Father's Day!
The history of Father's Day is very interesting indeed. In 1909 one lady tried to start it as a holiday in Fairmont, West Virginia, in a way to honor 361 men, 250 of them fathers, who had lost their lives in a tragic mining accident. Due to so many other activities and celebrations of July 4th, the holiday did not get the recognition it needed. Just a year later, another young lady in Spokane, Washington, wanted to honor her father, a Civil War veteran, named William Jackson Smart. She wanted to honor him for his raising her and her 5 siblings ALONE! A single dad of six! Imagine that! She spoke to her minister about a special service recognizing fathers. He was unable to do that the first Sunday of June, which was her father's birthday. He planned to hold a special service the third Sunday in June. Other ministers heard of his idea and followed in suit.
The actual holiday was not made official until 1972! I looked this information up, as usual, online. This is on this site Father's Day - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. It is really interesting to read the evolution of this idea into the actual holiday. It took quite a bit of time and several people to get it officially recognized!
In my life I have had the privilege to have my dad, my father-in-law, and my sweet husband, Benson. Each one of these men has meant a great deal to me in the area of Father's Day!
My Dad has taught us so much over the years. My Dad was raised by his grandparents the majority of his life. He has 3 sisters and 1 brother. He was raised on a farm in North Carolina. He had a lot of experiences with animals and gardens. He went on after high school to graduate from Kernersville Wesleyan College. It was there he met my mom! He had a church for a space of time, but he had started having seizures, so he had to step down.
He received an opportunity to head up the custodial department at First Wesleyan Church in High Point, NC. The church was a wonderful, and still is, influence in his life - eventually all of our family's lives. He soon went on the Wesleyan Daycare, which turned into a daycare and an elementary school. As the school grew into a birth to 12th grade education center, my father's job grew, too! He was over a big staff. Not only was he doing that job, but he was working alongside my mom raising my brother and me. At one point in our family, we were helping with my dad's different cleaning jobs. He cleaned five different places! We learned a lot about working hard but having fun as a family.
In spite of innumerable hours of work, he still found time to worship - to make sure that our family attended church. We were one of those families that went to everything at the church. My dad rarely missed a service - he would have to be truly ill to miss services and Sunday School! We even went to Wednesday night church. To this day my dad still preaches once a month to some retirement and nursing homes! What a privilege it has been to have been raised in the home of a man of God!
While my dad was growing up in North Carolina, my future father-in-law was being raised in a Christian home in South Carolina. He was raised in a home with his 2 sisters and 1 brother. He went on to finish up school and was called into the ministry. He met and married his sweet wife early on in life at the tender ages of 19 and 16. They had together 6 children - 4 girls and 2 boys. One of those boys became my precious husband.
He and his wife together have ministered not only in a church but a Christian school, too. They have taught so many children over the years! He has such a sweet spirit, too. He has a kind heart and a love that reaches out to everyone. He, like my dad, worked a lot. He was and still is what you call a bi-vocational pastor. He has worked along side his wife, too, in raising their children. What is so neat is that his family has soon to be 18 grandchildren! Our family get-togethers are outstanding! He has blessed my life in so many ways! I have been so thankful for his influence in my life, my husband's life and our children's lives! What a privilege to have a man of God for my Father-in-law!
Lastly, my sweet Mr. Benson! He has been my sweetheart for going on 19 years! We met through his sister in 1996 - another post for another time! I want to say that he is such a wonderful provider, father, friend and husband. Our 5 children have a wonderful person in Benson. He has a patience with them but won't let them get away with things. He will call them on things, but he will hug and love on them, too.
He is the type of father to them that takes them to have fun and learn something. He will patiently teach them about how and why to do something. He loves to take them to our garden and show them things up there - how to plow, plant, weed, harvest. He also enjoys watching movies with them. One thing that he has in common with his father and my father, which is one of the most IMPORTANT qualities that I believe a husband should have, is his love for Jesus. He unashamedly shows that he is a Christian. He has standards and wants them for our family. He makes certain that our family is at church every time we are supposed to be. The only times he ever misses is sickness or if he works too late on Wednesday night. He is a dedicated man, and I am ever so thankful the Lord gave him to me! What a privilege it is to have him not only as my husband but as the father of our children!
