Here's my dad holding Ella last Christmas. Dad is turning 50 today! Wow! Happy Birthday dad.
The longer I live away from my family, the more I love and appreciate them each day. I'm so thankful for many things about my dad, but here are a few qualities that stand out in my mind.
Faithfulness-- Through many changes in our church over the years dad has remained faithful to the pastor, the church body and most of all to the Lord.
Discipline-- The most consisitent memories I have of home and early mornings is seeing my dad with his Bible, studying and praying. He's been careful to maintain good health and a STRONG :) body. (Don't EVER try to wrestle dad- he'll always win!)
Hard Work-- I've experienced my dad's hard work and determination first hand every summer since my 7th grade year! We kids were the crew for Brumbaugh Building Co. You sure do learn a lot about each other (a little too much when your brother's hand gets caught in the saw blade!) when you're forced to work together all the hot Tennessee summer days long. (soooo many stories I could tell)
Determination-- I guess I could also call this stubborness, hard headed, a "my way or the highway" mentality, but I choose "determination" because my dad will never give up! When he sees something that needs to be done or fixed or changed he plows right through any circumstance with a passion to accomplish whatever the task or goal may be to see the right outcome acheived. I know that's kind of wordy, but how do you try to summarize a quality in someone that you've watched for 27 years?
Bold "No Fear" to try anything-- I've heard some call this particular quality "foolish", but how many kids have memories of shooting ranges, ziplines, climbing walls, and 3 story tree houses in their back yard (in the middle of the city!). What other city kid had a pet racoon, a squirrl, a crow, and rabbits? Who else was climbing ladders and walking across scaffolding 40 feet in the air at the age of 5 to take lunch to daddy? What other kids had piles of scrap wood and a garage full of power tools at your disposal to "create" whatever you wanted to "as long as you clean up after yourself"?
Thank you dad for the yearly camping trips, fishing, carpentry skills, water skiing, hiking, reading books to the family at night. You created in each of us a love for God's creation, a deep desire to live for Him, and willing hearts to serve Him to the best of our abilities. You are admired today and every day. We love you dad, friend, grandpa!
9 comments:
Very Sweet Beth! Happy Birthday "Grandpa B", I am glad to have had the opportunity to meet you and hear some of these amazing stories.
Beth, what a wonderful tribute to a really terrific dad. You truly are blessed and I know all those memories are a big part of what makes you a really good mom. I consider your parents some of the most Godly, wise people I know and you are certainly a reflection of that!
Beth, I don't know which story from growing up that involoves your dad I enjoy the most. Not all the "experiences" were appreciated at the time, but DEFINITELY are now. He has been a huge part of my life (along with your mom). Happiest of Birthdays to you Mr. B! We love you. AND MANY MORE!
What Leah? You didn't ENJOY being told "No" to everything and then getting disciplined for it by someone elses parent? :) ha ha Thanks for being my friend!
That was just one "experience" that wasn't so fun! How about the numerous bus rides that I ended up sitting next to the garbage can because of the motion sickness! Fun stuff!
What a blessing to have such a storehouse of memories!
hey jason and beth,
you guys are looking great. I hopw you are doing well.
Oh the memories some wonderful and some not so fun as Leah stated. It feels like forever but he was a great influence on my life and I can never say thank you enough for the way he helped me and my mom for all of those years.
Dear Beth,
I just found your blog. It seems that I am way late to send birthday greetings to Mr. B.! I remember the first year that he taught. He had so much zeal to learn all that he could and pass it on to us. He truly was determined, and we could see him improve daily. I think that he turned out to be a fantastic teacher. He was also a good friend: someone that encouraged me to learn and think and be more than average. Also, he could take a joke, which is good since we played so many on him. Thanks for sharing this tribute to him with us, Beth!
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