Memorial Day, Facebook tests and the Word of the Lord from Zephaniah.

 Memorial Day, let us be truly grateful and also pause to remember those who sacrificed all for our country.

Yesterday I saw one of those Facebook games and my daughter, Regina Lee, posted where if you touch the chair, you will see who is always with you. It said her grandmother, and that was absolutely true, as my mama, Nanny, to Regina was her biggest fan and constant helper. There are a lot of ways that Regina reminds us of my mama and that is a compliment as my mom had the biggest heart around.

Then I took the test, I tapped the chair, and it came up your Father. Well, I immediately dismissed that, as I probably never met my biological father, and grew up with an assortment of “dads” and substitutes that were at times, less than loveable.

But immediately in my heart, the Lord reminded me, that He, my heavenly Father, was exactly what was said on the chair test. HE WAS ALWAYS BY MY SIDE, AND HE ALWAYS WATCHED OVER ME!

I have a much deeper relationship with the Lord, than I ever might have had if I’d grown up with a good earthly father. I ran to the Lord early and clung to Him through much heartache and pain as a child.

I know and believe that He was always watching, sometimes weeping, at the things I went through when younger, but he never turned away and always gave me a WORD to hang on to. One of the best gifts in the world to me is the WORD OF GOD.

So, yes, I’ll accept that My Father, was not only sitting next to me, but holding me, escorting me and rejoicing over me, my whole life through. I don’t have to wonder why the circumstances of my birth were the way they were. I don’t have to wonder why I have the DNA that I have. I’ll take the DNA of the Lord my God, and heavenly Father any day.

Yesterday Pastor Jim asked had the Lord spoken to any of us that day? The Lord did before church with the test and then reminded me of the very same thing while at church. I would’ve gotten up and testified this story and the good thing is, I know I’d have the freedom to do it there, but since it involved Facebook, didn’t. I took the same test today, thinking it probably would give different results, but it still said, FATHER. So, thank You ABBA DADDY for your word of love towards me.

This is the Word of the Lord to me today:

“The LORD your God is in your midst,

A Warrior who saves.

He will rejoice over you with joy;

He will be quiet in His love [making no mention of your past sins],

He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. Zephaniah 3:17 Amplified Bible

And perhaps to you, too. Peace and blessings to you and continue to hold up the people of Uvalde, Texas.

THERE IS JESUS

 

There is Jesus

Sometimes, I hear people talking about their fathers and how precious a relationship they have or have had. Being their father’s little princess as a child and feeling cherished is something, I’m glad, that so many women experienced.

Sad to say, that isn’t my experience or the experience of a great number of women that I know. But for those of us who’ve lived life without an earthly father’s love…there is Jesus.

There is Jesus for our affirmations.

There is Jesus for our hope.

There is Jesus for our security.

There is Jesus to help us keep going forward. He was there during the pain of an abusive childhood. He is there as I navigate my life’s journey. Through childbirth and fears; through raising children and now as I grow older, amidst physical pain and ailments, there is Jesus.

He put that strong God-hunger in my heart as a child because He knew, I would never have that earthly example.

“Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not unto your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5

It’s been hard to understand why I never got to meet my own father. Part of me acknowledges that it was that father-hunger that drew me to Jesus. My need was greater at a much younger age than many other people’s need.

I’ve told the story before of when I came to the Lord. As a child, I lived with my grandmother, in Chattanooga Valley. Each Sunday we were at Flintstone Baptist Church as she played the piano there. One Sunday I was moved when I heard the altar call and started getting out of my seat, heading to the front of the church.

As I got up, I felt my grandmother, Nanny, tugging on my dress.

“Wait, Donna, till your mom is here to see you, honey!” she whispered.

I don’t know why the urgency within me was so strong, but I pulled away. “No, Nanny, I must go now.”

That was the best decision I ever made in my life. Jesus is what gets me through the day and the long nights. There is Jesus, for you, too.

A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows,
Is God in His holy habitation.
God sets the solitary in families;
He brings out those who are bound into prosperity;
But the rebellious dwell in a dry land. Psalm 68:5-6

I think this song, THERE WAS JESUS goes along well with these thoughts. Check it out.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=There+Was+Jesus&FORM=VDMHRS

 

THE BLOG I HOPE YOU DON’T RELATE TO/WHY A DAUGHTER NEEDS A DAD

 THE BLOG I HOPE YOU DON’T RELATE TO

I was browsing my Amazon account of books and came across this suggested one. Wow! Right before Father’s Day, it hits again. Father-hunger is what I call it. Maybe you grew up with a loving and kind father and this certainly won’t apply to you. You won’t relate to the eyes that tear up when you read the review, especially the poem.

“From the first time I held you, so perfect and new,

I promised to do everything that I could do

To help you become your most wonderful YOU,

My darling, my daughter, my girl.” (From WHY A DAUGHTER NEEDS A DAD)

Be still my heart! Are there really dads that say those things, think those things, DO those things for their daughters? Yes, I’m sure there are. My husband, Bill, has been a very good father, perhaps not poetic, but I know he’s tried to be a good dad. Maybe not perfect, but it’s not for lack of trying.

It’s hard for a generation who really didn’t have a godly father to look up to, to do it cold turkey. Mentors were scarce and some who were loved dearly fell off their pedestals in the course of leading others.

