Daddy Knows Best!

     Pictures are worth 1,000 words - like this one I have of me with my parents outside of their Florida home.  It was the last picture taken of my dad.  Mom was sporting her cancer wig and dad, holding a travel cup of coffee, had his fishing hat on to cover up his chemo head.  I’m in the middle with poofy eyes, trying to smile.  It was the end of my visit with them, and each time I went back home, I left not knowing if it would be the last time I’d get to see them again on this side of heaven.  Turns out, two weeks later cancer finally kicked dad’s butt and 3 days after that we said our goodbyes.  So in memory of my dad, here's 500 of those 1,000 words.....

~ Life Lessons from Bob ~

#1.  There are no do-overs.   The cancer doctors gave my dad 1 year to live. Well, my dad was stubborn and hung around for 3 more years! Every 6 weeks, I would visit for a long weekend, and we’d hang out in the recliners in his room and watch “In the Heat of the Night” and “Walker Texas Ranger” recordings and nap, wake up, chat, eat popsicles and watch some more. He wasn’t a super open guy, so I was surprised one night when he looked at me and said, “You know, if I had the chance to do it all over again, I wouldn’t have worked so much. I would have spent more time with you kids.” We were blessed to have that time together at the end, but it doesn’t always work out that way.  Make your today count!

#2.  You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.   Gotta be honest – I don’t know why I remember this or what I did for him to say it to me. I must’ve been a sass-ball like {ahem} one of my daughters {ahem}, but what a true statement!  It even says it in the Bible: “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb; sweetness to the soul and healing to the bones.“ (Proverbs 16:24)  In other words – Be Sweet!     

#3.  Always keep a $20 bill in your bra for emergencies. (Yes, he said bra!  Remember - I’m a girl.) But since these are good words for anyone, if you are a guy it would probably be okay to keep it in your pocket.  I suspect that’s what my dad did. And that’s what I do too…or my shoe, that works too.

#4.  Nothing in life is free.  Everything comes at a cost. If it doesn’t cost you money, it costs your pride or can leave you beholden to someone or to something, such as a negative emotion. Even the most  free thing of all – the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ – came at a price. It was free to me and it is free to you, but it cost Jesus His very life. So weigh your decisions carefully; if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

#5.   Birds and bees.  Oh man, I’m sorry – Bob’s actual words were on the crude side, so I can’t post them here. But they saved me from many a comprising situation, so they merit mention. It went something to the affect that when things get passionate between a guy and a girl, the guy’s common sense goes out the window and he is no longer thinking with his brain or even his heart.  So girls – make sure you use your brain and don’t get in that situation in the first place.   ‘Nuff said. 

#6.  Credit cards are for a true emergency.  A true emergency is more along the lines of car repairs, not “I don’t have a shirt to wear to the party Friday night” or “I need to get everyone the perfect gift for Christmas but have no job.”  Thanks Dad, for the best college graduation gift ever – a $450 credit card bill.  Lesson learned!

#7.  And last but certainly not least - Never do a jig too close to the Christmas tree.   No explanation needed, but you just might see it on America’s Funniest Home Videos one day.

Mom & Dad "Back in the Day"

What about you?  Have any words of wisdom handed down from your parents?   

Leave a comment – I’d love to hear them!

Closet Full of Masks

     It was just Halloween time, and my son announced that he would like a costume with a full mask this year.  Why?  Because he would like to make the rounds twice – one with his normal face, then one with his mask on so people wouldn’t recognize him and he could get twice the candy!

 

     We all like to wear masks, don’t we?   My daughter recently made a comment to me, “Mom, church people aren’t as good as you think.”  Um… ouch?!?   It was a heart-breaking revelation that actually threw me back to my own teen years, where I struggled to figure out who I was.  I was basically a good person, crazy, goofy, sassy yet sweet; I loved church and youth group and had a great bunch of friends there; I had school friends that I didn’t really mix with my church friends because we participated in different activities; I spoke three different languages – the one I used at home, the one I used at church, and the one I used everywhere else.  So I guess you could say that I had a closet full of masks.  As I’ve grown up, I’ve worked hard at weeding them out.  Some just plain dry rotted – old, some vile, some no longer used, and most I have decided to just throw away.  Although I try to live transparently, my daughter’s comment made me realize that I would be lying if I said that I didn’t have an emergency mask or two tucked in a drawer somewhere.  

 

     What about you?  Have enough masks to fill a costume shop?   Well, guess what  – we’re not meant to wear masks.  Nope, sorry but it’s true.  God created us to be amazing and with incredible potential – but we wear our masks because we care more about what people think.  We put them on out of fear and insecurity and a desire to be liked and accepted.  Some people wear them to hide something they are ashamed of or a behavior that they know is incorrect.  

 

     But the awesome part is................