I am switching over to red to honor my dad. He is a die-hard Redskins fan and loves the color red! I love this song - Twila Paris & Steven Curtis Chapman - Faithful Friend - YouTube . It always makes me think of Father's Day. I pray that as this Father's Day comes that you will remember you father with love and admiration. If you have lost your father, I am so sorry for that loss! What a blessing it is to have father's in our lives!! Happy Father's Day to my dad, father-in-law, and husband! And to all of you fathers out there - blessings!!
Love, {{hugs}} and blessings!
Chandra
The actual holiday was not made official until 1972! I looked this information up, as usual, online. This is on this site Father's Day - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. It is really interesting to read the evolution of this idea into the actual holiday. It took quite a bit of time and several people to get it officially recognized!
In my life I have had the privilege to have my dad, my father-in-law, and my sweet husband, Benson. Each one of these men has meant a great deal to me in the area of Father's Day!
My Dad has taught us so much over the years. My Dad was raised by his grandparents the majority of his life. He has 3 sisters and 1 brother. He was raised on a farm in North Carolina. He had a lot of experiences with animals and gardens. He went on after high school to graduate from Kernersville Wesleyan College. It was there he met my mom! He had a church for a space of time, but he had started having seizures, so he had to step down.
He received an opportunity to head up the custodial department at First Wesleyan Church in High Point, NC. The church was a wonderful, and still is, influence in his life - eventually all of our family's lives. He soon went on the Wesleyan Daycare, which turned into a daycare and an elementary school. As the school grew into a birth to 12th grade education center, my father's job grew, too! He was over a big staff. Not only was he doing that job, but he was working alongside my mom raising my brother and me. At one point in our family, we were helping with my dad's different cleaning jobs. He cleaned five different places! We learned a lot about working hard but having fun as a family.
In spite of innumerable hours of work, he still found time to worship - to make sure that our family attended church. We were one of those families that went to everything at the church. My dad rarely missed a service - he would have to be truly ill to miss services and Sunday School! We even went to Wednesday night church. To this day my dad still preaches once a month to some retirement and nursing homes! What a privilege it has been to have been raised in the home of a man of God!
While my dad was growing up in North Carolina, my future father-in-law was being raised in a Christian home in South Carolina. He was raised in a home with his 2 sisters and 1 brother. He went on to finish up school and was called into the ministry. He met and married his sweet wife early on in life at the tender ages of 19 and 16. They had together 6 children - 4 girls and 2 boys. One of those boys became my precious husband.
He and his wife together have ministered not only in a church but a Christian school, too. They have taught so many children over the years! He has such a sweet spirit, too. He has a kind heart and a love that reaches out to everyone. He, like my dad, worked a lot. He was and still is what you call a bi-vocational pastor. He has worked along side his wife, too, in raising their children. What is so neat is that his family has soon to be 18 grandchildren! Our family get-togethers are outstanding! He has blessed my life in so many ways! I have been so thankful for his influence in my life, my husband's life and our children's lives! What a privilege to have a man of God for my Father-in-law!
Lastly, my sweet Mr. Benson! He has been my sweetheart for going on 19 years! We met through his sister in 1996 - another post for another time! I want to say that he is such a wonderful provider, father, friend and husband. Our 5 children have a wonderful person in Benson. He has a patience with them but won't let them get away with things. He will call them on things, but he will hug and love on them, too.
He is the type of father to them that takes them to have fun and learn something. He will patiently teach them about how and why to do something. He loves to take them to our garden and show them things up there - how to plow, plant, weed, harvest. He also enjoys watching movies with them. One thing that he has in common with his father and my father, which is one of the most IMPORTANT qualities that I believe a husband should have, is his love for Jesus. He unashamedly shows that he is a Christian. He has standards and wants them for our family. He makes certain that our family is at church every time we are supposed to be. The only times he ever misses is sickness or if he works too late on Wednesday night. He is a dedicated man, and I am ever so thankful the Lord gave him to me! What a privilege it is to have him not only as my husband but as the father of our children!
I am switching over to red to honor my dad. He is a die-hard Redskins fan and loves the color red! I love this song - Twila Paris & Steven Curtis Chapman - Faithful Friend - YouTube . It always makes me think of Father's Day. I pray that as this Father's Day comes that you will remember you father with love and admiration. If you have lost your father, I am so sorry for that loss! What a blessing it is to have father's in our lives!! Happy Father's Day to my dad, father-in-law, and husband! And to all of you fathers out there - blessings!!
Love, {{hugs}} and blessings!
Chandra
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