Like many of my postings, this question can reflect several different scenarios. My scenario is one of extreme humility because I know how I ended up here; my Dad. So, I thought I would list a few things that Dad is responsible for in my life and share with you my thoughts on what it means to be a Dad. Our focal passage comes from Ephesians 6:4 which read, "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."
For those of you reading this blog, my prayer is that you will take lessons from Dad on what it means to be a great Father. Remember, your daughters will seek out a husband that is like you and your sons will treat their wives like you treat your wife. Be it good or bad, you are the gold standard in their lives. You'll read more about this later.
As early as I can remember, my Dad involved me in things that he liked such as hamfests, ham radio, fishing, computers, and many more. I guess this explains a lot to those of you that know me...lol! I can remember going with Dad and one of his friends, Mandall Rigdon, up to Sassafras Mountain to work on a ham radio repeater. I could not have been more than three or four years old, but Dad took me with him. Fortunately for Dad, he brought along my sleeping bag which proved to be a good thing; we got stuck on the mountain. I don't remember how or why, but I do remember being with him. Hamfests were an annual event in the Littleton family. Dad, my uncle Lewis, my cousin Eddie, and myself took a trip up to Shelby, NC every year to walk around, "The Granddaddy of them All", the Shelby Hamfest. I have so many wonderful memories of those trips, but unfortunately I don't have the time to share them all with you. But again, Dad involved me. I remember fishing trips to the "Hot Spot" and "Hughes Bend". I remember Dad teaching me to work on things; cars, radios, yard work, etc. He always told me, "Check the simple stuff first." You don't know how many times I could have saved a lot of time if I had only listened to that little piece of advice. Dad was always there for baseball games and later in life when I played RA Softball, he was there for that as well.
When we were young, we didn't have a lot of money, but Dad was very creative. Our semi-annual outing was to take a trip down to the Ramada Inn in Clemson. That may seem strange, but my sister and I loved to play in the pool which we didn't get to do very often so Dad would load us up and take us for a one night outing just to let us play in the indoor swimming pool at the Ramada Inn. Sometimes on Sunday nights, he would load us up in the back of his vette, his Chevette, and just go for a ride while Kathy and I would look up at the stars. I remember Dad decorating the house with balloons and other party favors for Mom's birthday. He even let me stay up to wait on mom to return from work on the second shift. Dad was the perfect gentleman.
Now while I'm sure much of the motivation and instruction on doing things for Mom came from subtle guidance from Mom, Dad was willing to do it. He taught me to love my wife and to treat her with dignity and respect. I've never heard Dad raise his voice at Mom to this day and they've been married for 42 years. Dad has always been active in Church and faithful to Christ.
I owe every single success in my life to my Dad. I began training for my career when I was born. I began training to be a husband when I was born. And, I began training to be a father again, when I was born. Why, because I had a Dad that took the time to be involved and who taught me to be these things. Now I'm sure there are those who are reading this blog that didn't have a Dad like I have. I cannot begin to imagine what that must have been like, but there is hope!! You can break the cycle today. Today, you can choose to be a man of integrity, a husband of great repore, and a father of immeasurable compassion, love, and strength. Today, you can choose to be "Courageous" all for the cause of Christ!
Jesus, thank you so much for Dad! Thank you for giving me such a wonderful example of you. I'm sorry when I fail to take advantage of every single second of life with my wife and children. I ask you father to heal broken hearts that may be reading this and who have not experienced a Godly example of you. Please wrap your arms around them and show them your love. I love you so much Lord!
Happy Father's Day Dad!!! You have no idea how much I love you!!
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Saturday, June 9, 2012
"Yeah, whatever..."
The blog for today is one that I have struggled to write for a long time. In fact, I had my beautiful wife, Traci, proof-read it prior to posting. I hope that if you have spent any time at all around me you know that I love to talk about my family! I really do! And if you've spent any time at all around me, you've often heard me refer to, "my oldest", Cody. Cody is 19 years old and is actually my step-son. Many people have no idea that Cody is my step-son and make assumptions based on how I refer to him; this is by design. You see, I've always felt that the term, "step-son" is somewhat demeaning. It's almost like I'm saying, "you're here, but you are just not quite good enough" and that wasn't acceptable to me. Not to mention, Cody's Dad is very much a part of Cody's life and loves him very much. So, I decided to refer to Cody as, "my oldest". It was a tough balance of making Cody feel a part of our home without creating the perception that I was trying to take the place of his Dad. I wanted to make sure that Cody never felt as though he wasn't good enough for our home or me. In my mind, this was one of the ways I could make sure he felt like he belonged. After all, our home was as much his as it was any of ours.
