Fathers Day: Quit Blaming Dad....Lets Have Some Respect Kids!

I don’t believe its any secret that America needs a “Ramp up Fatherhood Program.” Mr President Obama himself asks fathers to turn off the TV and be dads. While American fathers have been less than stellar, it should be recognized that few fathers, even the most base of them, don’t want to see their children succeed. I am convinced that fathers care about their children more than their children could ever guess.

Fathers Day, which really could be interpreted, “Father Appreciation Day” gracefully lands on a Sunday. The Fathers Day sermons will likely be less graceful, and simply a crock of beating bad fathering around. Why not preach to the children about respecting and appreciating Dad on such a Day? I’m tired of a culture that allows children to blame EVERYTHING on Dad or Mom! I just want to throw out there at this point that I have an imperfect Dad that is fully worthy of my respect SIMPLY BECAUSE HE IS MY DAD! I hate to say it this way, but...if he didn’t exist…you wouldn’t even have to consider that nagging worry that Krriptonite might be dissing you in front of his web audience!:)

Dad’s…..thank you for simply being dads, especially when nobody appreciates it! I’m especially proud of my own dad on this day, and especially thank him for being dad when his children didn’t want him to be dad.

I decided to take a little poll with my youth group(They didn’t know this is what I was doing). Young people have a tendency to get infatuated with themselves, forgetting that the world is a whole lot bigger than the end of their golf club or the extent of their ego. To a young person, Dad always seems to be getting in the way of their pleasure search. Maturity is often measured by one’s ability to sacrifice self for another person. With this in mind I requested a very small sacrifice from each young person on behalf of their Dad. Its too easy to simply say “happy fathers day” in the morning, so I asked that a member from each family give 10 minutes of their time and possibly a bit of their ego, if they so desired to have that involved. That’s not sacrificing a whole lot….wouldn’t you agree? As a little father appreciation in a very selfish world, I asked for a very short memory or story about their own Dad.

Who made the sacrifice???? Find out and read their stories below!!!

1.) One of the most remarkable things about dads is their ability to involve their yearlings in projects that seem completely absurd to the young ones. It was probably such a project that found Dad, my brother, and I driving to Pittsburgh in “THE TRUCK.” Now, the main downfall of “THE TRUCK” was not that it was nigh unto an antique and a flamboyant bright baby blue. Though the backfire, following all shut downs, gave you a chance to give your brother a drop kick, the real problem was the massive exhaust leak that poured directly into the sleek, mouse chewed interior. Consequently, the amplified roar of the shortened exhaust pipe and open windows made conversation nearly impossible while in route.

After chewing on and swallowing exhaust fumes for nearly a half hour, Dad impulsively wheeled the great machine into a small convenience store. When he came out he produced several big packs of mint gum. To a six and nine year old this was a grand treat, so each of us inserted a sizeable plug of mint flavored gum. Surprisingly the mint and exhaust flavors combined to form a very desirable and sweet flavor all of its own. Since then I have continually searched the racks of gum for the exhaust flavor. If anyone ever finds any…let me know…I want some. - Krriptonite

2.) The roller coaster was one the most visited attractions at an amusement park where my family & some cousins spent a day. It was a thrilling ride (for a beginner that is). According to Dad, though, the ride was twice as fun if you screamed, but you needed to be intentional about your screams. He wanted world-class screams. To help those on board the roller-coaster attain his desired level of perfection, he proceeded to involve all the occupants of the roller coaster (most of whom he did not know) in a "screaming practice" session...before the ride even began. – Desiree Brubaker

3.) Once, my Dad and I participated in a game of Anabaptists. The group that was playing was fairly large. I would guess around 30 people. Of course in Anabaptists, you have your Anabaptists who have to have church in secret, and you have your policemen that try to catch you when you are having your secret church meeting. Well, as the story goes...... my dad and I were both Anabaptists. As the group of us were having our secret church meeting, we were abruptly interrupted by a pounding on the door. The police are here!!! We all made a quick scramble for the exit and dispersed, trying to find a hiding place where the police would not find us. My dad and I quickly found our hiding place and thought that we had a pretty good one, that was until we found out that we had hidden in the dungeon. The exact location that our fellow Anabaptists were taken after they were captured!! Needless to say, we were close to the last Anabaptists captured. Not many policemen have to look in their own prison for the people they are pursuing.

