Sure, its a few days late but being Father’s Day last week I needed to surprise the internets after the fact. My dad and mom are probably tired of me thanking them for the things they did growing up. They’re probably tired of me telling them that they have influenced me indelibly, but they’ll just have to deal with it.

My dad has been a tremendous role model for me.  He’s been a godly man, a humble man, a loving man, and as many of you can imagine he’s been a humorous man.  My dad taught me about puns, spoonerisms, play on words and various other silly things from an early age on.  I’m thankful for the laughter that he has brought to my own life for coming on three decades.  Outside of the list above my dad has dealt with pain and suffering well, too.  In his own life he’s dealt with a chronic disease and not made a big deal of it other than to share silly stories where that disease caused something funny or amusing to happen.  There are many events I could retell as events that I’m very thankful for, but I will share two.

The first landmark event was when my dad gathered the family around the kitchen table and humbly apologized for having worked such long hours as we were younger.  His admission to not spending enough time with the family was an act that redirected the family moving forward.  He made adjustments in his life and began spending much more time with us.  I knew my dad in High School unlike almost every single one of my friends and acquaintances.  He was my dad, and he was my friend.

Another critical series of events for me was right around when I turned 20.  My dad began to disciple me and teach me some important principles in the Bible that for some reason never showed up in Sunday School or Church for the first twenty years of my life.  Those times were rich with value, great in fellowship and important because of the content and things I would learn.  Some of those very things I’ve been trying to pass onto Sunday School students of my own for the last decade.

I’m very, very thankful for my dad, he’s been an incredible influence on my family and I look forward to the future as his adult son.