I Am Proud

There are a number of things in my life of which I am immensly proud; my walk with the Lord, my marriage to Cheryl and my children.

I have walked with Jesus for a little over twenty-three years, something that a lot of my old friends said wouldn't last. I recall a conversation that we had shortly after I had been saved, it went something like this. "Dave, listen we're happy for you, we really are. But you tend to get hold of something and run with it until the new wears off, then you go to another thing. So we'll believe it when we see it." That's the gist of it anyway. I am happy to say, that this "Jesus thing" hasn't been a fad, and there hasn't been anything better come along.

I have seen my share of ups and downs in the last twenty-three years of serving the Lord, but after all the dust has settled, I'm still here, and still following and doing my best to be a disciple of all that Jesus taught in the Bible, and what His Holy Spirit is showing me on a daily basis. It's a great life, one that if you have not partaken, I would love to tell you how you can. Just ask, I'll be happy to show you how to get to know Jesus.

Growing up, I remember watching my mom and dad. I can remember thinking that I couldn't wait to get married so that I would have what I saw that they had. I remember the first time I saw Cheryl, at a Carmen concert in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I was with a date, and so was she, but I couldn't help but keep noticing her throughout that concert and wishing that I was sitting next to her instead of the girl I was with. I kept thinking, "Man! She sure is cute, I want to get to know her!"

Well, twenty-two married years and three kids later we've been on a roller coaster of a ride. In this, I've also seen the ups and downs, yet never has the thought of not being with her ever crossed my mind. This girl was my bride over twenty-two years ago, and she still is today. I can honestly say that I love her more today, than I did way back then, and that love just continues to grow as she develops into the woman that God has destined her to be. I truly am a blessed man (as the Bible says in Proverbs 18:22) because she agreed so many years ago to walk the rest of her life with me. I am humbled even as I write that, I can't wait to see what the Father has for us this year.

Children, the Bible says, are a heritage of the Lord. I have been blessed with three of the greatest children ever! I truly believe that. Now if you talked to them, they might say different. Being a father has been one of the most difficult things that I have ever in my life had to do. I mean, it's hard to tell your child that they cannot have something right away and that they will have to delay their gratification til another day. I want to be, as my friend Joe McGee says, "Santa Claus stuck upside down in your chimney!" But there are days where that is just not possible.

I struggled with relationships in my own adolescent years, and now I see the struggles in my own children from time to time and want to help fix it, but there are just some things that you have to learn on your own...so those days I cry out to the Father to help my kids. I've known the satisfaction of hearing praises about my kids from other people, and the sadness of completely blowing it as a dad too.

I've laughed with my kids, and I've cried with my kids. We've hugged, and slapped and pinched each other. We've laughed at funny jokes together, and I've corrected them when perhaps the joke wasn't appropriate, just as they've corrected me too. My bride and I have spent our lives for our kids in an effort to help them, and as they've grown older it has become harder on us to enter the advisory role instead of the we'll fix it role. You know that one, you'll do that because I'm your parent and I said so.

The hardest thing that I have ever lived through was the death of my youngest son, Noah. The reason that this was the hardest thing in my life is because I was unable to prevent him from taking his life. I would have never thought that this would be a place that I would be in life. Not because I'm better than anyone else, I don't believe that, but because of how on fire for Jesus Noah was. He was a soul winner, and a good one at that. I am so proud of the fact that he wanted to win people to the Lord, and await the day when we will be reunited in the presence of Jesus.

I have a very blessed life. My life has had good days and it's had bad days, there have been ups and downs but way more happiness than sadness to be sure. I really don't think that I ever realized way back when just how great my life would be one day. I am a very fortunate man indeed! I'm proud of how my life is turning out and that is a good thing.

Get 'em up people, let's go out and whip something for the Kingdom today!