( This story took place approximately when I was 4-5 years old. ) – Erikson Lehman

4.) Most of the time us girls are the clumsy ones: dropping things, running into things, and just being uncoordinated, and Dad likes to tease us about our hilarious accidents. On our vacation at North Myrtle Beach this past week we went out to eat at a "New York" pizza place that was run by some Hispanic people. The pizza was amazing, but before it could even get to our table we were goofing off in our impatience. Dad and I were tossing a balled up straw rapper at each other trying to get as close to each other's drinks without getting the paper into the glass. I had gotten bored with the game so Dad tried to get Ellen into it. Just after she had hurled the paper at him frustratedly, he tried to quickly toss it back but instead knocked his glass of iced tea all over the table. Moving rapidly we were able to clean it up with no one wet but of course Dad. Now we have a funny story about a time when Dad was the clumsy one and can tease him about it when ever we do something embarrassing. – Laurretta Skalko

5.) One memory I have of Dad is when he took me fishing when I was like 6 or 7. And Dad like never goes fishing. I remember that the only thing we caught was a big snapping turtle that bent Dad's fishing rod in half. –Patrick Mullet

6.) Every summer growing up dad would make sure we would have one long family vacation. He would use some work delivery to determine where we would go for the trip. The trip I remember the most was traveling to Texas to build a gigantous gazebo. On the trip down, dad needed to replace the trailer tire several times because it kept blowing under the heavy weight of the gazebo. I never saw him get frustrated with the continual problem, but wait till someone would stop by and help us get a new tire. – Chad Weaver

7.) Now my dad, you gotta know him, he's only about 5'6'' and 145 pounds, not a big man by any means. Well, one day after church and the fellowship meal, when everyone was just sitting around, leaning back in their chairs and talking about the weather, one of the men gets this bright idea that they're gonna see who's the strongest of them. So they say, "How we gonna do this?" Well they decided arm wrestling was about the only way they could do it without getting their good sunday meeting clothes all dirtied up. Now some of these men were a right good size. So they're all arm wrestling and they start realizing, wow, this little skinny guy's pretty much beating everybody he takes on. So a couple of the young guns that think they're pretty big stuff come over and sit down at the table. All the while they're probably thinking "Just let me have a shot at this skinny, little fellow, besides he's old. Well, long story short, they got pretty much humiliated by that skinny, little, old fellow. Boy, I was one proud little boy, after all, my dad had just showed all my little friends whose daddy was the strongest of 'em all. – Marcus Graybill

8) Dad, Pop, Papa… third person formal, third person informal, second person.

Thinking of dad, brings many things to mind. Most of the frustrations track well with my own faults. But these are not the main themes. I think of an intense caring…

Like the time we went out for breakfast when my world seemed to fall apart…

Like driving solo 700 miles one way to take his presence to a family conflict…

Like driving his daughter almost that many miles to stay with his sister when she had mono…

Like enduring intense consequences for refusing to vilify fellow believers…

A deep concern and distress when the leadership of husbands and fathers is undercut and despised…

A longstanding warning and passion that we not hide from Jesus behind our systems of doctrine and practice…

A rejection of the hermeneutic that seeks to build from the epistles a doctrinal basis for our practice and then filter the witness of Jesus and the gospels through that grid.

I have much needed this challenge to see the incarnate Jesus as primary revelation of God.

Thank you, Papa. - Marlin Sommers

9)A memorable story about my father is one time he allowed us two older boys to ride with him in the log truck that he was driving at the time. It broke down. It was a cold day and nobody close by was at home. He was able to make the time easier to stand by telling stories which also kept us distracted from the cold. - Joseph Horst

10) I believe that Fathers have the most important part in a family, yet fathers also get the most pressure to live up to a certain standard to be a certain kind of Dad that fits into a certain mold of how they should raise their children and what is expected of them in raising a family, and often i get caught up in that as a child as i look at my dad i let my mind go to his weak points to the places i feel that he has let me down and I see myself judging my dad and complaining and wishing he would be different, but in doing that i become blind myself to the real Love of a Father, The one thing that i often took for granted but has become very real to me lately is my dad's love. It seemed that throughout my life i would see his faults and mistakes and overlook what he gave to me and my siblings, as i reflect i feel ashamed and humbled to know where i let my heart go. I could not ask for a better dad and as i look at him now i am honored to have him as a father. In him i see a man of God. Dedicated to giving his children the best that he could and in order to do he gave up many personal hobbies and interests in order to put his family first in life. My dad greatest joy in life is to see the happiness of his children, I see in my dad a reflection of Christ, a provider, a father, a protector and a rock, So on this Father's Day i want to honor him and let him know that he is absolutely the Perfect Father for me and i will be forever grateful for him for all that he has done for me and continues to do for me every day. - Susie Warren