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| I drove to work this morning and decided to turn on the radio. The twang of Alan Jackson flooded through the car, warming my heart and bringing a nostalgic smile to my face. No, my father is not a small town Southern man, and yet so many of the sweet things this song describes remind me of him. Well, yes, the four daughters in a row followed several years later by a boy helped too, but also the way my dad says his greatest contribution is his kids- an inspirational, challenging thought to me. And no, he didn't build the house we live in, but he does own this land and works hard to keep us all together. But best of all, he prays to Jesus- and he has the spirit of a small town Southern man. 
Born the middle son of a farmer
And a small town Southern man
Like his daddy's daddy before him
Brought up workin' on the land
Fell in love with a small town woman
And they married up and settled down
Natural way of life if you're lucky
For a small town Southern man
First there came four pretty daughters
For this small town Southern man
Then a few years later came another
A boy, he wasn't planned
Seven people livin' all together
In a house built with his own hands
Little words with love and understandin'
From a small town Southern man
Chorus:
And he bowed his head to Jesus
And he stood for Uncle Sam
And he only loved one woman
Was always proud of what he had
He said his greatest contribution
Is the ones you leave behind
Raised on the ways and gentle kindness
Of a small town Southern man
Callous hands told the story
For this small town Southern man
He gave it all to keep it all together
And keep his family on his land
Like his daddy, years wore out his body
Made it hard just to walk and stand
You can break the back
But you can't break the spirit
Of a small town Southern man
Finally death came callin'
For this small town Southern man
He said it's alright 'cause I see angels
And they got me by the hand
Don't you cry, and don't you worry
I'm blessed, and I know I am
'Cause God has a place in Heaven
For a small town Southern man
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| And oh, that He fulfilled may see
The travail of His soul in me
And with His work contented be,
As I with my dear Savior!
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| Happy September!
Someone asked me yesterday if this would be my last year of school. How weird to answer no... and yet a great, humbling feeling because I know I couldn't have done it without my heavenly Father's grace and my earthly family's ridiculous patience and support. I'm still learning, though- here is a quote my mother shared with me this morning:
We do Him no service to try to make Him like us;
but He does us a great service to make us like Him.
-Pastor Glen Zimmerman, 3/23/08
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| Today is the last day of August, the last day that I consider summer. Wow. I have learned so very much, changed, grown, and been tested. In one sense, it's scary realizing anew how little I know about life and how to live in a way that truly pleases my Savior; but on the other hand it's amazing to see how I've messed up even unknowingly before and He still loves me. That is nice.
The things that I love and hold dear to my heart
Are just borrowed- they're not mine at all.
Jesus only let me use them to brighten my life.
So remind me, remind me, dear Lord:
Roll back the curtain of mem'ry now and then;
Show me where You brought me from,
And where I could have been;
Remember I'm human,
And humans forget;
So remind me, remind me, dear Lord.
Nothing good have I done to deserve God's own Son;
I'm not worthy of the scars in His hands.
Yet He chose the road to Calv'ry to die in my stead;
Why He loved me, I can't understand.
-Dottie Rambo | | |
| Wow.
Another significant thing my heavenly Father has been teaching me this summer is about His amazing mercy. It may seem strange that He began with sin, with how desperately wicked I am and how impossibly far I am from ever keeping His laws, but then when He forgives me for it all, I learn how deep His love really is.
I just listened to one of my mentors for forty-five minutes. He is gone now, passed into the presence of the Father he loved so much. In life, we never exchanged more than a few sentences, a brief greeting here and there, and yet his impact on my life is deep and lasting. I wept as he described the tabernacle, the way God chose each piece of furniture to reveal something specific about Himself to us.
This soft-spoken man delivered a message so touching, I cannot do it justice. Please, take some time soon to sit down and listen to the video. Have Bob Schultz over for tea.
(Go to video.google.com and type in "camp dwight" 2007. Be sure to put the quotes around it! Watch "Bob Schultz") | | |
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