You already have their love, now earn their respect!

Goodness... Can't sleep! Sleep cycle is messed up because I stayed up so late last night blogging, too. Oh well!

Ephesians 6:1-4

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise— "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth." Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

At times, I felt like telling my dad all of these verses. How did that go? It sucked. The problem was, as he said, "I'm the father, you're the son." Simply, I didn't need to tell me dad this. That's not for me to do. What I was supposed to do was obey the first verse... That's it!

My dad has made me cry more than anyone else on this planet. I love him SO much. He's taught me so many life lessons, and showed me how to love without saturating everything in emotion (something I still barely understand). My dad and I are opposites in the personality spectrum because I received a lot of my characteristics from my mother. As I age, however, I'm learning desperately to be like my father. He's such a great dad, and I want to share what I've learned from him to my son.

What I am trying to get at with this blog is this:
You don't gain the respect of your parents by parenting them; you receive respect from your parents by shutting your mouth and being an obedient child.

Honestly, there isn't much to say at all about this subject. All we can do now is pray for the Spirit to help us obey!

Hey, Jesus, thanks for my dad. I love that guy to death, and You know how hard I've worked to try and earn his love, and all the while it was there. God, help me to listen to all he says to me, because I earnestly believe he's my... 'parent from the Lord' as the verse describes. Lord, bless his relationship with you so we may get this father-son relationship down for once. :) Thanks for everything, Jesus.

Anyone who knows about my relationship with my papa knows how much this song makes me... CRY!



"What a wonderful Maker
What a wonderful Savior
How majestic Your whispers
And how humble Your love
With a strength like no other
And the heart of a Father
How majestic Your whispers
What a wonderful God"

-Joe