What does this have to do with anything, right? There have been countless times when I've attempted to guide Cody in an effort to prevent him from making the wrong decision. I've tried to help him plan for his future and build a solid platform that he can build his life on. But, there have been just as many occasions where Cody responded with, "yeah, whatever". He would just blow me off and ignore anything I had to say. I guess the truth of the matter is, I was just like him when I was 19 years old. I thought my Mom and Dad only wanted to hold me back and keep me from living life. The reality is that I wanted to live life the way I wanted to live it, and I didn't want anybody telling me any different. I wanted all the glory and none of the responsibility of being an adult.
You know what's funny? I think God the Father must feel the same way I do on a constant basis with us; with me. He must shake his head at me on regular occasions. I can imagine the Lord thinking to himself, "I really wish he would just listen to me.." I should listen to our Father and here is why. His word provides insight into just how much he loves us. If we take a look at 1 John 3:1 (I like the New Living Translation for this one) which reads, "See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!" You see, God loves us so much more than we could ever imagine! He calls us his children! And, just like with my Mom and Dad, we see that God knows what is best. Take a look at Jeremiah 29:11 which reads, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." The Bible is very plain in that God does not want harm to come to us; he doesn't want us to make sinful choices that will cause harm for us. And like I did at 19, like Cody must feel at 19, and like we as adults feel now, we MUST know better than our Lord what is best for our lives. In other words, we look away from God and say, "Yeah, whatever." I hate to remind all of us, but ignoring God is, "sin". God did so much more for us than just worrying about perceptions of the feeling of belonging. He gave up his son's life for us. He loves us SO MUCH that he plainly calls us, "His children". WOW!!! Did you catch that? He doesn't call us his "adopted" or "step" or whatever, he calls us His children.
Lord, I am SO sorry when I ignore your words and your wisdom. Please forgive me and help me to live by your example and leadership. Please remind me to set the example for my family and friends and to honor you!
I hope all of you have a wonderful week. And remember, "Step up, man up, and be more, "Courageous" all for the cause of Christ!"
What does this have to do with anything, right? There have been countless times when I've attempted to guide Cody in an effort to prevent him from making the wrong decision. I've tried to help him plan for his future and build a solid platform that he can build his life on. But, there have been just as many occasions where Cody responded with, "yeah, whatever". He would just blow me off and ignore anything I had to say. I guess the truth of the matter is, I was just like him when I was 19 years old. I thought my Mom and Dad only wanted to hold me back and keep me from living life. The reality is that I wanted to live life the way I wanted to live it, and I didn't want anybody telling me any different. I wanted all the glory and none of the responsibility of being an adult.
You know what's funny? I think God the Father must feel the same way I do on a constant basis with us; with me. He must shake his head at me on regular occasions. I can imagine the Lord thinking to himself, "I really wish he would just listen to me.." I should listen to our Father and here is why. His word provides insight into just how much he loves us. If we take a look at 1 John 3:1 (I like the New Living Translation for this one) which reads, "See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!" You see, God loves us so much more than we could ever imagine! He calls us his children! And, just like with my Mom and Dad, we see that God knows what is best. Take a look at Jeremiah 29:11 which reads, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." The Bible is very plain in that God does not want harm to come to us; he doesn't want us to make sinful choices that will cause harm for us. And like I did at 19, like Cody must feel at 19, and like we as adults feel now, we MUST know better than our Lord what is best for our lives. In other words, we look away from God and say, "Yeah, whatever." I hate to remind all of us, but ignoring God is, "sin". God did so much more for us than just worrying about perceptions of the feeling of belonging. He gave up his son's life for us. He loves us SO MUCH that he plainly calls us, "His children". WOW!!! Did you catch that? He doesn't call us his "adopted" or "step" or whatever, he calls us His children.
Lord, I am SO sorry when I ignore your words and your wisdom. Please forgive me and help me to live by your example and leadership. Please remind me to set the example for my family and friends and to honor you!
I hope all of you have a wonderful week. And remember, "Step up, man up, and be more, "Courageous" all for the cause of Christ!"
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
"I'm a Logger"
Any self-respecting Southerner will hold a special place in their heart for Jerry Clower and Ray Stevens. You guessed it; I consider myself a self-respecting southerner. I am a huge fan of Ray Stevens AND Jerry Clower, and Ray Stevens gave me the idea of tonight's blog with his song, "The Haircut Song". Ok, for those of you without my appreciation for such silly humor, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNr1eZopzZ4 for the song. Ray tells a great story about where to get your haircut and in the first two verses, he tells the barber, "I'm a Logger" (which by the way isn't true) and in the last verse, he tells the barber, "I run this church for Loggers".
