Happy Birthday Daddy!

OFTEN TIMES we wait until someone's gone and then wish we could have told them how much we love and appreciate them! I'm determined not to do that... and even though my dad is in excellent health, and I expect and hope to have him around for many MORE years (if Jesus doesn't come back first), I thought I'd write out the things I appreciate and love about him! Florence Littauer once said that "Genuine words of encouragement, affirmation, and love are like little silver boxes, with bows on top. These are some of the best gifts we can give one another." She probably got that from Proverbs 25:11. "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." My dad is a lover of words, especially words of affirmation. He’s the one that’s good at writing love letters in our family. So here's some of my thoughts and words for him today... wrapped up in a collection of silver boxes.

DAD’S BIRTHDAY! Today (January 11th) is my dad’s 69th birthday! 🎂 🎁 And to honor him, I wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on how thankful and blessed I have been to have the one-of-a-kind, David Mason, as my daddy for all these years. There are so many things I could say... and yet I could never say enough to convey the gratefulness that’s in my heart to God for this great man. But here’s a few things I appreciate and respect about my dad...

Things I appreciate...

His love of God and his knowledge of the Bible, all our daily morning worships thru the years where he tried to bring the Bible to practical daily life, his being a spiritual leader in our home and seeking to lead his family in the way of godliness, his compassion and service for those in need, his unselfish ministry to so many in our community, his tender caregiving for my mom thru her years of health challenges, his kind heart, his apple pies and famous waffles, his playful goofiness (although when he came out wearing a wig when it was time to take family pictures, mom and I didn’t appreciate that too much! Lol!!😳) I have though, been blessed watching his romantic creativity with mom. (I still remember how he dried flowers for my mom. One time he shipped a whole bouquet of dried flowers all the way from MN to AR for my mom. 😍 How did he get them there without breaking... lol?! He shipped them inside a empty water jug that he cut to accommodate!!!!!) He’s very creative at love, and I’m pretty sure that he was the first love of my little girl heart. 

From my dad I learned to love the great out of doors, learned how to build a fire, to drive a tractor, to sing, and I definitely first learned to pray. He also taught me to think, and thankfully he still accepted me when I began to think differently than him. Whenever I needed a listening ear he was always there (still is!). Whenever I had some mechanical emergency he was always there (still is!), even teaching me how to jumpstart my car from the engine when my ignition switch stopped working. He also drove hundreds of miles to be by my side when I was in the hospital with pneumonia and thought I was gonna die (seriously!). 

Dad also attended every major event in high school and college that he could, and came to our concerts whenever possible, even if it meant driving for hours. My dad has always made his family priority, and we always knew we were loved and valued. Throughout my adult years, my dad has always been game for an adventure whenever I wanted a road trip companion (still is!), and how many miles we’ve traveled and adventures we’ve had. I can’t forget all the back pack trips, camping or miles we’ve hiked either! He’s a real outdoorsmen, and still good at keeping up with men half his age when it comes to physical fitness or rescue maneuvers. I’m so proud of him! 

While daddy has been a good many things to me over the years, and no one can replace a father’s love in a daughter’s heart, I think I’m most grateful that he’s always been a steady friend. I still enjoy just sitting and talking to him or watching him work, or going on a walk together, when I’m home, so we can catch up on heart to heart life issues. I can’t imagine life without him, or mom. However while our days on this earth are numbered, I’m thankful that this is not the only life we have to live. 

God has blessed our family. Of course life has not always been picture perfect, as it might seem. The years have not been without trials and hardship (that’s what has made us who we are today), but thru it all, God has been good. 

SO...... HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! Sorry to make you cry... 😅 but hoping you have many more birthdays to come! Here's a video I made for you and all of us! (And just you wait Mom! Your birthday is only a couple months away, and your turn is coming!)

(ENDNOTES: No, my dad doesn’t have his own social media account, he’s rather un-techy with computers, but I’m proud of him because he’s learned how to watch what we kids are doing by using mom’s account! But since today’s his day, I couldn’t help sharing about him with the world.)