Today on his birthday I am remembering my Dad

For those of us who have had loved ones pass on we often pause and reflect on their birthday. That is what is happening to me today.
One of the ten commandments is to honor your mother and father. Today I am sharing some wonderful qualities of my dad that come to my mind.

My dad Roger was an only child and told my mother before they married that he wanted to have several children as he didn't want them to be an only child like he was.

He enlisted in the Navy during WW2 and was on a destroyer by Guam. At the end of the war, he returned home and met his first child who happened to be me.

My dad was a good man and was always willing to help others. He worked hard to provide for his family and often worked two jobs at a time.

Some of my special memories:
When I was learning to cook I made some biscuits that were hard as a rock and my dad told me how good they tasted and didn't mention the hardness. 


When I was having problems with geography my dad began to tutor me as he was so knowledgeable about the different countries. I think he liked the geography lessons more than me! 

When we realized how much he enjoyed geography we started getting him the National Geographic magazine for his birthday each year.

As I was the eldest child I didn't get disciplined but there were times my dad would do teaching in regard to attitude correction. My siblings said they would rather get a spanking than listen to his lectures.

It was later in life that my dad received Jesus into his heart and when he did he was always reading God's Word and writing lessons to teach in his Sunday School class. One time he told me that he went down a lot of blind alleys looking for direction and purpose for his life. When he found it he was 100% loyal to the Lord and the Word of God.


He was a faithful husband to my mother who went through a time of illness. He always had a servant's heart in regard to what her needs were.  They were married 60+ years.

There is a saying you can't take the farm out of a man and in the same way you couldn't take the northern Michigan forest and AuSable river out of my dad. He and his dad had been guides on the river and he always loved going fly fishing.

There are so many other things I could share about my dad but for me, this was a great walk down memory lane today and I am grateful for my dad and all that he instilled in our family.

Love you dad and I know you are enjoying being in heaven with mother and the rest of our family will join you in the years to come.