My personal story to this happened several years ago in Elberton, GA. Several of us from Easley Fire Department took some time off to go spend some time at Elijah Clark State Park. While we were there, a BAD storm blew in causing all kinds of damage. Being the professional firefighters we were, we sat out on the screened in porch of the cabin and witnessed first hand nature's destruction. After the excitement died down, we decided to ride into Elberton to the Huddle House for a late night supper. When we walked in, there was a man sitting at a booth with a straw cowboy hat on what had a Rattle Snake skin wrapped around it with the head of that snake fixed to the front of his hat with his mouth wide open. You can imagine the sarcastic thoughts going through our mind, but the man asked me, (Chief Billy Gibson was witness to this) "Are you fellers loggers?" I immediately thought of The Haircut Song and replied, "No sir, we run this church for loggers." It was all I could do to keep a straight face.
Seriously though, how many times to we customize who we are based on who we think other people want us to be? My focal passage tonight comes from Matthew 16:13-20 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%2016:13-20&version=NIV and I want to key in verse 15. Jesus was essentially asking the disciples what others thought of him or to put it in our words, what were the rumors about Jesus? But Jesus asked Peter something that I think really shakes things up a bit when he asks in verse 15, "“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” In today's terms, I think Jesus wasn't very concerned about what other people thought, but it was very important what the disciples thought; believed. I think this passage could also teach us some leadership values, but what if Jesus had cleared it all up for Peter and said, "Peter, don't worry about it. I'm a logger." Or, when Jesus asked what other people thought, if Peter would have replied, "They think you run this church for loggers". The truth of the matter is, Jesus was just like you and me and he didn't have to be anything for anybody. He didn't ride up in the latest chariot with armed guards and an escort, he didn't live in the biggest mansion, and he didn't have his own reality show.
My question to you tonight, is, "Who do men say that you are?" Are you a "Logger", do you "run a church for loggers", or do people see Christ seeping out in you? Does your life reflect that of a life worth living? For me, my prayer is constantly that God will keep me humble and remind me to set the example. And, when I fail, that I seek forgiveness.
I hope all of you have a great week and know, that I am praying for all of you!
As posted before, it's time for us to step up, man up, and live for the cause of Christ.
My personal story to this happened several years ago in Elberton, GA. Several of us from Easley Fire Department took some time off to go spend some time at Elijah Clark State Park. While we were there, a BAD storm blew in causing all kinds of damage. Being the professional firefighters we were, we sat out on the screened in porch of the cabin and witnessed first hand nature's destruction. After the excitement died down, we decided to ride into Elberton to the Huddle House for a late night supper. When we walked in, there was a man sitting at a booth with a straw cowboy hat on what had a Rattle Snake skin wrapped around it with the head of that snake fixed to the front of his hat with his mouth wide open. You can imagine the sarcastic thoughts going through our mind, but the man asked me, (Chief Billy Gibson was witness to this) "Are you fellers loggers?" I immediately thought of The Haircut Song and replied, "No sir, we run this church for loggers." It was all I could do to keep a straight face.
Seriously though, how many times to we customize who we are based on who we think other people want us to be? My focal passage tonight comes from Matthew 16:13-20 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%2016:13-20&version=NIV and I want to key in verse 15. Jesus was essentially asking the disciples what others thought of him or to put it in our words, what were the rumors about Jesus? But Jesus asked Peter something that I think really shakes things up a bit when he asks in verse 15, "“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” In today's terms, I think Jesus wasn't very concerned about what other people thought, but it was very important what the disciples thought; believed. I think this passage could also teach us some leadership values, but what if Jesus had cleared it all up for Peter and said, "Peter, don't worry about it. I'm a logger." Or, when Jesus asked what other people thought, if Peter would have replied, "They think you run this church for loggers". The truth of the matter is, Jesus was just like you and me and he didn't have to be anything for anybody. He didn't ride up in the latest chariot with armed guards and an escort, he didn't live in the biggest mansion, and he didn't have his own reality show.
My question to you tonight, is, "Who do men say that you are?" Are you a "Logger", do you "run a church for loggers", or do people see Christ seeping out in you? Does your life reflect that of a life worth living? For me, my prayer is constantly that God will keep me humble and remind me to set the example. And, when I fail, that I seek forgiveness.
I hope all of you have a great week and know, that I am praying for all of you!
As posted before, it's time for us to step up, man up, and live for the cause of Christ.
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