Daddy!  (Originally posted 11/02/04)

There is no sound or word as sweet as when I walk through the door after a long day at work and here my little girl running down the hallway with arms wide open, screaming “Daaaaadddyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!” Those of you who are parents can probably relate, I’m sure. Emma is a daddy’s girl. There is no one on this earth like her daddy! And I like it that way! (Sorry dear!)

I am so proud of my little girl and the person that I see her becoming. Even at 3 years old (she’ll actually be 4 in a few days), she knows about Jesus and will frequently ask for prayer. It is wonderful that through the example of her mother and I, she knows she can pray to Jesus, and everything will be ok. There have been times Emma has even prayed for me. One time I was sick lying on the couch and she asked if I was sick. I told her I was and that she needed to pray for daddy. She then proceeded to put her hands on me and mumbled a few words and then she said, “I did daddy.” My heart was overwhelmed be her tender act of faith.

Ever since she was a baby, I always sang a little medley of songs to put her to sleep. Even still today those songs, “Jesus Loves Me”, “Jesus Loves the Little Children”, “Oh How I Love Jesus” and “There’s Just Something About that Name”, sung respectively, will soothe her when she’s tired, scared or hurt. She’ll tell me, “Sing to me daddy” and no matter what is going on, I’ll sing those songs for her and she’s fine. I have vowed that one day I will record those songs, even if just for her, and call it “Emma’s Medley.”

She has really started getting into “Daddy’s Music”. (Interpretation: Southern Gospel Music). Her favorite CD’s are the Greenes “Hold On” and the Isaacs “Heroes.” One day after listening to the Isaacs song, “Heroes”, she declared that her mommy and daddy were her heroes. That made us feel good inside. I hope that in 5, 10 or 20 years from how, her mom and I will still be her heroes.

I am a proud daddy. I love my little girl more than she will probably ever know. Even as a father, I still cannot fathom the love my Heavenly Father has for me. And I can’t help but think sometimes about the day that I walk through the door of Heaven, and see Jesus. I can see me running to Jesus like a child with my arms open wide and probably shouting to the top of lungs, “Daddy!”

Maybe I’m Just Out of Touch (Originally posted 10/28/04)

Yesterday my wife and I went to vote in the election at a local high school here in town, figuring we’d beat the rush come Election Day next week. (Side Note: GO VOTE!) We waited in line in the hallway of that school for over half an hour. The wait wasn’t too bad, as the line was moving pretty good. But it gave me a chance to glance around at our current public high school situation. There were signs around telling students that if they did certain things, disciplinary action would be taken. The regular ones like gum chewing, eating or drinking in class and such were naturally listed. They’ve been on the list of no-no’s in school for hundreds of years it seems. But the last one caught me off guard. The last item listed said you were not allowed to bring a book bag to class. Maybe I am just out of touch because I don’t have any children in public school…YET! I do have a 3 year old, who will be 4 years old next month. But I have only been out of high school for 14 years. Have schools changed that drastically that bringing a book bag is a security risk? I realize that the school shootings changed a lot of things, but I didn’t realize bringing a book bag could get you in so much trouble.

I live in an area where race is always an issue. But, when I was in school I never saw race riots between students like it is today, never had an instance where kids brought guns to school and never even thought about school shootings. I never felt threatened in high school and never feared for my life. Where has society today taken us? Where have we gone wrong as parents?

In the hallway there were even big posters showing kids how to dress. Dress was never a huge issue when I was in school. Are our children really that ignorant? Surely as parents we know how to send out kids to school dressed properly? Or are our kids ruling us instead of us ruling our kids? Or do we allow the fashion industry to rule what we are supposed to where? Shouldn’t the parents be the parents, or have we failed miserably somewhere? Like I said, maybe I am just out of touch. I am sure the reality of things will set in when my little girl becomes of age and I am sure it will hit me like a ton of bricks too! Lord I pray for wisdom!

Things have changed so much since I was in school. (Gosh that makes me sound old!) I fear for my child and the world she will face when she grows up. But I also remember the words to a song that says we can face all those uncertain days because Christ lives.

Personal

I was born in 1972 and live in North Carolina. I have been married since 1997 and have one child, who was born in 2000. I have been a staff writer for SoGospelNews since 2000 and am proud to continue contributing to the site. My hope is to be able to express my thoughts, opinions and basically just ramble on as much as I want about my passion and love for Southern Gospel Music through this medium.