At the end, in The Message version, it says sin will overtake us, lead us into the dark and that an undisciplined life will lead us to death in the end. Man, that was awesome to read and it really makes it so much greater because God has made it apparent to me this month that I need to be disciplined in my pursuit of Jesus. Through the Proverbs that I have read so far, it always talks about find and pursuing God. That in Him, and only Him, is true wisdom, understanding and knowledge. My first prayer for the girls, and everyone, is that they will live lives of discipline in pursuit of Jesus. I pray that, like Nicodemus in John 3, they would seek Him personally in their lives. I pray that they would not take what I say or Jenn says, or our relationships with Jesus, but make it their own. I hope that they will search for Him, find Him and make it personal for themselves.
The second thing I felt was important to write about, was the sermon I listened to today. It was from Josh Patterson at Village Community Church. He talked about fear of the Lord. He talked about how he wanted to be a man of action, not intentions; and not live a life that is inconsistent with his faith in Christ. He talked about Proverbs as well and how it is a book designed to speak to the wise, the foolish and the young. He said that Fear of the Lord is the beginning of growing in wisdom and depth in Christ. He talked about how fear of God is understanding that God is Holy and has to deal with the sin He hates so much, but to do it in awe and reverence of who He is and what He has done FOR us in Christ on the cross. Josh shared that to walk in Godliness and wisdom, we must develop a posture of dependence and humility, and a recognition of who we are apart from Him and who we are in Him. I really pray that my girls will, through their pursuits of Jesus, gain an understanding and awe of God and what He does for us in order to draw us to Himself. I pray that they would fear Him and live lives that are intentional and consistent. I pray that they'd understand that nothing else will lead them to a full, satisfying and eternal life. That anything short from seeking God only leads to restlessness (as Os Guiness says in The Call).
Josh also shared a story about how he asked his soon to be father-in-law for his daughter's hand in marriage. He had previously asked her dad for permission to date her and pursue his daughter. He said that he did this every 6 months and when he finally asked the dad for her hand in marriage this is what he told him, "I have cultivated her and brought her up in life and your job is to take her hand and give it to the savior at the end." He said that it is his job to help cultivate and prepare his wife's heart and mind for God. This is so awesome and my prayer also is that the girls will find someone who loves Jesus more than he loves them and will take this same challenge to lead them and help refine them through Godly love, respect, fear and honor. I pray that they too would pursue Jesus above their other relationships and feel the call to love and push their husbands and kids closer to Jesus to prepare and refine them for Him. I pray that they would settle for nothing less. I pray that I am a father who models this to them in my own life and marriage. I pray that I would learn to fear God with all my life and pursue Him like a hidden treasure. I pray that they would feel loved, safe and protected, as well as challenged and encouraged in their relationships with Jesus from me.
Josh also shared a story about how he asked his soon to be father-in-law for his daughter's hand in marriage. He had previously asked her dad for permission to date her and pursue his daughter. He said that he did this every 6 months and when he finally asked the dad for her hand in marriage this is what he told him, "I have cultivated her and brought her up in life and your job is to take her hand and give it to the savior at the end." He said that it is his job to help cultivate and prepare his wife's heart and mind for God. This is so awesome and my prayer also is that the girls will find someone who loves Jesus more than he loves them and will take this same challenge to lead them and help refine them through Godly love, respect, fear and honor. I pray that they too would pursue Jesus above their other relationships and feel the call to love and push their husbands and kids closer to Jesus to prepare and refine them for Him. I pray that they would settle for nothing less. I pray that I am a father who models this to them in my own life and marriage. I pray that I would learn to fear God with all my life and pursue Him like a hidden treasure. I pray that they would feel loved, safe and protected, as well as challenged and encouraged in their relationships with Jesus from me.
I am extremely blessed to have such beautiful girls in my life. I love so many things about them. I love watching Hannah play. She gets into her own world and it is so cute to watch. I love her sweet little kisses and how she never lets me leave the house with out them. I love her laugh and how she is just like me and the way she always wants me to chase her. I love how she always makes Aly laugh, says the silliest things and draws pictures of us with multiple eyes and no hands. I love the way Aly is so much like Jenn it is crazy. I love how she loves to read and color and do crafts. That girl is so creative and smart it is unreal. I love how when she kisses me it is so soft and tender. She does it like she is a real princess, well she is one...to me. I love how she gets so excited for school and the best is when she lays down next to me with her Bible and pretends to read it and underline things like me. She told me the other day that she asked Jesus into her heart in her room. I love that. She loves to stack and organize things. I love that they both love to dress up and pretend to be princesses, and how they play 'Dan and Jenn'. They are so special. I can't wait to continue to watch them grow. I love spending time with them and having the challenge of raising girls to feel loved and special. My only real prayer is that Jesus would be their number one pursuit in life and He would live in and through them. Ok, long enough. That's enough from dad! Love you girls!
Daddy
