Happy Father’s Day to my daddy who has always been my hero: He was the cool college kid my mama fell in love with, the Air Force jet fighter pilot who earned the call sign “Grit” for “integrity,” the gifted multiple-graduate-degree-holder, the attorney and young partner named a “Best Lawyer in America” year after year, the Christian example who talked Apologetics at the dinner table and raised us on C.S Lewis and Tolkien. 

He’s the daddy who prayed, worked hard, always made it home for dinner, jumped on the trampoline, swam in the lake, rode the zip line, and took interest in what interested us kids – be it ballet or baseball. He’s my daddy and I am so very thankful for him this and every day.

Here’s the link to my current fave. It’s called “Good, Good Father” and my friend Pat wrote it.

What a blessing to have an earthly father who points me towards my Father in heaven.

This is a repost from last year, because today is a day for CELEBRATING!

This may seem a bit odd in the middle of a series on fertility but it’s really not! {You can follow along by reading Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 – or read the whole series here.}

First of all – Happy Mother’s Day to my mama – the best mama in the world! Equal parts funny, brilliant, comforting, discerning, encouraging, witty, wise, and beautiful, she is a charitable/ philanthropic wonder who could run a small country in an organized and easy manner. Her achievements from teaching to parenting to lawyering to cheering to churching to listening to mission-leading to volunteering to party-hosting – are really too many to list. Suffice to say, she is incredible woman, wife, mother, and confidante. Mama, I love you! We’re spending the weekend with Grant’s family – Janice: I love you, too! More on that when we get back!

Second of all – my personal journey with fertility has everything to with celebrating mothers! 

Through the ebbs and flows of my own emotional journey with fertility, I can pretty much say I’ve been genuinely happy for friends who’ve announced their pregnancies and delivered precious little ones. Let me give you a hint: it’s NOT a comparison game. I can rejoice with them because I truly believe what the Bible says about children – and for the same reasons I’m looking forward to watching our family expand in the future, I’m happy for them! It’s not me vs. my friends; it’s us – women – linking arms together; not competing against one another, but rallying around one another. I celebrate new babies the same way I would a friend getting a promotion, buying a house, receiving a surprise anniversary trip, or any of the other things in life we women are so great at celebrating!

We have a choice. In that, we have the opportunity to thwart satan’s efforts and really, truly, deep-down-in-our-toes CELEBRATE this milestone in a friend’s life just like any other. {Or we can pout, we can compare, we can be robbed of a shared joy; we can alienate ourselves from our friends and family or make them walk on eggshells – none of which quells the desire in our heart as we patiently wait.} I choose joy! I choose to celebrate! I choose life!

Children are:

a blessing (Ps 127:3), a gift (Gen 33:5), an inheritance (Ps 127:3), a treasure (Ps 17:14), a reward (Ps 127:3), a heritage (Ps 127:3), a crown (Prov 17:6), a joy (John 16:21), a miracle (Ecc 11:5), an honor (Jer 30:21); they are wonderfully made (Ps 139:14), called forth (Isa 43:5), appointed (Jer 1:5), knit-together (Ps 139:13), blessed (Prov 20:7; Deut 28:4), comforted (Isa 66:13), consecrated (Jer 1:5); they help sanctify us (1 Tim 2:15), they are peace-giving (Isa 54:13), encouraging (Ps 8:2), truth-speakers (Matt 21:16); children are a sign of prosperity (Deut 28:10-11), a promise fulfilled (Mal 4:6), a love that multiplies (Isa 51:2).

Mothers: I am grateful for all that you do in raising your kids. I’m impressed by the way you make it all work. I’m perplexed at how well you all make it look easy – especially because I know it’s not easy! I am proud of you when you take time to love your husbands and I’m giving you imaginary high-fives every time you pour out sacrificial love on your families.

You are the domestic warriors fighting for your children’s futures, graciously modeling Christ daily, molding the minds and beliefs of the next generation, carrying tiny hearts and souls in your hands. You guys amaze me. I am so glad to call you friends. Thank you for all the thankless work you tirelessly do.

Here’s to YOU! 

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

{Read the next post in this series here.}