Making/Taking Vows

What is a vow? 
In society most of us think of vows as what we do the day we stand up and make a commitment to get married.  This is true.  However, vows are more than just something we do at marriage time.  Making a promise to do something, committing our time, talents, etc to a purpose is making a vow.  So why do we break vows so often?  In my case I tend to make a lot of promises: I'll do the dishes, take out the trash etc.  I usually always put a clause in there but I'll do it in a minute.  Sometimes that minute turns to 15 and sometimes it goes forgotten.  Was it intentionally forgotten, No.  I get side tracked, a lot.  But the point is I committed to doing something so I should just do it.  It's hard to change bad habits. 
As we have been doing to devotion we came across a section called The Magnitude of Vows here are few things I would like to share with you about vows. 
First Numbers 30:2 says When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said. 
So in layman's terms, your only as good as your word. 
Second, a marriage perspective: we make commitments to our significant other.  We say we are going to love, obey, cherish, etc.  Some of us take that as a serious commitment and others see it as unfulfilled truths.  But there is one person that takes those vows very serious, God. 
Third, Gods word. If you look back over the Bible and know even just a little His word is not broken.  He sent His son to die for us, Check.   He said that Jesus would arise again, Check.  He told Moses to go to Egypt and to set his people free and in doing so they would be rewarded with the Promise Land, Check.  The Bible is filled with these promises/vows and well He has delivered on all of them.  And these are no little promises might I remind you, these are HUGE. 
So why is it that when we say we are going to do something, when we commit, when we vow. It is so easy to break promises.  Every time we make a promise (to a loved one, to a friend, to work, to God) we are held accountable to those promises.  So let your yes mean yes and your no mean no (Matt 5:37). 
So I task that start by taking is slow and easy, build up our commitments and follow through on them.  If you are married recommit yourself to honor, cherish, from this day on.  If not married commit to yourself that when you say you are going to do it do it. Of course, this doesn't mean things will not happen or come up that requires you to tweak the circumstance.  I look forward to hearing you success stories or difficulties that you might have.  But together with God's assistance we can do this. 
God Bless!

Father's Day Part III

Here are just a few songs that remind me so much of my dad: 

Father's Day Part II

My friend Ron Chilton posted this the other day on his facebook page. I hope you enjoy.  Dad/Father's remember that even on those days that you feel so tired, so worn out, like life is getting you down that we children are storing memories that mean more to us than you ever know. 
here is the link to the video:

http://www.simpletruths.com/spp_TIMEoptin.html
In addition to the link I have posted photos of one of the best days of my life.  It is my wedding day.  I married my best friend that day but more importantly my dad stood up with me as my best man.  I am not sure if he knows how much that meant to me but these photos are of us as he attempted to do a toast. 

I love you Dad. 

Happy Fathers Day

Hello Friends,
It has been awhile.  I am sorry if you have missed reading my post.  Recently, I started back to college, between college, work, life, etc I have neglected my blog.  I will try to get better in the coming days. 
However, today is a great day. Today is Father's Day.  For all of us out there at some point and time in life we have been blessed to have a FATHER (still living, past on, estranged, etc).  We have the Earthly one here and then the greatest of all in Heaven.  So with it being Father's Day, it made me ponder what is a Father?  According to Webster Dictionary

a : a man who has begotten a child; also : sire 3 b capitalized (1) : God1 (2) : the first person of the Trinity

Additional definitions:

1. man who is parent: a man who is the parent of a human being, or a male animal that has produced offspring
2. man acting as parent: a man who brings up and looks after a child as if he were its father
3. man who is ancestor: a man who is an ancestor, especially the founder of a family or people

However, I do not feel that those definitions define a father.  I have been blessed to have numerous father figures in my life.  Ranging from my dad, both grandfathers, a father-in-law and many other men who have had a hand in molding me into the man I am today.  Most people think of fathers as providers, they are suppose to be strong for their families, lend advice, be there when the world turns their back on you, teach you life lessons, etc.  I believe a father is a person who should be there no matter what, be that person that you can depend on in a split second, offer encourging words, mold you into the person you shall become. 

I am currently 28 years old and two of the most influential men in my life are my father and my grandfather from both I have learned many valuable lessons.  From both of these men I have learned how to love, how to show compassion, how to work hard, how to stand up for what you believe in, how to provide for your family, how to share a encouraging word, the list goes on.  From these men I have been molded into the man I am today and I thank the good Lord above that he placed me into their lives and most importantly me into theirs.  I am proud to call both of you "father" in some form of the word. 

I found this on a website that Paul Harvey had to say about Father's

In honor of Father’s Day this coming Sunday,
I am posting a piece by Paul Harvey.
What Is a Father?
A father is a person who is forced to endure
childbirth without an anesthetic. He growls
when he feels good and laughs very loud
when he is scared half-to-death.
A father never feels entirely worthy of the
worship in a child’s eyes. He is never quite
the hero his daughter thinks. Never quite the man
his son believes him to be. And this worries him
sometimes. (So he works too hard to try to
smooth the rough places in the road of those
of his own who will follow him.)
A father is a person who goes to war sometimes
…and would run the other way, except that war
is part of an important job in his life (which is
making the world better for his child than it has
been for him).
Fathers grow older faster than other people,
because they, in other wars, have to stand at the
train station and wave goodbye to the uniform that
climbs on board. And, while mothers cry where it
shows, fathers stand and beam … outside …
and die inside.
Fathers are men who give daughters away to other
men who aren’t nearly good enough, so that they
can have children that are smarter than anybody’s.
Fathers fight dragons almost daily. They hurry
away from the breakfast table off to the arena,
which is sometimes called an office or a workshop.
There they tackle the dragon with three heads —
Weariness, Work, and Monotony. And they never
quite win the fight, but they never give up.
Knights in shining armor; fathers in shiny trousers.
There’s little difference as they march away each
workday.
I trust that you will be able to honor your father,
either in person or as you share with others what’s
in your memory about your dad.
I hope you dads out there will be a blessing to
your families and that you will be blessed by
your families.