But back to my own Father-hunger. You’d think that a 70-year-old woman would have it together by now. Most of my young life was lived with the thought, ”Who needs a dad?” I could count on the fingers of one hand the men I trusted and still have some fingers left over. That’s a sad statement and I say it to my shame, but it really was my reality.

BUT FOR JESUS!

That Father-hunger was so real that it drew me to the altar at Flintstone Baptist Church in Chattanooga Valley as a young girl. I found my REAL FATHER there.

I’ve blogged before about something I call father hunger and the affect that can have on a young girl, especially. In looking over those blogs, I see that I still relate to those words. Sometimes I can go months or even years without the deep, soul-wrenching father hunger because of not growing up with my dad and then something will strike my heart. Hearing about someone whose memories were of laying upon their father’s chest as a child, remembering the feel of his scratchy beard, or a father admitting that he failed in the fathering department can bring me to tears. Because he knows he can’t go back and change the past concerning his lack in parenting, he decides instead to be the very best grandfather he can be. That’s an awesome thing to me.

As Father’s Day approaches, we know that although many of us did not have that true “father” experience while here on earth, the time in eternity together with the One True Father, Who Never Disappoints, will be a dream come true. And there will be no more father hunger for any of us who have experienced that pain.

It looks like this book is sold out right now. I don’t have to wonder why.

WHY A DAUGHTER NEEDS A DAD

A sweet picture book showcasing all the ways a father will help his daughter grow, this is the gift for every girl dad and little girl to celebrate their special bond. Featuring charming animal illustrations and heartwarming rhymes about the moments fathers and daughters share, Why a Daughter Needs a Dad is the perfect story to connect father and daughter together.

From the first time I held you, so perfect and new,

I promised to do everything that I could do

To help you become your most wonderful YOU,

My darling, my daughter, my girl.

For new dads, fathers-to-be, or for that perfect father-daughter moment, this sweet storybook celebrates how a father is always there for his little girl. reminding her to be artistic, thoughtful, honest, and smart, but most of all, true to herself.

https://www.amazon.com/.../ref=pd.../143-0342084-0972978...

2Regina Lee and Sandi Barthels Parish

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Father Hunger

“Father Hunger” hit me hard again at the small group meeting concerning the book, The Dance by Dan Walsh and Gary Smalley. Sometimes I can go months or even years without the deep, soul-wrenching father hunger and then something will strike my heart. Maybe just hearing about someone who just laid upon his father’s chest as a child, remembering the feel of his scratchy beard, or a father admitting that he failed in the fathering department. Knowing he can’t go back and change the past concerning his lack in parenting, he decides instead to be the very best grandfather he can be.

My father’s name was William Donald Collins. I haven’t seen him since I was about eight years old. I often wonder why he didn’t stay in touch with me; I’m not sure if he and my mama ever lived together. He was in the Army or Air Force and we stayed with my grandmother, Mary Ethel White Wirth. I was born on May 19^th, 1951 at Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga, TN. The reason I am putting full names here is, maybe someone from my paternal family might see this and want to connect.

My mother’s name was Linda Lee Wirth Collins Reece Lewis; wow, that is a lot but most people knew her as Linda Reece in Florida, Linda Wirth in Chattanooga Valley. Everyone loved her hearty laugh and giving ways. Because she was so young, I think at times she nearly felt like I was her sister, and sometimes even her mother. Yes, we were a wildly dysfunctional family but there was always laughter in the mix. She used to say, “You have to laugh to keep from crying.” I have to agree with that one, Mama.  I miss the laughter especially now that you are gone.

I think the hardest thing for me to accept in going back to the “father hunger” was why did my paternal grandparents not look me up? That is my biggest question. After living life with an abusive first stepfather who ended up in prison and then the next was one an alcoholic for most of his life, I think I gave up on fathers. What if I found my own father and he was as bad as the rest? Why bother?

But even so, one time someone said they thought my biological dad was staying at a hotel on the beach in Daytona and wouldn’t you know, I was there looking. I saw someone who from a distance looked like those old black and white, tattered pictures and went running him down until as I got closer and I knew it wasn’t him. That was one of the times that I managed to bring tears to the eyes of my husband, Bill, as he said it was so sad to see me running after a father who never showed up for me.

Good news is my stepfather, John Lewis, that was married to Mama when she passed away did get sober in his later years. He really mellowed out. And although I never really partook of the “father” gift of my father-in-law, Pete Del CeCato because of the scars of my past, I must say he was a good one.

 I didn’t really think about that until the recent day this past May, he lay in a hospital bed and was dying.  As I laid my hands on his precious head, releasing him to the Lord, I realized that indeed, the Lord did put a good father figure in my life. “O Lord, Pete never hurt me, he never hurt my daughters; he was a good father. I never realized what I had in him, and now  it is too late.”

Because I had put walls around my heart in the father department, I never really let him be a “dad” to me. But to the ones that allowed him to be their dad, Bill’s sisters and brother, and our wonderful Phyliss who was his only biological child, a great gift was given.

This year will be the first Father’s Day he will be celebrating in heaven with our heavenly Father. We know that although many of us did not have that true “father” experience while here on earth the time in eternity together with the One True Father, Who Never Disappoints, will be a dream come true. And there will be no more father hunger for any of us who have experienced that pain.

Donna Collins Tinsley 2013